Navigating Tech Overwhelm: Software Essentials for a Successful Launch
When it comes to running a successful online course or offer having the right tech and software behind you to support you can make all the difference but I think that it’s important to recognise that you also don’t need to jump all in to all singing and dancing course platform if you have never ever made a sale before.
In this article I share the essential softwares I recommend at whatever stage of launching you are at!
File Storage
Google Drive
Whatever budget you’re at I always highly recommend using either Dropbox or Google Workspace or both for your file storage. Keeping your course/ offer files organised and stored somewhere other than your course platform and laptop is essential.
Both of these platforms have free versions but if you’re uploading a lot of files then you will need to upgrade to the paid options but both are very very affordable.
Dropbox is perfect for large video and image files, whilst Google Drive/ Workspace is perfect for documents. I have come across too many course creators that have all of their course content, images and documents only stored on their laptops and this makes it nearly impossible for any team to come in and support them.
Even if you don’t have a team supporting you now, always be thinking ahead to building out the foundations of your business as if you will have a team one day.
Creating Your Workbooks
If you’re starting out then Canva is the BEST way to start creating workbooks, social graphics, thumbnails and more for your course/ offer. Again there is a free version but upgrading to the Pro version for as little as £12.99 means that you can have access to stock photos, save your branding and have access to more templates.
It is very easy to learn and you can create beautiful PDF’s easily.
If you’re more experienced with more advanced design software then Adobe Creative Suite is the one and it does allow you to make those PDF’s editable as well.
Looking for stunning stock images for your workbooks or thumbnails? Want a better range of templates than is available on Canva? There are a lot of businesses out there that sell both of these things but here are a few recommendations of where to look:
Again these are not essential for when you’re starting out but they can help elevate the look of your workbooks and graphics so you don’t fall into the trap of using the same Canva templates as everyone else.
Recording Your Content
When you are first starting off there is no need to start obsessing about having perfect quality videos. As long as the lighting is good and you have a great internet connection then recording training videos on loom or Zoom will work perfectly.
There are also other softwares such as Streamyard that you can experiment with. I have a client of mine who always has really high quality videos for her online courses and memberships and when I asked her what she uses she told me her Iphone!
I can’t speak for the older models but the Iphone 14 and up will take really great quality videos. You will just need to make sure that you have a decent enough ring light (there are loads of great choices on Amazon but here is more high end one) and a microphone (check out this one- Rode Wireless Go)
When it comes to editing videos, if you’re not outsourcing this then Capcut, Power Director and even Imovie are all great platforms to quickly edit your videos on.
Project management
This tool often gets overlooked when it comes to creating a stress free launch for yourself but the key to a less anxiety inducing launch is to plan it! And to keep that plan somewhere accessible to anyone who is involved. I personally love a project management platform for keeping track of launch tasks, to do dates and most importantly any communication between yourself and your team. Trust me it becomes incredibly stressful in itself to receive a tonne of emails with everyone's updates and thoughts on tasks.
Even if you’re solo-launching at the moment (i.e. no team) - remember that if you build the foundations now as if you have a team you are going to save yourself so much work in the long-term PLUS next launch you can just hit duplicate board and BAM you have a new launch board all ready to go for the next round.
Course platforms
I know that when you’re starting out building an online offer a lot of brain power can go into which platform is best for me! And the answer is there is no one perfect platform and I always advise starting small and making sure that you can get consistent sales before investing in an all singing and dancing platform.
I have had clients who have run incredible group programs just using Google Drive! That being said as you start to scale then having a course platform does work better for you and your students.
Just starting out and do want to have a platform? Circle and Mighty Network are great options.
Been selling online offers for a while and looking for something more robust and all in one? Kajabi and Thrivecart are the way to go. Especially with Kajabi you can host your website, landing pages, offers, your email list and automations all in one and it makes life so much easier.
Payment platforms
Don’t forget that if you’re going to be selling online you will need a payment platform! Do not fall into the trap of asking people to DM you about the offer and then telling them how much to BACS you over (yes I have seen this done) - you will lose sales and find yourself doing way too much legwork!
Instead choose a payment platform that works for you and get it set-up to go from the start!
These days there are literally hundreds of tools to support you as an online business owner. It’s never been easier to automate parts of your business and have software support you. In all honesty you could probably start a business and get it to 10k months easily without having to bring in any team at all.
But I do recognise that spending the time trying to figure out which software is best and what works well with what is time consuming and most likely not your forte (otherwise you may not be reading this blog 😉) and that’s OK too.
I have worked in a lot of softwares and programs and its this personal experience over the last 5 years that gives me a great grounding in each one and I can quickly recommend platforms based on my clients preferences. So if you’re starting out and struggling to make some decisions on how to move forward why not pick my brain? Click here to find out more.
