An eCourse is a series of related lessons that are delivered by your autoresponder, email service or website. The difference between a free report and an eCourse is two-fold: First, the eCourse lessons are themed together, one building on top of the previous one and leading to the next lesson. Secondly, when your reader signs up for an eCourse, they know they will be receiving additional lessons and will be on the lookout for them.
Although it is possible to buy reprint rights to an eCourse or use one from an affiliate program, it is always best to write your own. Remember that your marketing is not only educating your prospective customer to build a profitable relationship, but also to build your 'brand'. As a small businessperson, you are part of your brand. If different parts of your marketing plan are written by different people who don't understand your view of how your business is run - people will notice the difference and your brand will not feel cohesive.
An eCourse can be as short or as long as you want, but most run between five to ten lessons. There are even 52-lesson paid eCourses available that really focus in on particular subjects. While most eCourses are text-only, the proliferation of audio and video are now a big part of this type of marketing.
The Structure
Each lesson should take the same format:
- A welcome message (first email) or confirmation message (confirming the subscription)
- A short summary of the material that you are covering in this lesson (outline key points)
- The body of your lesson
- Additional material (links to more information, references, etc.)
- A brief call to action, suggested next step, or offer relevant to your content (i.e. for the Institute, this could be a suggestion that more detailed information is available for members)
- A concluding comment
- An indication of what to expect in the next lesson.
By maintaining the same structure for each lesson, people know what to expect and will be more comfortable with the information that you sending.