Here’s a puzzler for you.

How do you convince someone that you can help them solve a problem?

For instance, let’s say you told someone, “I can show you how to build a website” or “I can show you how to get your shop to the top of Etsy’s search engine”.

What would be the thing most likely to convince them?

Well, simply that you’ve done it yourself, right?

For instance, you could show them that you built a website or marketed a shop on Etsy.

But there’s a problem.

Okay, you might have achieved something yourself but how can that person you’re trying to convince feel confident that you can teach them to do it, too?

How do you know you won’t throw a load of confusing waffle and complicated jargon at them?

How do they know you won’t leave them in the lurch?

How can they feel assured that your advice is the best option for them?

Well, that’s easy too.

You just show them that you’ve already helped someone just like them to do it.

And to make it even more obvious, you get that person to write it down as a testimonial:

“I was in your situation too. I got shown this method in this brilliant course, and it worked.”

Job done.

It’s known as ‘social proof’ and it taps into a deep emotional need to follow what others are doing.

Because the truth is, all our decisions – particularly buying decisions – are consciously or subconsciously influenced by the opinion and actions of people around us.

But there’s still a problem.

As a first-time course creator, you’ve not actually helped anyone yet.

You need testimonials to sell your course, but to get those, you need students who’ve completed your course.

Aaaaaaaaaarrrgggh!

You have now become snared in the PROOF TRAP.

It’s a ‘chicken-or-the-egg’ situation which all newbie course creators find themselves in.

You’re confident in your expertise and the value of your course…

But how do you convince potential students of this without testimonials and case studies from previous participants?

But don’t worry, there’s a way around this.

In fact, there are four ways…

4 Ways to Get The Proof You Need to Sell your First Course

Here are the strategies I’ve personally used and recommended to my clients to build the necessary social proof for your course.

1. Run a Beta Version of Your Course

You can run a ‘beta version’ of your course. This is a rough ‘n’ ready advance version of your course you provide to a select group of students at a discounted rate or even for free.

It doesn’t have to be polished or even 100% completed. You can just give them the rough draft in whatever form it is in.

By doing this, you can not only gather valuable testimonials and case studies but also test the demand for your course.

And because it’s still a draft version, you can use their feedback to refine and improve its content.

2. Leverage Existing Success Stories

You might not have testimonials for your course yet, but you could still show them some social proof.

For instance, have you ever shared your expertise in another way? Maybe through coaching or consulting?

Maybe for a friend or relative who got a result from your help?

If you have, it’s entirely acceptable to ask those who’ve benefited from your expertise to share their success stories.

You can clearly state that these results were achieved using your methods.

For example, online business coach Marie Forleo used testimonials from her coaching clients when she first launched B-School, her flagship online business course.

3. Offer a Robust Guarantee

If you’re impatient or if your course content is time-sensitive, you can offer a ‘risk-reversal’ or money-back guarantee.

This is a promise that if your students don’t achieve a certain result within a specified period, they can get their money back.

You can add that they don’t need to give any reason whatsoever – they can take all your advice, put it into operation and still ask for a refund, which they’ll get promptly with no questions asked.

Make this clear and upfront on your marketing, so there’s very little reason for them not to try it out – after all, they will either see great results or lose absolutely nothing.

As soon as a few people take you up on this, you will then have your first students, and soon they’ll give you the testimonials you need to really go for it.

4. Use Your Own Story as a Case Study

Last but not least, you can leverage your own story.

If you’ve used the methods you’re teaching in your course and have seen results, then share the details.

Potential students often relate better to the journey of the course creator than any other testimonial.

For example, Ramit Sethi, author and creator of the ‘I Will Teach You To Be Rich’ online courses, uses his personal experience of mastering personal finance and starting a business as a testimonial for his course offerings.

Any four of these strategies will work.

Actually, combining a few of them is a good idea, too – for example, a personal case study mixed with a guarantee, and some examples of people you helped in the past would certainly help sell early copies.

Just remember one thing…

Gathering testimonials and case studies for your course isn’t a one-and-done effort. It’s an ongoing process – one where you will slowly build up your credentials over time.

To help you with this process, I’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to collect powerful testimonials.

You can download the free testimonial guide here: Perfect Testimonial – instant download.

Whatever stage you are at in your course creation journey, I highly recommend you take a look at it!

Because the process of collecting success stories could start before you’ve even launched your course.

NEXT STEPS:

1. Want my testimonials blueprint? Check out my free training and resource, and I’ll show you (step by step) how to get this done TODAY! Click here now

2. Grab your spot on my FREE online course creation masterclass – Click this link to find a time that works for you and find out how to get started on your first successful online course.

3. – Want my help to create your course? If you are ready to create and launch your first successful online course, then make sure you register here to get on the waitlist for my Course Creation Academy. You can register (it’s free to register) here