Let me take you back about 30 years ago.

Yours Truly had taken her first steps into the working world.

As part of my first proper office job, I used to help out on a newsletter about winning prizes…

Its aim was to show subscribers all the available ‘comps’ so that they could enter loads of them and massively boost their chances of winning.

There were two very distinct types of competition…

The first were ones where you’d write a tagline or some witty ditty about the product, for instance.

“Complete the sentence: ‘I deserve to win because…'”

“In 10 words or less, describe why you love our product.”

“Share your top money-saving tip in a short and snappy sentence.”

That kind of thing!

The second type of competition were prize draws.

With these ones, you didn’t need any skill, wit or effort – you just had to be in it to win it!

One day, Woolworths organized one of these prize draws, where the coveted prize was a classic Mini.

I know, I know… WOOLIES! (RIP). That really dates me, doesn’t it?!

Anyway, as this was a prize draw, there was nothing to do other than enter it.

Literally, all you had to do was fill out a coupon and drop it into box. (This was WAY before internet comps via email and social media).

So, in theory, anyone could enter the draw.

And everyone had an equal chance of bagging the Mini.

It was such a great prize.

Which might make you assume that thousands of people rushed to enter the prize draw.

And in this case, many people DID think this.

To the point where they thought:

“Ah, what’s the point in entering this? I’ve got no chance!”

I know this because, a few weeks after the competition closed, a startling rumour went around the comping industry.

And it was this…

Only TWO people entered!

Amazing, right?

Now, I’m not 100% sure that this wasn’t an apocryphal tale, and in fact it was more like 200 people.

But whatever the exact numbers, it was clear that the entries for such a hugely desired, valuable prize were shockingly small in this instance.

So what happened?

Quite simply, the public assumed that everyone else was going to enter and therefore decided that there was too much competition.

Little did they realise that simply by entering, they would have had a shockingly high chance of winning a car.

And the same applies to the world of digital courses.

Revealing the ‘illusion of transparency

Many people I talk to tell me that they worry about the competition and assume that the market for their course idea is overcrowded.
But this fear is often blown out of proportion.

In reality, there’s usually less competition than you think, and here’s why…

Firstly, the digital course industry is huge and growing all the time.

That’s because there’s a massive demand for online learning from the millions of people who can now access fast internet from their home computers, tablets and phones.

Sure, there might be some popular topics with more competition, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find your own niche, or come at it from your own unique angle (or even both).

It’s also worth understanding something called the “illusion of transparency.”

This is a fancy term for the way we overestimate the extent our knowledge is apparent to other people.

We think that because something is obvious to us, it’s equally obvious to everyone else.

So you might assume that your course idea is something that HUNDREDS of people are undoubtedly doing, or that THOUSANDS of people already know about.

But the truth is, most people don’t!

Just because you assume your idea is so obvious that it must have been done a zillion times already…. it doesn’t mean it’s true.

And just because you see a few similar courses out there, it doesn’t mean the market is saturated.

It’s the same as that Woolworths competition 30 years ago.

Everyone assumed that everyone else knew about it, and that millions of people would enter, and that there was no chance of success.

But this was an illusion.

A mass self-deception.

And I see this same phenomenon with some first-time course creators, who have a wildly exaggerated sense of the competition, and vastly underestimate their own potential to tap into a niche.

Why your knowledge is more valuable than you think

What’s great about the digital course industry is that you can stand out by being yourself.

Your teaching style, expertise, and unique perspective make you different from other course creators.

There are learners out there who will like your particular approach better than your rivals – even the big slick professionals with their cool videos and impressive follower counts.

People have different preferences when it comes to learning, and they seek instructors who not only know their stuff but also have a personality that clicks with them.

What’s more, you should recognise that your knowledge and skills are not as transparent to others as you think.

They are not always ‘obvious’ to everyone.

Therefore, what you know has far more value than you might think.

So please don’t let the fear of competition hold you back from creating your digital course.

Trust me; there’s room for you to shine!

And remember – winning is impossible if you don’t bother to enter!

So if you are ready to get started on your course then just email me at [email protected] and I’ll let you know the next steps.