The Ups & Downs of Hosting a Masterclass
Heyyyyyy!!! I’m coming in hot with some ups & downs of hosting a masterclass. If you listened to my recent podcast episode you’ll know that I talked about my masterclass at the end of March.
Now that I’m coming up hot on the heels of my third masterclass, I’ve got some ups and downs that I want to share with you!
First and foremost you’re going to need a topic and you’re going to need to make sure you’re ideal audience is interested in what you’re talking about. Or that you’re talking about it in a way that is interesting to YOUR audience. Basically, make your masterclass ALL about them! ;)
I’d bet if you’re here reading this maybe you’ve already hosted a masterclass or have been thinking about it and you’re nervous that no one will show up (don’t worry - I was scared of this too!!). My number one tip is: celebrate the little things. When ONE person signs up - CELEBRATE IT. When you finish the funnel that people use to sign up - CELEBRATE IT.
Taking time to celebrate these little things will allow you to keep your mindset in a place of abundance rather than lack.
Here are the UP’s that I’ve experienced over the last 2 months of hosting masterclasses:
people are NOTICING and SIGNING UP!
double the amount of people signed up from the first to the second
people are COMING to my masterclasses!
people are enjoying what I’m talking about AND engaging
I’ve been able streamline how people sign up
I’ve felt more comfortable emailing my list of people
Here are some DOWN’s that I’ve expereienced:
not as many people signed up as I’d hoped
not as many people attended as I’d hoped
I got sick just before my first masterclass & my internet was completely out for the second - hello stress. I wanted to NOT show up.
I wondered if the information landed and was resonating with those who did attend
So, as you can see most of the DOWN’s were things that are emotional. They are thoughts that bubble up as I’m navigating building an all digital business. Here’s the catch, you don’t have to let these thoughts rule your world. They will slip in and they will wreak havoc but they don’t have to stay.
You’ll notice that one of the down’s that I experienced was getting sick AND my internet not working - both happened right before a masterclass. Now I’m a big advocate for self care and knowing your limits. However, I am also an advocate for showing up when the universe is trying to get you to back down.
Ok, but how did I know that this was a “test” from the universe?
Let me take you back to my yoga studio days - a few years ago I would have these grand ideas for yoga workshops. I would put them on the calendar and then not talk about them. And then something would happen - I wouldn’t “feel good”, no one would sign up, the weather would be 5* off - literally anything that wasn’t “perfect” would give me reason enough to not host the workshop.
Let’s dive into this a bit, because maybe you’ve been doing similar things - letting the universe or any little thing dictate whether or not you will show up.
For the first masterclass everyone in my family had some sort of cold and I knew in the back of my mind that my time was ticking. But I also knew that I wanted to show up no matter what for this first masterclass of this year. I was determined to show up because I had let outside influences (and mindset) dictate the outcomes prior to this.
Despite sounding funny and stuffy, I showed up. And I showed up with the energy that I wanted to - excitement and FUN.
And, yes I laid down and took a nap after that masterclass - I showed up. I showed up for all of the people who signed up. I showed up for all the people that SHOWED up. I showed up with BOSS energy because I want to gift the confidence and calm that I carry to anyone in my sphere of influence.
The second masterclass I was equally excited for but also a bit nervous. Would people like it?! Would people attend?! As I talked more and more about the masterclass I had more and more people sign up. And then, our internet went out. POOF gone. For a week straight. I worked as much as I could from my phone and my hotspot but I knew I’d have to utilize the coffee shop down the road if it wasn’t fixed by the time of my second masterclass.
The internet did get fixed, while I was GIVING the second masterclass FROM the coffee shop. I could have canceled or delayed. BUT again, I knew that I had an MO for canceling last minute when I didn’t feel like I had done “enough”. Again, I was showing up with excitement and knowing that I was moving through some of these mental blocks I had in the past.
Some metrics about the masterclasses -
The first masterclass 5 people signed up. The second, 10 people. Now, this may not be the amount of sign ups that a big name coach has - and you know what, I’m OK with that. In fact, I was elated that 1 person signed up! Let alone 10 for this second one! The first masterclass 3 out of 5 showed up. And the second, 3 out of 10 showed up. Again, I was so pumped that 1 person showed up for both! I know there were also 2 people for the first and 3 for the second that watched the replay.
Here’s the facts: We ALL start somewhere. We ALL have things that “flop” and we all have things that “soar”.
I consider both of these masterclasses SOARING because people showed up. That was my goal: at least 1 person sign up and at least 1 person show up. I was also prepared to give the class even if no one showed up or signed up.
I did not sell anything during these masterclasses. I know that some other coaches would tell you to lace your masterclass with all the things you offer. That’s not how I roll. I was more focused on showing up for these two. For my next masterclass, YES I will have offers that people can opt into. And I am so stinking excited for them - there are 2 things I’ll be talking about in my next masterclass that are so packed with value I can’t believe I’m offering it for that price.
More importantly I wanted these first masterclasses to be FILLED with value and content that people could take in and USE right away.
Creation of the masterclasses -
So far I’ve offered 2 masterclasses in a series of 3. These three masterclasses are centered around the 3 mindsets that are important to all women business owners. How did I come up with these? I’ve lived them. And you probably do to, you just don’t know it. The more I realized how powerful these mindsets were the more I knew I needed to tell the world.
But I needed to tell the world in a way that the world, or in this case my ideal client, wanted to hear. Lucky for us ChatGPT is largely available. For the first masterclass I did NOT use ChatGPT. For the second I did.
What did I do to utilize ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an amazing place to take an idea, ask clarifying questions and get a rough draft out on paper. Which is exactly what I did. I’ll be offering another masterclass this year about using ChatGPT and the prompts that I use. I was lucky enough to receive prompts from another amazing coach and mentor. I took those prompts and re-jiggered them so that they spat out exactly what I wanted. The thing with chat is that you have to keep asking questions until you get the answer. You have to be specific. Which is why knowing your ideal client, their pain points and what they want to learn is so important. At the end of the day all of this comes down to a day or a few hours of research on your part to know who, what and why.
I talked more about all of this on my recent podcast - Make sure you have a listen!
Final thoughts about hosting masterclasses -
I LOVE HOSTING THEM! I love hosting them AS much as I love hosting my podcast. It’s SO much fun for me to use creativity to present information in a new way to people who are growing their business! If you’re thinking about hosting a masterclass and need some help - click the button below and let’s talk! Schedule a discovery session and we’ll dig into a few things that could help you step into power for your next masterclass!
If you’re feeling down in the dumps because something “didn’t work” I would encourage you to revisit what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. Being a coach and have an online business is rather straight forward and simple. The work comes in showing up and showing up consistently - that is the hard part. It’s just as “easy” to show up as it is to not show up.
I’m here to help YOU grow! In fact that’s exactly what my upcoming group coaching program is ALL about. It’s time for you to step into YOUR power and grow the business you truly desire! If you want to know MORE about my group program and other ways you can work with me make sure you sign up for my upcoming masterclass on April 20 called Unlock Time Freedom!
