206 I Made $1M in 1 Month Selling Courses - Then I Quit. Here's Why - with Neil Patel

The Art of Selling Online Courses

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What if I told you that making $1 million in a single month selling courses wasn't enough?
In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Neil Patel - co-founder of Crazy Egg, Kissmetrics, and Hello Bar, recognized by Forbes as a top 10 marketer and by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the most brilliant companies.
Neil shares the shocking story of why he walked away from a course business generating $200-500k per month (with one month hitting $1 MILLION) to build something completely different.
We dive deep into why Neil believes course revenue will decline in the coming years and exactly what course creators need to do about it. He breaks down his exact 3-step process for discovering high-ticket offers your audience will actually buy, including how to validate new products WITHOUT spending months creating them first.
Neil gets brutally honest about why the "lifestyle business" model might actually be a trap for course creators and shares the backend product strategy that separates 6-figure course creators from 8-figure business owners. His take on how AI will impact the course industry? It's definitely not what you'd expect.
Whether you're making your first sale or already running a successful course business, Neil's insights on scaling beyond the "course creator ceiling" will transform how you think about your business model.
He even shares specific examples from real course creators who've successfully implemented these strategies - including one in the baby sleep niche and another teaching piano by ear.
This isn't just theory. This is proven advice from someone who's been there, done it, and built multiple 8-figure businesses.
Fair warning: This episode might make you uncomfortable with the status quo. But if you're ready to think bigger about your course business, this is required listening.
🌐 Connect with Neil:
🔗 https://neilpatel.com
🔗 https://x.com/neilpatel
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/neilpatel
🔗 https://www.instagram.com/neilpatel/

บท

1. Setting The Stage: Course Success (00:00:00)

2. Guest Intro And Credibility Check (00:01:02)

3. Peak Course Revenue And Decline (00:02:00)

4. Courses As Lifestyle Business (00:04:10)

5. The Mastermind And High-Ticket Gap (00:06:00)

6. Physical Products And Tripwire Thinking (00:08:00)

7. Hobbies, Obsession, And $10k Coaching (00:10:20)

8. Finding Demand Through Conversations (00:12:00)

9. Agency Scale vs Course Ceiling (00:14:00)

10. TAM, Risk, And AI Headwinds (00:16:00)

11. Adapting Offers: Coaching And AI (00:18:00)

12. Drive, Satisfaction, And Fit (00:20:00)

13. Research First: Calls Before Surveys (00:22:00)

14. Synthesise, Survey, Then Pre-Sell (00:24:00)

15. Price Testing And Back-End Economics (00:26:00)

16. The Cappuccino Machine Model (00:27:40)