Wow. We’ve covered a lot of ground in this module. But we’re almost done. In this last lesson we’re going to talk about ending your beta with a bang.
Because here’s the thing. If you don’t actively manage the end of your program, it can easily turn into “The NeverEnding Beta”. And you really don’t want that.
Why You Need to Manage the End of Your Beta
However, when the planned end date for your beta comes around, the reality is that not everyone will be exactly where you want them to be.
Some of your students, hopefully most, will have reached the finish line, but some will be a little behind, and one or two may have dropped out altogether.
That’s the nature of online courses, in fact it’s the nature of any endeavour that requires people’s effort and attention over an extended period of time.
So the best thing you can do is bring things to a close as smoothly and professionally as possible. Letting things drag on delays the launch of your full course and risks annoying the students who did finish the course on time.
So how do you do it?
How to Wrap Things Up Smoothly and Professionally
Well, similar to how I add a week at the start of the beta program for orientation, I also like to add a week at the end just for wrapping things up.
So let’s talk about your goals for that additional week.
From a standpoint of pure self-interest, you’ll want to do the following:
- Wind down the level of support you provide to students so you can focus on other things
- Ensure you have all the feedback you need to make necessary revisions to your content
- Gather (or at least initiate) the student testimonials you’ll need to support your full launch down the line
But of course, it’s not all about you!
Here’s how to wrap things up as positively as possible with your students:
- Thank them for their participation and hard work
- Celebrate their wins and individual contributions
- Invite them to share their own insights and highlights
One of the best ways to achieve all this is to structure your wrap-up week around a final meetup.
The Final Meetup
Now I find it almost impossible to say The Final Meetup without hearing The Final Countdown playing but, hey, that’s no bad thing.
Your final meetup is just an extra meetup, usually in the same slot as your regular meetups, with an agenda that’s focused on making all the things we just talked about happen.
(If you check out the resources section, you should find a suggested agenda for that meeting.)
And actually, it doesn’t have to be a Zoom-style meetup if that’s not how you’re running your beta. It could be an email you send to students in the final week covering the same topics. Or even a video you pre-record and share with them.
I personally like meetups because there’s an immediacy to them, people get to ask questions and you’re in full control of the timing.
Telling People What Happens Next
Something else you want to cover in the final meetup, or certainly at some point in your wrap-up week, is what students can expect after the beta is finished.
For example:
- Will they still have access to the content?
- Will they still have access to the community (if you have one)?
- Will there be a way to get more coaching, even if it’s at an additional cost?
And despite what I said about bringing everything to a close, you may still want to provide some ongoing support for free, albeit in a scaled-down format. Something like a check-in call once a month.
The reason is that this could be just enough to get more people over the finish line, which ultimately creates more success stories for you.
Getting Good Testimonials
Okay, before I wrap up this lesson about wrapping things up, I wanted to talk more about testimonials.
When you’re promoting your full course, testimonials will be valuable social proof that your course is effective.
However, it can feel a little bit “icky” asking people to go on record to say nice things about you and your work.
You can get testimonials in a more roundabout way though.
For instance, people may spontaneously say nice things about your course during your weekly meetups. Assuming you record those calls you can go back, grab those snippets and ask permission to use them after the fact.
Similarly, students may post positive comments under your lessons (if your course platform supports that) or in your community (if you have one).
Those can also be used, with permission of course.
Or you can just ask people to provide either a written or a video testimonial soon after the course wraps up. I’ll give you some suggestions about how to do that via a separate resource.
Why Not Every Positive Comment Is Helpful
One subtlety with testimonials is that you don’t want people talking about things they liked in your beta that won’t be true for your full course.
So for instance, if you’re coaching students through your beta, but your full course will be self-study, it won’t be helpful to have a testimonial where someone’s gushing about the individual attention they received from you.
Generally, it’s better for people to talk about your strengths as an instructor, the value of your methods and principles or the quality of your content.
And We’re Done!
Okay that’s it! We’re done with the lessons in this module. Be sure to check out all the resources and good luck running your beta!