Joe Leech is a Dietitian from Sydney, with a Master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics. He’s also the founder of science-based website Diet vs. Disease. What he’s best known for, however, are his online courses.
Joe creates written and video content for those living with diet-related health conditions and diseases, and his online courses have gained a strong following. They serve to break down dense information – such as scientific reviews and bodies of evidence — into easily digestible and appealing visual content. Why online courses? As Joe says, if dietitians don’t start keeping up in this fast-paced digital world, they will face a disadvantage in the long run. And while online courses will never be a substitute for personalised advice from a dietitian, they can serve as a supplementary communication channel to help educate clients and provide background to help inform future in-person consultations.
We spoke with Joe recently for our DC podcast and came away with 10 steps on how you, too, can create an online course as a value-add for your dietetics business.
- To start: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Look at what others have done successfully in terms of online courses, and follow their lead. [Start with Joe’s online content!]
- Determine your subject matter. Start by looking at your website stats. You can see what topics people search for using google trends, and then create a program around that topic – because you have an existing audience! Joe found people searched for FODMAP diet information on his site, so he created two courses around that topic.
- Choose a format that’s enticing. You can create an e-book, use video, or combine both into your online course, as Joe does. He likes video because “people need to see your face.”
- Choose a platform that’s reliable. Joe uses teachable.com to host his content.
- Plan out the topics you wish to cover. Get feedback along the way: ask your social media audience what they’d like to see covered.
- Have the right tools. Joe uses a DSL-R camera and tripod, and also invested in a good microphone. For video, he says iPhone quality is good enough to capture your moments. Joe records a video, and then uses Movie Maker to edit it.
- Get support. Joe uses freelancers to polish his videos, add animations and create his transcripts and captions – so he can spend more time focusing on content
- Sell your course. Joe promotes his courses to those who sign up for his email list, and uses paid SEO [he says, think of time vs. money!].
- Keep your course current.With an online program, you can make changes easily as the research changes.
- FINISH WITH: Complement your online course with real-life services. Joe advises his audience to see a dietitian, as well as watching his courses.
LEARN MORE: Follow Joe online (click the link): www.dietvsdisease.org
https://www.facebook.com/johan.leech
https://twitter.com/dietvsdisease?lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgTog8jKIbcUod_MwJ7fc8g
Listen to the complete DC podcast with Joe