“No Course Yet? Perfect.” — Why Pre-Selling Is the Smartest First Move (Even If You’re Still Figuring It Out)
You don’t need a finished course to make money
Let’s get this straight: You do not need a perfect curriculum, flawless slides, or a pro mic setup to start selling your course.
In fact? The smartest online course strategy for coaches, creatives, and service providers is to sell first, build later.
That voice in your head saying “But I don’t have my course done yet”? We’re muting her today.
Because you can absolutely pre-sell your course before you build it—get paid, validate your idea, and use that momentum to create from confidence instead of fear.
Always choose faith over fear.
And yes, you can do it while still sipping your green juice and looking all cute in your messy bun and sweats.
Let’s rewrite the lie that’s keeping you stuck
You’ve probably heard it before:
“You need a full course built before you sell anything.”
“You need a big audience first.”
“You need weeks of filming, editing, launching…”
Sincerely, f*ck that LOL like whattt?!
You don’t.
Here’s the truth:
✨ You don’t need perfection. You need proof.
✨ You don’t need more planning. You need a pre-sale.
The real flex? Selling your course before you record a single lesson.
That's sexy.
And that's exactly how I teach it inside ACA.
Here’s how to pre-sell your course before you build it
✨ 1. Start with your lived experience
You don’t need to be the #1 expert in your field—you just need to be 10% ahead of your clients to be 100% of value to them.
What have you walked through that someone else is struggling with?
What process have you repeated with clients?
What transformation have you lived that others want too?
Turn that into a 3–5 step framework.
Boom: you’ve got a course idea.
✨ 2. Build a simple interest list to validate the idea
Don’t overthink this.
Create a waitlist page (I teach this step-by-step inside ACA). Pop a form on it.
Then start gently sharing the journey: i.e. “I’m building something for women who want to [insert transformation]. Want first dibs?”
Now your people feel seen. And curious.
✨ 3. Write a pre-sale offer that feels exciting (not exhausting)
You’re not building a 10-module beast here.
You’re inviting early birds into a “first cohort” or “founding members” with you.
Lower the price. Increase the intimacy. Keep it chill.
Example: “Join me for the first round of my new course that teaches X. You’ll get early access, lifetime updates, and the chance to co-create this with me.”
✨ 4. Sell it before you create it
Send 3–5 emails to your list. Talk about your process, the pain you’re solving, the excitement you feel.
Let people buy access before it’s built.
(And if you’re sweating right now, deep breath: this is exactly what we map out together in ACA).
✨ 5. Let Stripe validate your idea
There is no greater idea validation than seeing people sign up for something you haven’t even built out yet.
Now, instead of second-guessing your niche or over-editing your outline, you’re building for actual buyers—essentially, you're getting paid to create your course, and your founding members can have a big say in the type of content they want to see in the course.
You deserve a business that pays you in the process
You deserve a business that pays you while you build it.
No more weeks lost in trial-and-error, creating a course you’re not even sure people want.
No more content vaults collecting dust.
No more months of prepping for burnout launches.
No more wondering if your course will ever sell.
You build once.
You validate early.
You give your people what they want.
It's a win win ❤️
If you’re ready to learn how to create and sell your own online course even before you film a single lesson...
✨ Watch the free masterclass:
