This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Welcome back, Side Hustlers. Thanks for tuning in. It's Chris Guillebeau, your host. We're all about helping you make extra money without quitting your job by using a skill you already have without going into debt, all good things. And today we're spicing things up with a question from a chef and food blogger from Miami.
He's stirring the pot with his Latin Asian fusion cuisine. Sounds delicious. I'm ready to eat. Through his blog, he has cooked up a community of food enthusiasts, eager to taste these culinary creations. But now he wants to expand the brand into the digital content space.
What is best? Does he write an ebook, create an online course or something else? And there's always so many choices, right? You come to this crossroads where you could make all kinds of stuff. How do you choose?
So sometimes we can answer that question more generally. And sometimes we look at it in the form of a little case study or a specific situation. And here we are in this specific situation for a common dilemma. The menu of options we could say is as varied as your recipes. All right, I'll try to tone that down.
Should I make an ebook online course or something else? That is the question, the detailed version in my answer coming right up. [Music]
Hi, I'm Arjun, a chef and food blogger based in Miami. I specialize in Latin Asian fusion cuisine and have built a following on food enthusiasts on my blog. I came across your show and books while looking for ways to expand my brand.
I'm contemplating creating digital content, but I'm unsure whether an ebook, an online course or another format would be best. How should I decide on the right medium to engage my audience and maximize my reach? [Music]
Well, this sounds like a fun challenge to solve. And it sounds like the caller is in a great spot, right? Because now he has an audience, he knows that people like this content and like they're ready to buy most likely.
I would imagine if they've been following for a while, then they are the best possible candidates to purchase the ebook, the course, whatever it turns out to be. And I would say also at the top, it doesn't have to just be one thing. It can be an ebook with some audio and video. So therefore it is sort of an online course, just not called an online course. Like sometimes it actually allows you to charge a higher price if you have more than just an ebook or more than just a video series, because there's not really a good comp for it.
If people see just an ebook, they're like, oh, but on Amazon, every ebook is $10 or less. So you can't sell it for $50 or $100 or at least it's harder to. Whereas if you take an ebook and add some audio and video, then it allows you to charge a premium. But to go to the basic question, ebook versus online course versus something else, first things first, consider the audience. Who are they?
Are they home cooks looking for quick tips or are they foodies that are doing this like deep dive into culinary arts, very different audience, right? Also, how do they consume content? Do they prefer reading at their own pace or do they want to learn through visual demonstrations? So those are just a couple of questions, but the big thing is to consider your audience. Also consider your strengths and resources, assess your strengths.
Like what's your comfort zone? Like what are you best at? And, you know, eBooks can be less resource intensive, but other people really like being behind the camera and that doesn't stress them out. So what are you best at? And then do some market research.
Like what else is out there? What other courses? Maybe it's not a direct competition, it's more indirect, but what are other food bloggers in your niche doing? Think about gaps you can fill and how you can do something that both aligns with what is out there, but it's also a little bit different. I think that's the key, to align your choice with your audience's needs and your unique strengths as a chef and blogger in this case, or for our listeners doing something else, whatever your roles are.
Whether it's an ebook, an online course or something else, choose the format that best serves up your expertise in a way that the audience is most familiar with. That's what you do. And I think it can work. I am excited. Let us know how it goes.
Listeners, if you have a question, some feedback, notes, sidehustleschool.com, we'll continue to feature them throughout the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch and grow their projects. I'm so glad you're out there. Thank you for being part of this community. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
from the Onward Project.
