Deanne Love Creates an Online course in Business Education. Hoop Dancing
Just when you thought we'd been through everything, we met Deanne Love, who was a former teacher at the primary level who became an online instructor who has been active in inspiring and teaching hundreds of students around the world to dance with hula hoops (aka hoop dancing) with the Hooplovers online school.
After being inspired by her accomplishments, we reached out to her to learn more about her incredible experience, and to give her tips to help other online instructors achieve success. The following is her tale:
From teacher at primary school to instructor on the web
Before she became an instructor online, Deanne Love taught as a primary education teacher from Australia for several years. She later relocated to Tokyo, Japan to live out her childhood fantasy of living on the bustling streets of the biggest, coolest city in the world , in her words. "I was possessed by this incredible desire to move in Tokyo in Japan and I decided to do it", says Deanne.
Her arrival in Tokyo in 2003, having accepted an one-year contract as a teacher, and after falling in love with Japan's culture and way of life it was decided that she wanted to remain for a longer period. It was there that she lived in Japan up to 2011 when the intensity and frequency of earthquakes were enough for her to return to Australia. In her time there, she also met her husband, whom she is currently her business partner at Hooplovers.
Deanne's interest in hoop dancing started in 2007, after she randomly discovered a YouTube video of a woman dancing with a hula hoop. Deanne is always a fan of dance, so naturally she was inspired. "I came across a girl on YouTube, and she was just rocking out", Deanne explains. "She was not a gymnast, she was just having fun and doing this insane beat, and at that moment I was just totally captivated. I was like, if she can do this, I can achieve this. I love dancing. This is going to be great."
The same day, Deanne purchased her first hula hoop and started practicing. As she researched and practiced her newfound love of hoop dancing, she realized that there was actually a large crowd of enthusiastic hoop dancers around the world. "I am practicing, and I realized that there was a planet around my adult population that were enjoying this new style of hoop dance, specifically in California and those in L.A. and San Francisco", says Deanne.
Quitting her job to be a full-time instructor of hoop dance
In 2009, having honed her skills as a hoop instructor and dancer Deanne took the plunge and quit her position to concentrate on helping others learn how to hoop dance on a regular basis. It was not an easy one for her to take. "I worked at an international school , and I was awestruck," says Deanne. "It was actually a hard decision because I really enjoyed my job."
But this new direction did allow Deanne to combine her passion for teaching with her passion for hoop dancing, so in that sense, it was an exciting transition for her. "I was a teacher so naturally I was still going for a career in teaching, even I was simply moving to a new direction," says Deanne.
In the beginning, most of her instruction was conducted offline. "We didn't have the platforms to share as succinctly like we do today", Deanne explains. "I did a lot of instructing in my real-life. I had workshops as well as a lot of classes, which was an important support for community and income and my teaching skills in dance."
Then she started making Hoop dance videos for free on the YouTube channel, which helped her to build her brand and audience online. "We first started on YouTube and still are a very active YouTube community. I instruct on YouTube every week, and it's absolutely free" Deanne says. Deanne. "So we thought"okay, if we are looking to build an enduring business, and would like our students to see the value and be a part of the community, the next step is to begin filming online courses."
Her first online course
When Deanne as well as her husband created their first hoop dancing course, they sold it together with their live classes from their site. It was essentially a collection of video tutorials that customers could download and use in addition to the live lessons. "We just shot some basic videos, like the fundamentals of hoop dance, and we put that into a video", says Deanne. "Then we had a really simple link on a very simple website that included the sale of my actual classes and the download."
Looking back on that first set of videos that they created, Deanne is proud to say that they've definitely come a long way. "It was so awful when compared to what we do today. It's now 'lights, camera in action!' the setup is formal, and we've put a lot of time and energy and funds into how we do our photography today, compared to then" Deanne says. Deanne. "It was not a great experience, but the crazy thing was that it actually worked, since there wasn't any of that kind of teaching online, especially in the niche market that we were working in. Thus, I was able succeed in establishing my reputation as an instructor."
After Deanne and her husband quit Japan in 2011 and relocated in 2011 to Melbourne, Australia, they decided to re-shoot the videos that were included in that download bundle. "We recreated the entire download package inside the space of a warehouse that had a an insane graffiti background. The lighting was not there, there was no studio, there was nothing but a microphone and it was all voiceover", Deanne explains. "In the days before we had cameras, we did what we could do with what we could find."
The early videos, though imperfect, helped them acquire their first customers, and also bring in revenue that could later be used to invest in their business. "Those early videos allowed us to build capital, to raise funds, so we could grow" she says Deanne. "And I believe that since we supplemented the online course with weekly YouTube videos that we provided lots of worth. Customers from the early days are still with us since we give away things for free they aren't afraid of repurchasing items because I'll provide value every time."
The process of creating their first course allowed them to understand the demands of their customers by analyzing the feedback they received. This feedback helped them make decisions as they created videos to help their customers. "It was not a one-time event, but the teaching and the business online and the building of community began to work together" Deanne says. Deanne. "We gained so much knowledge from our early years."
Utilizing to create an online academy
As their business evolved and their technology grew, so did the tools that they used to create and offer their online classes. The first time they used to bundle their video content in a single document that could be downloaded through a simple website. They later switched to WordPress however, they struggled to design a website that provided their customers with a user-friendly experience that was appropriate to their logo.
"I was looking for something that was more flexible and beautiful. It's hard enough to learn movement online, so I needed something very flexible and easy to use so that my students could be taught step-by-step in chapter after chapter and truly be patient if required to, or even have the option to rush through the course" she says Deanne. "I am always a student and also a school teacher so, and I also receive lots of feedback from my students on how they like to watch videos and the way they prefer to keep things to be really easy, so it has to be extremely user-friendly."
According to Deanne the company's customers didn't actually desire to download full videos to their computer. They just wanted to view a tiny amount at a stretch, and stream videos instead of downloading the entire video. Also, it was important for their customers that the user interface was easy to use.
That feedback from their customers became the criteria that guided their search for the right platform for hosting online their courses. That's when they discovered . "What we were searching for was something that could be a good fit for the students of all our classes and something I'd love to see", Deanne told us. "So when my husband found it, he said "I think this could be the one'."
It was crucial for Deanne to be able to customize the look of their website to match the branding they were using across other platforms, such as YouTube as well as social media. "I was looking for a modern contemporary, sleek user interface that was not too clunky", Deanne explains. "It was very essential to me to have a design that would match our branding, so that it wasn't a clone of the old school business software It was also important enable us to showcase our brand in a way that people are already familiar with, which would make our audience really at ease."
Another reason why they made the switch is because it made it possible for Deanne to create plans for courses that she wanted to create quickly and efficiently, without getting frustrated or delayed by technical challenges. "It was important to me that , as the idea for new courses and workshops came to me creatively, and I was developing them, it was possible to make them up for sale and could not be faced with the huge obstacles" Deanne says. Deanne. "My development of courses could be translated really quickly into . I could have the courses online in a short time, and they were easily accessible. they had a brand, and they were beautiful gorgeous, beautiful, and perfect."
Marketing Hooplovers and attracting students
We asked Deanne to share which strategies she's implemented have been the most effective for her, and we discovered that the vast majority of her revenue has come through just four strategies. They're not in any particular order. these are the strategies:
YouTube
The majority of hoop dancers flock to YouTube to search for videos that teach new dance moves. For that reason, creating a YouTube channel was an easy decision for Deanne. It wasn't a quick process however, now she has over 55,000 subscribers to her channel on YouTube, and most of her content receives hundreds of views within minutes of they were released. Her video How to Hula Hoop for Total Beginners For instance was watched more than 800,000 times since being released in 2013. Wow!
Two factors that have led to the popularity of Deanne's YouTube marketing strategy is its quality YouTube videos and her consistency. The videos she uploads are of high-quality on her channel each week. She also includes a link to her school online in each video description and on her homepage channel. "What We do is make a brand new YouTube video every week and that's obviously for no cost, but with the link, we also provide other points, either lessons or blog posts as well as printed-out the downloads they could use" she says. Deanne. Her videos are great resources to her current customers However, they also assist in bring in new customers through redirecting traffic from YouTube to her course website and email newsletter.
Discount coupons for the courses
The occasional discount on certain classes has made Deanne notice a dramatic increase in enrollment of students whenever she conducts an event. Deanne offers discounts mostly to the subscribers on the newsletter she sends out, however she sometimes offers discounts on courses to the followers of her social media accounts also.
" This has enabled us to give discount codes that are really beneficial for us as a company, and it is wonderful for our clients too since they can be rewarded to be so gorgeous and loyal", says Deanne. "From times to times, we have really great sales and can give just those who sign up for our newsletters discounts, which means it's like having a code just for them, or sometimes it might be for our Instagram fans."
Email marketing
Every successful online instructor knows the importance of having an email list of interested people in the subject of their class is crucial. Once you've got an email list of people who have subscribed to emails, you have the power to promote your latest content and courses to people who've asked to receive information from you. Therefore, when Deanne said that she has been focusing on email marketing since the beginning, she's focused on since the beginning, we weren't surprised. In the present, she has more than 13,000 people from around the world who are signed up to her monthly newsletter.
"My email marketing strategy is extremely solid, and we've been working hard to create a an effective email list. we accomplish this via all channels of social media however we also offer and attempting to make useful opt-ins" Deanne says. Deanne. "For instance, last year we created a fantastic video entitled 15 Hoop Dance Moves Your Body Will loveand we shot it on this gorgeous island in Queensland within Australia. Then we came back in Melbourne and I shot an instructional video for every one of these moves. And it is no cost when you sign up for our mailing list. So that is definitely my most direct and effective connection with the audience or with my community as well as with my students. I interact with them each week via email."
Social media
The two platforms that Deanne spends most time with is Facebook and Instagram. "I love Instagram" she says. Deanne. "It's very playful, and has full of a variety of movers and shakers which is fun for me. It's my personal branding. My Instagram is a reflection of my personal fashion, even although it's linked to Hooplovers. I'm able to appear authentic on Instagram that I love. videos are great for any movement/practice.
Between Facebook as well as Instagram, Deanne has close to 50,000 fans, who she shares videos, articles and images with regularly. Sometimes, she takes advantage of Facebook's advertising capabilities by running ads to promote the courses she offers. "Facebook is always there since its beginnings, and I do use it" she says Deanne. "We have our blog posts on Facebook also to market our courses."
Some helpful tips for online instructors
Deanne is sure to have learned a ton of valuable lessons as she built her business. To those who have just begun your journey in the field of online instructor and are thinking about creating an online class to give your experience and expertise with the world There are a few helpful pieces of advices that Deanne would like to share with you:
1. Become the face of your business
Do not be scared to make yourself the image of your company. Build a personal brand around the areas of your expertise. Also, ensure that the brand's identity is consistent across your site and social media platforms and email marketing. People are less interested in following specific companies, rather, they are more interested in following specific people. Show your audience that you are the individual in charge of your business.
Having a strong presence on YouTube and other social networks, as an example, has helped Deanne build a personal brand and is having a significant influence on her business. "When I really stepped into this role of being the face of the business this has made the branding so much stronger", Deanne explains. "So not only was it Hooplovers but we also had the woman who was me, Deanne Love, who customers could talk to as well as talk with, which made them feel like that they felt a sense of connection."
2. Don't wait to create your course
Don't let perfectionism keep you from launching your first online course. Be aware that the first course you create may not be perfect, then just go ahead and complete it. Sure, there's the possibility that not everybody that takes your class will like it. However, until you actually create the course and put it out on the market, you won't know.
"If you have an idea and have an audience , or growing an audience that is attracted to your idea, then don't wait" she says Deanne. "If I did not release any of my material and if I didn't develop any of my courses, I would not be able to receive that feedback. Just start now."
3. Be aware of your audience
While you are building your community and enroll students into your courses Be aware of the comments you get from them. Feedback, regardless of whether it is positive or not, is valuable. Listening to her audience has enabled Deanne to understand her customers' demands and issues, providing her with valuable insights to create additional courses and content that can help them."Contemporary Hoop dance is changing, so there's always something new" Says Deanne. "I listen to my customers really carefully, and I always ask them to open dialogue. Therefore, I have lots of connections with our customers and I listen to them and I offer them the things they truly need.
The future generation of Hoop Dance instructors
After a few seasons of success a successful hoop dance instructor, Deanne decided to create another online school called Hoop Love Coach which aims to assist others who are hoop dance instructors create lucrative businesses. Deanne created the course in response to all the requests she was receiving from people in her community that wanted to understand how to earn an income from teaching others how to dance hoop.
"For the past two years that we've been powering along with our online courses, there's been demand from other teachers or other hopeful teachers around the planet to create identical to the work we're doing", Deanne explains. "It's my largest course that trains teachers. There's plenty of things that go into the course. I truly love it. It's probably like my biggest passion because what I'm doing is more than just helping instructors to run hoop dancing classes, workshops and events, but also to start their own online business and own business for their community So I get to like pour both my business passion and my passion for hoop dance movements into this course of training."
Live a life that is full of freedom and fulfillment
Building a successful online teaching business has allowed Deanne to lead a life that is full of joy and happiness. Presently, she offers a collection of nine online classes (2 of which she offers gratis) and over 1600 students across the world, she is living her passion and helping others achieve just that every day.
"Making the switch to teach on the internet through Social Media has meant we are able to have the time and flexibility to travel, and to meet people from all over the world, but also share our love for teaching", says Deanne. "Our income has substantially increased. The simplicity of our course offerings is far beyond what we had imagined, and has transformed the way we create and share."