Course Lab: Lessons from Successful Online Course Creators

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Course-creation expert James Marland shares how personal setbacks led him to empower therapists and educators through online courses. His experience highlights the value of niching down, embracing imperfection, and recording wins — with actionable wisdom for growing a mission-driven course business.

James Marland is the founder of Course Creation Studio and host of the Scaling Therapy Practice podcast.

In this episode, Ari, Abe, and James discuss:
  • 06:08 — The Importance of Niching
  • 06:54 — Attracting Your Ideal Client
  • 11:21 — Embracing Authenticity Through Storytelling
  • 14:17 — Passion Over Profit
  • 18:05 — Using a Cohort Model for Personalized Learning
  • 21:26 — Building Client Relationships Online
  • 25:30 — Joyful Niching in Work
  • 26:08 — Insightful Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs


“Answer the question, not where are my clients, but how do I help them find me? Because they're already looking. Your ideal client is already looking for you.” — James Marland


Guest Bio:

James Marland is the passionate founder of Course Creation Studio, where he empowers educators, therapists, and changemakers to amplify their impact through online courses. With a backstory marked by a transformative career shift, James turned a personal crisis into a calling—dedicating himself to helping others harness their potential. A believer in the power of starting small to achieve great things, James champions a practical, step-by-step approach to learning and innovation. At Course Creation Studio, he guides mission-driven professionals to craft compelling educational experiences and write their own success stories. Committed to lifelong learning and grounded in his faith, James inspires his audience to step out of their comfort zones and make a meaningful difference. To support his mission, he is also the founder and host of the Scaling Therapy Practice podcast.

Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:

Mirasee
Ruzuku
Course Creation Studio: CourseCreationStudio.com
Scaling Therapy Practice podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7LlAlEJr39YRD3FCTCm9Vf?si=a96d093078234f0b

Credits:

Hosts: Ari Iny and Abe Crystal
Producer: Michi Lantz
Editor: Andrew Chapman
Executive Producer: Danny Iny
Music Soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely
Making our hosts sound great: Home Brew Audio

To catch the great episodes that are coming up on Course Lab, please follow us on Mirasee FM's YouTube channel or your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It's the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.


Music credits:

Track Title: Bossa BB
Artist Name: Marie
Writer Name: Chelsea McGough
Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Coo Coos
Artist Name: Dresden, The Flamingo
Writer Name: Matthew Wigton
Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Grace
Artist Name: Shimmer
Writer Name: Matthew Wigton
Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

Track Title: Carousel Lights
Artist Name: Chelsea McGough
Writer Name: Chelsea McGough
Writer Name: Matthew Wigton
Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION
Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

Special effects credits:
24990513_birds-chirping_by_promission used with permission of the author and under license by AudioJungle/Envato Market.

Episode transcript: Daily Wins, Niching Down, and Course Creation That Works (James Marland) coming soon.

Creators and Guests

Host
Abe Crystal
Host
Ari Iny
Editor
Andrew Chapman
Guest
James Marland
Producer
Michi Lantz

What is Course Lab: Lessons from Successful Online Course Creators?

Want to create a hugely successful online course, one that has a major impact on the lives of your students? If you want to learn how to create online courses from the best, you turn to Mirasee; and if you want to host that course, you can’t go wrong using the powerful platform, Ruzuku.

Ruzuku co-founder Abe Crystal and Mirasee founder and CEO Danny Iny know what it takes to stand out and be successful in the online courses industry. And now they’re teaming up to share this intel with you in their new Course Lab podcast.

In every episode, Course Lab showcases an entrepreneur/course creator who is nailing it with their online course -- and not because they’re teaching people how to make more money. In fact, most of these creators occupy unusual or overlooked niches, like music, writing for video games, overcoming inherent bias, and finding your life purpose.

Turns out, the key to their success all comes down to their online course design. In this podcast, Danny and Abe reveal the most important design tactics that are making all the difference for these online course creators -- and how you can implement them in your own online course. So if you want to create a successful online course that changes the lives of your students, this is your big chance to learn how it’s done from the best in the industry!