And now for something completely different: the next big thing from SPI

When it comes to community or courses, there is one universal truth: all roads lead to customer outcome.

If you don't know me, I'm the Director of Community Experience at SPI Media.

Since the start of 2022, I've been focused on creating a new kind of community experience that I've never seen before. It all started when I was tasked with creating a subscription model for our course catalog, but quickly evolved into something much more unique.

Throughout this project, my team sought to solve a problem encountered in the online course space. Or maybe a set of issues:

Oversaturation. The online course space is oversaturated. There's a course (or ten) for every topic you might want to learn more about. Completion rate. Online course completion rates range from 5-15% (depending on source). This tells us that people love buying courses much more than they love doing the work (no shade, I'm guilty of that too). Time commitment. Cohort-based courses offer a better experience than permanent courses, but require a greater time commitment. Obsolete curriculums. Cohort-based courses offer the ability to answer questions in real time, but the answers or solutions are unlikely to return to the main course curriculum. Similarly, evergreen course content is at risk of quickly becoming outdated. Time-consuming programming. Having a community component in a permanent course will not address low attendance or completion without integrated programming, which can be time consuming for community managers.

Ultimately, I tasked my team with creating something more supportive than a permanent course, different from a course community, and less time-consuming than a cohort-based course. A comprehensive learning experience that anyone, regardless of their level of digital entrepreneurship, would find valuable, whether they've purchased every course we've ever created or never heard of us. No big deal, right?

After LOTS of coffee and contemplation, the All-Access Pass was born, which is SPI's version of Community Courses. Keep reading for a breakdown of the key takeaways from our findings.

Let's pick up, community edition.

When it comes to community or courses, there is one universal truth:

All roads lead to the customer outcome.

Prioritize it above all else. If your customer can't visualize the result they'll get, they won't convert. That's why we've taken the concept of a course catalog and turned it into a measurable, multidimensional experience.

For us, the bottom line for the customer is mastering the skills they want to acquire through a top-notch support system that prioritizes accountability.

We measure the success of this goal through metrics (like engagement and course progress) while encouraging success through accountability checkpoints and certificates of completion.

Take (calculated) risks.

We are making significant changes and have intentionally thought about how these changes might impact our incredibly supportive existing customers. That's why we don't just launch a course catalog.

The hill I will die on is that I want someone who has purchased all of the courses we sell to see the value of joining All-Access Pass. They already own all the courses, why would they join? Because it's not a course catalog. It'san immersive experience.

We have designed accountability programs, curated learning paths, additional resources and materials, and continuous learning opportunities with additional workshops. Oh, and a thriving community where it all happens (of course). There is so much added value in the experience that the course content almost takes a back seat.

Do it your way.

It can be easy to get caught up in what others are doing and feel obligated to do the same. Member communities and newsletters are two great examples of recent trends that everyone seems compelled to start because everyone is doing it.

It can be hard to avoid getting caught up in trends, so review who your customer is and what result they want to achieve. Use your expertise and skills to deliver this in a way that works for you and your client. At SPI, we've seen a lot of creators lean into cohort-based courses as we choose to prioritize a different route (the All-Access Pass) that better serves our customers.

Don't be afraid to try new things. You must be...