Selling does feel heavier right now. Not because people don’t want to learn. Not because courses are dead. But because we’re in what I’d call a trust recession.
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People are slower to buy than they used to be. They’re more cautious with their money. They’re asking more questions. They’re looking for proof, not promises.
A lot of buyers have been burned. By big names. By polished launches. By programs that sounded complete but turned out to be partial solutions.
So now, instead of impulse purchases, we’re seeing hesitation. Discernment. Longer decision-making cycles.
That doesn’t mean your offer is broken. It means the market is more mature.
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Courses aren’t dead. But the way people buy them has changed.
Look at someone like Jenna Kutcher. She stopped her podcast, but she didn’t stop selling. She’s investing real money into ads for programs she created years ago. The Pinterest Lab. Start & Grow Your Email List. The Podcast Lab. Even affiliate offers like website templates.
She’s not creating new programs every five minutes. She’s putting ad spend behind existing ones and getting a return.
For her, those courses are passive now.
Not because they magically sell themselves. But because she made a conscious decision to trade hustle for ad dollars.
That’s the part people seem to skip.
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Courses are not passive by default.
They become more passive when you decide how they’ll be sold.
By you.
Or by ads.
If you’re not spending money to distribute your offer, you’re spending time. That’s not a failure. It’s a tradeoff. But it’s one you need to name honestly.
Take me, for example.
I have a $15 PDF I created over two years ago. I’ve spent exactly $0 on ads. I mention it in Instagram stories. I talk about it at networking events. When I talk about it, it sells.
Is it a massive revenue stream? No. It brings in a few hundred dollars a month.
Is it passive? Also no.
I’m trading time and attention instead of money. I could put ad spend behind it and make it more passive. I’ve just chosen not to. At least not yet.
That choice matters.
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Here’s where the real issue shows up.
A lot of people bought courses thinking they were buying an outcome, when they were actually buying a partial system.
They learned how to create something, but not how to market it. Or sell it. Or support it long term.
Programs like Digital Creators Academy taught people how to build a course. But many creators walked away without a full understanding of list building, ongoing sales, infrastructure, or backend support.
You can’t build a puzzle with missing pieces and then blame yourself when the picture doesn’t make sense.
That gap creates frustration. And over time, it erodes trust.
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In a trust recession, hype doesn’t work.
People don’t want exaggerated income claims. They don’t want “set it and forget it” language. They want the whole picture.
They want to know:
What’s actually involved
What effort is required
What tradeoffs they’re making
What support exists after the purchase
Transparency is no longer optional. It’s the price of entry.
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This is also why I don’t call myself a coach. I know too much about the full ecosystem.
In a coaching container, you’re constantly guessing what someone knows, what they don’t, and what they’ll realistically implement. And the truth is, a lot of people either don’t want to learn certain things or don’t have the bandwidth to.
They don’t want another lesson; They want it handled. That’s why I work as a service provider.
I set up the tech that hosts and sells your programs. I build the systems that onboard clients. I clean up the backend that quietly drains your energy. Then I explain how it all works, so you’re informed without being overwhelmed.
You stay in your zone of genius.
Your business gets infrastructure that actually supports it.
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You don’t need to burn your programs. You don’t need to swear off courses. You don’t need to chase “passive income” as a concept. You just need to decide how you want to sell what you’ve already built.
With your time.
Or with your money.
And you need systems that can support either choice.
That’s what holds up when trust is fragile.