My Digital Course Academy Review in 2023
Digital Course Academy (AKA DCA) is an online course that teaches you to make your own online courses.
Before you start reading this, I just want you to know that I totally understand where you’re at right now! You’re in the exact place I was a few years back researching Amy Porterfield Digital Course Academy to see if this course really had the potential to change my life. (Spoiler alert, It does)
I remember searching for digital course academy reviews all over the place to see if anyone was saying they failed, and was constantly blown away by the numbers I was seeing. People having 20-100k launches on topics that seemed really simple or completely uninteresting to me, but that’s what I saw.
I will get to my own story in a bit, but if you really where I was a few years ago, and you’re ready to shake things up, impact more people, and make more time to simply live your life while making more money…keep reading.
I’m going to break this information down as clearly as I can, because I know you’re curious about how a course can take you from a dream to a six figure or even 7 figure business (I’m part of the Momentum group and have seen it become a reality for so many people that go through the course).
It’s not magic, although it may seem like it. It’s an elegantly designed program that helps take you from an idea, to a full blown course that serves as your new source of passive income.
What Is Digital Course Academy?
But first, who the heck is Amy Porterfield? Amy will say that her story starts as she was working for Tony Robbins, and then ventured out on her own. She had her own moment near breakdown moment, that made her realize that she wanted to create a life that gave her more freedom. That’s when she started teaching about marketing.
Through this process, Webinars that Convert and Digital Course Academy were born, she combined the two to create DCA (aka Digital Course Academy). This woman knows how to create an incredible course, and it’s the gold standard for how your own course. Something beautiful to aspire to as you’re creating.
I first stumbled upon Amy Porterfield when I heard her podcast “Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield.” I loved her teaching style, and probably listened to half of what she’s created…which is a lot.
This woman is prolific.
Now, Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy feels a little meta. It’s a course all about making a course, but the truth is that is so much more than that. I cannot imagine having created my own course without going through Digital Course Academy.
This course has strategically designed modules to really break down the process and move you to the finish line, all while creating something you’re incredibly proud of.
I’ll break down the specifics of the course in a moment, but a higher level view of Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy, is that it’s 7 modules with various lessons that you watch alongside PDFs and Support documents that help you design and launch your own course.
It not only helps you to design and create your own course, it helps you to craft an experience for your own students, and it helps you to learn exactly how to market it with additional resources like a workshop, a webinar or even going evergreen.
Join the waitlist or click through here to sign on up.
Now for a more detailed breakdown for those of us that live for the details.
What’s Included With The Course:
The 7 Implementation Modules
If you’re brand new to digital courses, and you’ve never heard the word modules before, then same. I was there too. It’s a word you’ll be hearing a lot though. These are essentially the different chapters that contain your lessons. Here they are:
Welcome to DCA
- Lesson 1: The Digital Course Academy Roadmap
- Lesson 2: Start Here! DCA New Student Orientation
- Lesson 3: DCA Accountability Pods
- Lesson 4: How to Get Instant Momentum
Module 1: The 9 Key Decisions
- Snapshot
- Lesson 1: Decision #1: Choosing Your Course Topic
- Lesson 2: Decision #2 Defining your Ideal Customer Avatar
- Lesson 3: Decision #3 Selecting your Course Type
- Lesson 4: Decision #4 Declaring Your Course Transformation Statement
- Lesson 5: Decision #5 Crafting a Stellar Course Name
- Lesson 6: Decision #6 Pricing your Course
- Lesson 7: Decision #7 Choosing Your Course Content Creation Strategy
- Lesson 8: Decision #8: Selecting Your Tech Set Up
- Lesson 9: Decision #9: Scheduling Your Launch Dates
Module 2: Validating Your Course
- Snapshot
- Lesson 1: The Course Calls Strategy
- Lesson 2: Social Validation Strategies
- Lesson 3: The First 10 Strategy
Module 3: The Art Of Outlining & Recording Your Course
- Snapshot
- Lesson 1: How to Outline Your Course
- Lesson 2: Refining your Course Outline
- Lesson 3: The Course Support Strategy
- Lesson 4: Choosing your Recording Strategy
- Lesson 5: The Art of Teaching Inside a Digital Course
- Lesson 6: Recording Tips and Tricks
Module 4: The Digital Course Sales Blueprint
- Snapshot
- Lesson 1: Crafting Your Irresistable Launch Offer
- Lesson 2: Setting Your Launch Revenue Goal
- Lesson 3: The Digital Course Sales Page Blueprint
- Lesson 4: The Behind-The-Scenes Tour of a High Converting Sales Page
- Lesson 5: How to Create a 30-Day Pre-Launch Runway
Module 5: The Profitable Webinar Framework
- Snapshot
- Lesson 1: The Profitable Webinar Framework
- Lesson 2: The Profitable Webinar Slide by Slide Walkthrough
- Lesson 3: The Golden Rules for Delivering a Profitable Webinar
- Lesson 4: How to Map out Your Live Webinars
- Lesson 5: The 5 Key Elements of a Successful Webinar Registration Page
- Lesson 6: The 7 Strategies to Boost Webinar Sign-Ups
Module 6: Crafting Your Email Sequences
- Snapshot
- Lesson 1: How to Craft your Webinar Invite Emails
- Lesson 2: How to Craft Your Pre-Webinar Emails
- Lesson 3: How to Craft your Webinar Replay Email
- Lesson 4: How to Craft your Post Webinar Emails
- Lesson 5: How to Craft your Post-Webinar Sales Booster Emails
- Lesson 6: How to Craft your New Customer Onboarding Emails
- Lesson 7: The Live Launch Wrap Up
Celebrate:
- The Digital Course Academy Celebration!
- Your Personal Hype Video
Course Bonuses
These are incredibly helpful as you create your online course, and I’ll update this list as soon as Amy announces her newest bonuses for 2023.
Plus students will receive these bonuses to help generate unstoppable momentum (and keep it) through their course launch…
- CORE BONUS 1: 9 Weeks of Live Q&A with Amy & Team Inside the Digital Course Academy™️ Community for Members Only
- Access To Bonus: Upon Purchase
- Value: $1,497
- CORE BONUS 2: How to Turn Your Live Launch into a Profit Generating Evergreen Funnel
- Access To Bonus: After Refund Period
- Value: $497
- CORE BONUS 3: Start from Scratch Module: How to Kickstart Your Email List to Grow Your Online Business
- Access To Bonus: Upon Purchase
- Value: $197
- PAY IN FULL BONUS: How to Use Paid Ads to Fill Up Your Webinars
- Access To Bonus: After Refund Period
- Value: $997
The Facebook Group
I cannot overstate how incredibly vital it is to have an incredible community as you go through this process. I am not going to sugar coat it. As with anything entrepreneurial, there will be emotional ups and downs, technical difficulties and having a very vocal and thriving community to bring things to is so helpful.
The Tech Library
I ended up here in the tech library multiple times as I was setting things up. This was so helpful to have. It’s extensive! There were many things that I already knew or had access to, but if you are just starting out in the online marketing world, this is going to save you so much time. Here you’ll find tutorials on:
Resources
These additional resources, are again, so helpful. Amy Porterfield has launched this her digital course over many years, and has learned to give you exactly what you need. One of the best resources in here is the one by Bobby Klink.
I’ve hired lawyers to create contracts for me before, and ended up paying more for a single contract than the cost of this online course.
Not only does he give you exactly what you need to keep you and your business safe, he walks you through line by line.
These are the resources that you never knew you needed, but that are essential for any online business, or anyone launching a course.
You also get access to discount codes for various software or programs that you may end up needing as you create and launch.
Kajabi for example was one that I ended up purchasing through Amy. With her Kajabi code, I also got access to her exact pipelines and sales page designs through Kajabi. They just loaded them into my account when I asked.
The Q&A Vault
Got a silly question that comes up through the course, well check here in the Q and A vault. As mentioned, so many people have gone through this program, that your question has likely been encountered before.
What Makes This Course So Special?
After going through this course, I would never recommend another online course on creating your own course. Again, this is such a thoughtfully designed program that really holds your hand through the process.
You won’t get the course done without putting in the work, but when you’ve committed to doing it, this is the way.
Also, just by the numbers, Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy has an incredible success rate. Not just in how they have designed and implemented their own course, but also in how they are leading students to success.
I have seen many stories in the Momentum group (additional optional membership after DCA), where students had a digital course, or they were wary of doing things exactly as Amy says, but once they followed her directions step by step, they saw incredible results.
Amy knows her stuff. At this point she has enrolled thousands of students and made millions of dollars from her online course. As you go through, you’ll see that she is teaching you to do things exactly how she does them.
Are You The Right Fit For Digital Course Academy?
Honestly, I’m going to break down who this digital course is for, but you wouldn’t believe the courses that have had insane success. Elementary school teachers, I’ve seen someone make thousands off the first launch teaching people how to make broth. One thing that Amy says is that if you know just 10% more about a subject than someone else, you can turn it into an online course.
I also worked with an incredibly successful course creator (generating multiple six figures while traveling with two small kids) on her personal branding images. She told me that your course should be made for YOU (people that are similar), just you a year or two ago. The exact details you would have wanted to know, is what people will want from your online course.
But also if you’re:
- Tired of exchanging your time for money
- You want to have more impact
- You want to create passive income
- You’d love to share what you know and help others
- You want to make more money for yourself and your family.
If any of those sound like you, then I would absolutely say that Digital Course Academy is right up your alley. It doesn’t matter if you have no audience. I didn’t. It doesn’t matter if you are totally new to this, or don’t feel like an expert.
Now this course is NOT for you if:
You have no desire to put in the work to make this happen. Trust me, this will take work. These courses don’t just come into existence from thin air. You’ve got to commit.
As I was creating my own course, I realized that there is a reason why not everyone has a course, and why this is still a great passive income stream. People don’t know how to do this, (which is why you need a course like DCA) and it’s work. It’s work that you’ve got to commit to.
So if you are the type that isn’t ready or willing to put in the work for a return, then this course is not right for you.
FAQs
Taking this online course has been the best decision I’ve made in years. The price tag may seem steep at first, but when you consider what’s included and how much your learning from these videos and how much your return can be. Not going to lie though. I literally screamed when I clicked the button to submit my credit card details. The truth is that I wasn’t afraid of whether or not the course would be good, I knew it would be. It was my lack of belief in myself. BUT after going through it, I just have to say that as long as you follow the framework she has designed, you’re going to make it happen.
Yes, Amy worked for Tony Robbins before she started doing her own online courses. When Amy Porterfield started her own business, she did so with the lessons learned from working for Tony Robbins. It’s clear that he is able to put people in another headspace and make them think differently than they ever have before!
In 2023, people are learning more and more about how to use new technology. As a result of this growing trend toward e-learning courses (or “online schooling”), there’s never been an easier time for anyone looking into creating their own course to help share their skills and knowledge as a passive income stream than creating a profitable digital course. Creating an online course is a huge undertaking, so the first step is to find a mentor or someone that already knows the ropes. Trying to DIY a course will lead to so much time wasted. I advise following success. Find others that have already done it and been successful, and there’s no one that has more experience than Amy Porterfield when it comes to teaching this process.
This feels like such an overwhelming topic, but it’s broken down beautifully in the course. Don’t waste your time thinking about it until you get into the course. It has a lot to do with what type of course you create, how much you include, and what exactly you’re offering to your students. My first course was $197 and my second was $997. I felt really confident in my numbers after going through the course.
Digital Course Academy is a ten week program that is released one module at a time. This is really helpful because this course is so jam packed with goodies and details that it would be overwhelming to get it all at once. The energy during those ten weeks with the releases and the Facebook group is amazing, but you have lifetime access to the course.
Just head on over to the Digital Course Academy sales page (she will teach you how to make one of these too), and click on the payment option that you prefer. This will take you to a form where you can fill in your email and credit card information. Then you’ll get a login through your email to get started with everything that’s released before the first module. And remember, you still have that 14-day refund policy to see if you are a great fit for the program.
Yep! The beauty of this refund policy is that it’s a 14 day money back guarantee. This is enough time for you to go through two full modules. You can determine the major key decisions during this time and start getting the ball rolling. Even if you aren’t sure what your topic will be just yet, that first 14 days will help you decide. If you can’t get into it or it’s just not right for you, reach out to her helpful virtual team and ask for a refund.
Digital Course Academy starts in September of 2022.
Amy puts all of her effort into the students that go through Digital Course Academy each year. The doors to her program only open once a year, so if you aren’t ready just yet, you have another year before you have the chance to get in again.
Yes! I actually went into Digital Course Academy with a plan, but I ended up with a second course idea right off the bat. Again, if you’re worried about not being able to come up with a topic, there is that 14 day money back guarantee.
My personal Experience with Digital Course Academy
Watching the master at work before you create your own course. An incredible example
I am so in love with Digital Course Academy, and would recommend it to anyone. I’ve chosen to be an affiliate for this course, which means that if you purchase through me, I get a bonus. As such, I am including some additional bonuses for you if you purchase DCA through my link.
You get access to my Personal Brand Vision course that will help you decide how you want to be seen in the world as a personal brand and plan the visuals that will help you accomplish that.
In addition to that, I’ve got an early-bird bonus for the first ten people to sign up for me. Which is a free personalized plan, where I will personally help you to plan your visuals for marketing on social media and online for your course. This personalized plan will be designed to help you market your specific course topic to your specific audience all while showing the authentic you.
The visuals we plan for you here are strategically designed and will help you to launch, pitch, and sell your course when the time comes, as well as set you up as the authority in your niche and trust me, I’ve had a lot of experience with exactly what you’ll need!
The doors to Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy are closed until September 7th, but you can still join her free Masterclass to learn more about Amy, her teaching style and see if a course is right for you.
My Experience With Digital Course Academy
How I Discovered Amy
It feels like a lifetime ago, but in the past I had no idea who Amy Porterfield was. I am a photographer and as the personal branding photography niche started growing, I realized that I was in a bit of a blue ocean. I had so many photographers asking me how I started and ran a business with entrepreneurs. Back to that in a second.
One day I was doing a shoot with a business owner that had launched her own course the year before. I was so curious about her experience and what that looked like. I am truly in love with the work that I do and the fact that I get to ask these kinds of questions on the job. Well, my lovely entrepreneur let me know that she was able to stay home with her kids, and that she had doubled what she was making the year before. In fact, her first launch brought in $60k for her business. Excuse me? What?! Yep, her first launch brought in as much as some people make in a year. And the cool thing about launching is that you can do it more than once a year.
In fact, most people do it two to four times a Year.
Since that meeting, I have gone on to photograph her again, and she updated me with her income. Even during covid her business was bringing in upwards of $300k a year just selling courses. Nothing else.
As a new mom, this sounded like an absolute dream. You mean I could create a course, and not have to be in person while I make money? Whoa. Mind blown. This was a completely new concept for me. A completely new possibility that I’d never considered before.
So I went in search of answers.
I wanted to know how this all worked, and find out what the reality was for others. Through my search, I stumbled upon Amy Porterfield and her podcast. I have to be honest, I wasn’t super drawn to her in the beginning. There was that didn’t resonate with me. She seemed a bit scripted in her podcasts and videos, but I kept listening because I kept learning so much from her.
When I tell you that over time, the amount of information that I gleaned from that woman was transformative. She is an absolute powerhouse. In fact, that word is perfect for her. While at first she seemed really scripted to me, I began to really appreciate her style. She may have been reading in her podcasts and videos, but she was so methodical and clear when it came to delivering high quality content. There was less fluff, and even when she was off the cuff, she was totally on it.
Creating My Own Digital Course
Digital Course Academy Review 2023
Creating my own digital course after going through DCA, was anything but a straight shot from idea to completion. In fact, it took me much longer than I had expected. A couple of caveats though, I ended up finding out I was pregnant with our second right before things came to a screeching halt with COVID. I had to pull back from work to take care of my toddler during quarantine and I simply didn’t have time to work on everything as I’d hoped. In addition to that, I decided to sort of veer from the plan a create an easier course first.
The first course that I made was not my “signature course” a term you’ll learn about in DCA. It was one that I knew I could implement more quickly. I am so glad I did it this way. I made all the mistakes, and got into a major groove with my first course, and took lots of lessons into my second one. Both times, I worked through DCA from start to finish to ensure that I was taking the right steps, because trust me, you don’t want to do this on your own. It’s just too much.
By the time I started working on the course that had inspired me to purchase Digital Course Academy in the first place, there was still a child care shortage due to COVID, I had two kids at home, was still taking personal branding shoots to bring in money, so I found time in the mornings starting between 4:30am and 5am until the kids woke up. The added benefit of this is that you could’t hear the inevitable sounds of baby and toddler screams and giggles in the other room and I got a lot of recording time in.
I also utilized a newer strategy that you’ll find in the course called the Founding Member’s strategy. I needed this so bad. This one little thing set a fire under me. My family was sick, and I was booked solid, but I still found time to finish my course and get it launched because of this strategy. I highly recommend utilizing this strategy for all of my fellow perfectionists out there. Essentially it teaches you how to presell your course before you’ve actually made anything. It keeps you accountable to the people you’ve had sign up, and it also helps you to design the exact offer they are looking. Again, I know the cost of this course seems like such a high price to pay, but as long as you are willing to put in the work to the end, it’s nothing but an investment in your future with a massive return.
The first course that I launched, and I launched it just by sending out a couple emails, made me $2000 overnight. This was a course priced at just $97, so I was blown away by that. I continued to sell it through COVID that first year in 2020 and brought in many thousands more on autopilot.
My second course for photographers was launched at the end of 2021. I opted out of doing webinars because I was doing this all with two babies in tow. I know I wouldn’t have had better results with a webinar, but the first launch using only emails to launch was just shy of $10k. I have since turned that course to an evergreen course, and have it selling on autopilot at all times, again making many thousands more.
I also decided to join the Momentum group after going through DCA, this is a membership through Amy Porterfield that you can join to get a little more hand holding after going through her course. The best part of the whole experience was the Facebook group. I can’t tell you how many times I was exhausted, and feeling like I was falling behind, only to see another insane success story in the group. I kid you not, there were people in there doing launches that brought in half a million dollars in one go.
That was rare, but most people right out the gate were bringing in a few thousand to five figures. It was all the motivation I needed to keep going. If you are also on the fence, and still don’t know if this will work for you, let me ask you a couple of questions. Do you have follow through? Are you able to complete the things you start?
So Should You Do It?
If you have never finished a course before, or you’ve had trouble implementing the things you’ve learned, I wouldn’t suggest going through this course.
However, if you are motivated by the thought of being able to have a new and profitable source of passive income, this course is for you. You can’t go wrong unless you have no intention of actually completing it. It is possible to create a profitable digital course if you just take the steps she walks you through.
Looking to find out more?
Amy Porterfield, is hosting a FREE Masterclass called How To Recession-Proof Your Business with One Digital Course: 5 Strategies To Create & Launch a Profitable Digital Course From Scratch. Click here to save your seat – I’ll be there!
To how you’ll record your course (even if tech is NOT your thing) and even how to pre-sell your course so you have revenue to work with early on…
Amy will map out a proven path to create a digital course that allows you to take control of your future and your finances, while creating stability for you and your people, no matter what the outside world is doing.