Lesson 10 of 13 · Module 4: Package and Position
Price and Position Your Course Honestly
Write a one-page price and position statement for your mini-course.
Interactive demo · The Anchor Calculation, Live
Objective
Why This Matters
Pricing anxiety and positioning so vague it’s for everyone are two more ways a genuinely good course dies before it ships. You price deals for a living and you know the number always needs a defensible anchor behind it, not a feeling. Apply that same discipline here instead of copying a competitor’s price or picking a round number that feels safe.
The Technique
Anchor the price to something real, not a guess. Three real anchors: the cost of the problem to your audience (what are they currently losing in time or money by not solving it), the cost of the nearest alternative (a consultant, a competing course, months of trial and error), or direct willingness-to-pay data you actually collected in Lesson 1. Use whichever one you have real evidence for, and name it explicitly in the write-up.
Write the positioning as two sentences, not one paragraph of qualifiers. “For” names the specific starting state from Lesson 2. “Not for” is equally important and usually skipped: naming who it’s explicitly not for is what keeps the course sharp instead of trying to serve everyone and serving no one well.
Pilot pricing is allowed to say what it is. “Priced as a pilot cohort rate, not a full launch price” is an honest statement, not a weakness, and it sets the right expectation with your first real learner in Lesson 11.
Watch For This
Good
- “Priced at $X because your own validation conversations named this problem costing roughly $Y per month in [specific cost], making this a fraction of that cost.”
- Positioning names both who it’s for and who it’s explicitly not for, in one sentence each.
- The price is a specific number, stated plainly.
Classic Failure
- Price copied from a competitor’s course with no connection to your own audience’s actual data.
- Positioning tries to serve “anyone interested in the topic,” with no explicit exclusion named.
- Price given as a range (“$50 to $150”) because a specific number feels too exposed to commit to.
Your Drill
Write the one-page price and position statement: a specific price, a written justification tied to one named anchor, one sentence naming who the course is for, and one sentence naming who it’s explicitly not for.
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Pass Checklist
Lesson complete
Criterion met: The price is justified in writing against one named anchor (cost of the problem, cost of an alternative solution, or documented willingness-to-pay data from Lesson 1), stated as a specific number rather than a range, with one sentence naming who it’s for and one sentence naming who it’s explicitly not for.
Next: Lesson 11: Run a Minimum Viable LaunchHow solid did that feel?
Noted.
Coach Note
The “not for” sentence is the one people skip because it feels like turning away business. It’s the opposite: a course that’s honestly not for everyone is the one specific enough to be worth paying for by the people it is for.
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Resurfaces In
Lesson 11 (this statement is what you lead with in the launch ask), Lesson 13 (Capstone).