Langpreneur Podcast – Episode 74
Sophie Thomas teaches Japanese to people who speak French — but there’s nothing “standard” about her courses because Sophie has a distinct niche.
There are hundreds of channels teaching English/Japanese, and fewer that teach French/Japanese. But, if you speak French and want to travel around Japan, then Sophie has the market cornered. Indeed, she’s possibly the only person currently teaching French speakers what they need to learn before going to Japan.
What you’ll learn in this interview:
- Sophie’s story
- Learn what you need to know
- Involve your audience in your course creation
- Stand out with a point of difference
- Market the result instead of the pathway
- Hints for streaming on Twitch
- Sophie’s tips for Langpreneurs
Sophie’s story
Country-girl Sophie was just 13 years old when she discovered Japanese music. Right from the start, she was fascinated by the sounds, culture, and language, so it wasn’t surprising that she chose to study Japanese when she was old enough to go to university in Paris.
But, while she enjoyed the course, it felt too scholarly, so Sophie quit and went to study the real thing in Tokyo instead.
Eventually, she returned to France and settled with her husband in a tiny village. Soon friends and acquaintances began to ask for Japanese lessons. Then they told others about Sophie’s clear explanations and approachable teaching style. Suddenly Sophie found herself tutoring 20 private students.
About that time, the local museum offered her a fulltime job, and Sophie found she had a choice to make. So, she quit her part-time museum job and took a ‘leap of faith’ into the world of language teaching.
Her student numbers jumped to 30, but then Sophie ran into the age-old problem; there was a growing demand for her lessons, but because she was working alone she couldn’t scale her private tutoring business.
It was time to take Cours de Japonais online.
Learn what you need to know
Sophie was a complete novice about online business, so she read books and searched out free information online. It can take a long time to research by yourself, so her next step was to buy a comprehensive online-business course.
Through the course, Sophie learned how to:
- Set up an efficient, attractive website
- Attract people to it
- Start a mailing list and offer a lead magnet
- Use keywords and write Google-friendly articles
- Create good content
- Start a YouTube channel
- Create and launch a course
- Make people realise they wanted her lessons, and most important of all,
- Connect with her audience.
Involve your audience in course creation
Sophie spent a year developing her Japanese courses, and she took her small but committed audience along for the ride.
“I asked them at every step of the way, including name and logo. Basically, they created it with me. Because they were involved it was natural for them to buy it.”
Sophie created a strong connection with her followers through her lessons, emails and content. Then she asked them what kind of online course do you want? What do you need in your life? Why do you want to learn Japanese? She collected the answers and included them in the curriculum.
With fewer than 3000 followers, Sophie sold her course to 280 people; a considerable step up from tutoring 30 private students.
Because you don’t have to create an entire course before you begin to sell it, Sophie made one month’s worth of lessons and then developed the rest just ahead of her students.
Cours de Japonais now offers two premium online courses — a smaller, self-study course at €800 and a year-long course, which includes some live lessons with Sophie, for €1200 — as well as a kana course to teach the basics of the Japanese alphabet.
Stand out with a point of difference?
Students have a vast choice of learning opportunities now, so what influences them to choose you?
Sophie knows that her students come because of her clear explanations, approachable personality and because she answers all their questions.
“I think that’s why people buy my online lessons because they know they will have an answer to every question.”
Market the result, not the pathway
People don’t usually buy a course because of the fantastic lessons or dazzling content. They pay because they want to gain knowledge or solve a problem. So, Sophie’s marketing focuses primarily on the results her students will achieve.
“Instead of saying ‘I’ve created the best course in the world and here’s what I’m going to teach you,’ you say ‘this is where you are, this is where you want to go and here’s how I’ll help you get there”
That means, while Sophie could detail the programme, she knows that people would rather know about the results. Not, ‘here’s the grammar you’ll learn,’ but ‘you’ll be able to go to a restaurant and communicate that you have allergies or are vegetarian.’
“For me, it’s very important to always stay true to who I am; to say to people that’s your problem, that’s where you are now, but you want to get to this point so I created the path for you.”
Hints for streaming on Twitch
We hear plenty about creating content for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter but have you heard of Twitch?
Twitch is a Livestreaming platform, but it’s not a search engine, so it can be hard to find a particular streamer if you don’t know where to look. Gamers are probably Twitch’s biggest audience, but anyone can use the platform and streamers often point people towards another Livestream when theirs has finished.
Sophie has a Twitch schedule which she publishes on Instagram and in her weekly emails. Each Thursday night, she reads a traditional Japanese story in Japanese and explains the language through it. Again, people who find her channel love her dynamic, personable style and as a result, some head to her website to buy a course.
Sophie’s tips for Langpreneurs
If students choose you, it’s because you represent something they like
Focus on why they chose you, what you give to them that no one else can.
Ensure you have an active mailing list
You don’t have to send emails every day. Once a week to ten days is enough. It is how you create a connection with your readers. Be okay with the fact that some people will only use your free content because they can’t afford more.
“It’s very important to give just for free. You don’t expect any money, it’s okay”
Take time for yourself
Sophie says, “for two years I was only focused on my work. This year it will be different because I know the mistakes I made last time.”
“Find a good balance between work and personal life.”
One person can’t do everything
If you are in that situation only focus on the things that can’t wait. Sophie says, it’s okay if you don’t do everything. If you can get help it’s worth paying the money to delegate/outsource. Keep your time for the things only you can do and take it step by step.
Contact Sophie
Cours de Japonais:
