#12 Essential Legal Tips for Online Course Creators: Annette Stepanian Breaks It Down (U.S. Edition)

10/22/24 • 36 min

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In this insightful episode of The Art of Online Course Creation, I am joined by Annette Stepanian, an American lawyer who has dedicated her career to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners protect their creative work. Annette is the founder of Your Legal BFF, a resource for easy-to-use, industry-specific legal templates and training. Together, we delve into the legal side of online course creation and how to safeguard your business from costly legal mistakes.

Key Takeaways:

Treating Your Course as a Business from Day One: One of the most common mistakes online course creators make is failing to treat their course as a business from the beginning. Annette explains the importance of setting up proper contracts, understanding intellectual property rights, and establishing clear terms of service and refund policies.
The Power of Legal Templates: Many entrepreneurs shy away from legal services due to perceived costs, but Annette emphasizes the accessibility of legal templates that are designed for online course creators. These templates can provide essential protections without the need for a full-time lawyer.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Online course creators often worry about content theft. Annette provides actionable advice on how to protect your work through copyright registration, trademarking course names, and using DMCA takedown notices if your content is copied.
Navigating AI in Course Creation: As AI becomes more integrated into online businesses, course creators must be mindful of the potential legal challenges. While it can provide efficiencies, Annette advises creators to use AI cautiously until the legal landscape becomes clearer.

About Annette Stepanian: Annette is a lawyer with over a decade of experience working with small business owners, creatives, and course creators. Her business, Your Legal BFF, provides industry-specific legal templates and resources to make legal information accessible and affordable.

Connect with Annette:

If you're ready to dive deeper into the legal side of your course creation journey, be sure to join us next week for a special episode with Canadian lawyer Corinne Boudreau, who will provide insights specific to our friends up north!

Until then, stay dedicated, stay passionate, and keep creating impactful online courses. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow course creators!

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail [email protected]

To ask a question or give feedback on the episode, send me a text!

Key Takeaways:

Treating Your Course as a Business from Day One: One of the most common mistakes online course creators make is failing to treat their course as a business from the beginning. Annette explains the importance of setting up proper contracts, understanding intellectual property rights, and establishing clear terms of service and refund policies.
The Power of Legal Templates: Many entrepreneurs shy away from legal services due to perceived costs, but Annette emphasizes the accessibility of legal templates that are designed for online course creators. These templates can provide essential protections without the need for a full-time lawyer.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Online course creators often worry about content theft. Annette provides actionable advice on how to protect your work through copyright registration, trademarking course names, and using DMCA takedown notices if your content is copied.
Navigating AI in Course Creation: As AI becomes more integrated into online businesses, course creators must be mindful of the potential legal challenges. While it can provide efficiencies, Annette advises creators to use AI cautiously until the legal landscape becomes clearer.

Connect with Annette:

Until then, stay dedicated, stay passionate, and keep creating impactful online courses. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow course creators!

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail [email protected]

Previous Episode

#11 Building a Thriving Learning Community: Proven Strategies for Course Creators

1 Recommendations

To ask a question or give feedback on the episode, send me a text!

Imagine this: your online course is live, enrollments are flowing in, but how do you transform those sign-ups into a dynamic, engaged community? In this episode of The Art of Online Course Creation, Shannon Boyer unpacks why an engaged learning community is not just a bonus but a game-changer for online courses.

Shannon delves into the powerful impact community has on course completion rates, student retention, and overall course value. She shares compelling research that highlights the difference a vibrant community can make and offers practical strategies to create one that not only supports learning but fosters accountability and growth.

You'll learn how to implement specific activities and structures that encourage student interaction, from accountability threads to feedback sessions, ensuring your students feel connected and motivated to complete the course. Shannon also explores the role of the instructor in shaping the community—finding the balance between being present and empowering students to lead and engage with one another.

But the value doesn’t end when the course does. Discover how a well-maintained community can build lasting relationships, strengthen loyalty, and create advocates for your brand. Shannon discusses the importance of long-term engagement and offers insights on leveraging alumni and beta groups to keep the energy alive.

Additionally, Shannon addresses the current trend of using AI bots in communities, weighing in on why they may not be the ideal solution for fostering genuine connections. She also explains how you can set your course apart from the crowd by actively engaging with your students and encouraging a collaborative, rather than competitive, environment.

Ready to turn your course into a thriving community? Tune in to gain actionable strategies and insights that will help you build a space where your students can connect, grow, and succeed together.
For more insights on how to create a high-quality online course that delivers extreme value, check out my freebie, The 7 Things All Online Courses MUST Have to Max Student Referrals.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail [email protected]

Next Episode

#13 Your Legal Guide for Course Creation in Canada: Expert Advice from Corinne Boudreau

1 Recommendations

To ask a question or give feedback on the episode, send me a text!

Ever thought about the legal side of online courses? You’re not alone! This week, Shannon Boyer sits down with Canadian lawyer and course creator, Corinne Boudreau, who breaks down the legal essentials course creators need to know. Corinne’s got a knack for making legal lingo easy to understand, all while adding her perspective as a fellow course creator.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

Copyright Must-Knows: Protecting your content from day one – why and how to do it right.
Essential Contracts & Clauses: The key agreements every course creator should have and why they matter.
Handling Chargebacks & Refund Policies: Corinne shares strategies for tackling tricky refund requests and managing chargebacks like a pro.
Navigating International Markets: With customers potentially anywhere, get Corinne’s advice on governing laws and cross-border legal nuances.
DIY Legal Resources for Course Creators: Corinne discusses her legal templates designed for Canadian small businesses to get legally set without the stress.

This episode is packed with actionable steps to set your business up for legal success—whether you’re new to course creation or scaling up. If you want to make sure your course is legally sound, don’t miss this informative and insightful conversation!
Find Corinne at www.legalmybiz.ca or on Instagram here.
To access the free Ultimate Online Biz Checklist, click here.
If you've found this episode useful, please consider leaving a 5-star rating and writing a review. Your feedback really means a lot to me!

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

To be in the know about new offerings and opportunities, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.

This podcast is produced, mixed, and edited by Cardinal Studio. For more
information about how to start your own podcast, please visit www.cardinalstudio.co
or e-mail [email protected]