How I Built a $50,000 Online Course Teaching Coin Photography & Grading Mastery

Turning Your Coin Passion Into Profits

Want to transform what you know into real income? I did exactly that by packaging my 15 years of coin expertise into a $50,000 online course. When I noticed collectors struggling with TrueView imaging – especially color variations and plastic holder challenges – I knew this was my opportunity. Let me show you how I turned frustration into a thriving educational business.

Building a Course That Sells Itself

Finding Your Money-Making Angle

I spent months in collector forums watching the same complaints pop up:

• Why do certified coin photos look different in hand?
• How do I spot hidden scratches through plastic holders?
• What causes that rainbow toning to disappear in certain light?
• Why won’t grading companies answer my emails?

That’s when it clicked. My course “Numismatic Imaging Mastery” wasn’t just theory – it solved problems I’d faced daily as a coin dealer. Students weren’t buying information, they were buying solutions.

Creating Content That Actually Works

My secret sauce? The 30/40/30 content blend:

• 30% Core Skills: Camera settings even your grandma could understand
• 40% Hands-On Practice: Shooting coins through holders (with my cheat sheet)
• 30% Money-Making Applications: How great photos boost coin values

The game changed when I added my “Lighting Angle Challenge” – showing the same 1921 Morgan dollar under 7 different lights. Students finally saw what I saw!

Teachable vs Udemy: My Real-World Test

After running both platforms simultaneously, here’s what matters:

I use Teachable as my home base but run $19 Udemy mini-courses to find serious students. Pro tip: Always funnel them to your main platform.

Marketing That Actually Works for Coin Nerds

Show, Don’t Tell

Coin people trust their eyes. My top performers:

• Side-by-side sliders: “What Graders See vs What You See”
• 60-second lighting hacks (“Transform Your Photos with This $10 Bulb”)
• Real grading challenges from student submissions

Partnering with the Pros

After landing my first PCGS insider interview, opportunities exploded:

• Camera companies now offer my students discounts
• Ex-grading staff host monthly AMAs
• Auction houses promote my course to their bidders

My 24/7 Money Machine

Automation lets me earn while I sleep. Here’s the simple workflow:

// What happens after someone enrolls
1. Welcome email: "Your First Lighting Setup" (instant)
2. Day 2: "The 3 Common Imaging Mistakes" PDF
3. Day 5: Live workshop invitation
4. Day 14: "Advanced Editing" tutorial
5. Day 30: "Ready for Professional Equipment?" offer

Profit-Boosting Upgrades

My $297 course gets three times more valuable with:

• My favorite lighting kit ($197 – my top seller)
• Personalized grading reviews ($497)
• Yearly mastermind group ($997)

Your Action Plan

1. Listen to niche communities – their pain points are your roadmap
2. Build lessons around “aha moments” you’ve experienced
3. Pick platforms based on control vs exposure needs
4. Automate student nurturing from day one
5. Create tiered offers – not everyone needs the deluxe version

Perfecting coin photography takes the right angle – so does creating profitable courses. By solving specific frustrations with TrueView imaging and certification headaches, I’ve built an education business that helps collectors while funding my own numismatic passions. If I can turn tube lighting setups into tuition payments, you can monetize your expertise too.

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