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📖 Chapter 2: Why Choose a Challenge?

Why top creators choose to launch challenges and why they outperform traditional digital products.

Jordan Plotkin avatar
Written by Jordan Plotkin
Updated this week


🎬 The Story Everyone Knows

You are an expert in your field. You have years of experience, deep knowledge, and proven results.
You want to scale your business, reach more people, and earn more money.

So you decide to build an online course.

You spend weeks recording videos, building slides, writing scripts, creating workbooks, designing a nice website.
You launch. You promote.

And then… nothing happens.

Or, in the best-case scenario, a few people buy, but only 10 percent finish the course.
No testimonials. No success stories. No momentum.

Why does this happen?

Because today, traditional online courses simply don’t work anymore.

People want results, action steps, and hands-on guidance.


🧠 The Psychology: Why People Don’t Finish Courses

1. Mental Overload

When someone buys a course with 40 lessons, 15 hours of video, and a giant workbook, here’s what actually happens:

I bought a course
The link is in my email
I log into the platform
Username and password
40 lessons with 15 hours of video
I start lesson 1
I watch 30 minutes out of 2 hours
I promise myself I’ll finish tomorrow
Tomorrow arrives
I go back to my email
Back to the platform
Username and password again

You get the idea.

The result?
They postpone it.
Then postpone again.
Then forget completely.

In a challenge:

  • One simple task per day, delivered personally to their favorite platform

  • Only 10 to 15 minutes a day

  • “I can do this right now”

2. No Clear Finish Line

A traditional course feels like school. You learn at your own pace.
The problem? There is no pace. No deadline. No positive pressure.

In a challenge:

  • Fixed start date: “We begin on Monday”

  • Fixed end date: “The challenge ends on June 21”

  • Everyone moves together as one community

3. No Close Accountability

In a regular course, no one knows if you’re making progress.
No one checks in.
No one asks “How did it go today?”

In a challenge:

  • Daily check-ins: “Did you complete today’s task?”

  • Immediate feedback from the group

  • Real-time engagement dashboard

  • Automated reminders: “Don’t forget today’s task”

4. The Result Feels Too Far Away

If you sell a “Healthy Nutrition Course,” when will the customer see results?

“Maybe in two months if I learn everything and implement it perfectly…”

In a challenge:

  • Promised results within 5 to 21 days

  • “Lose 8 pounds in 21 days”

  • Every day feels like real progress


💰 The Economics: Why Challenges Make More Money

Model 1: Traditional Course

Let’s say you sell a course for $497.

100 people buy = $49,700

5 percent finish (5 people)

Of them, 2 buy your premium service at $2,000 = $4,000

Total revenue = $53,700


Model 2: Interactive Challenge

A 14-day challenge for $79.

200 people buy = $15,800 (yes, less upfront)

But…

80 percent finish (160 people)
More than 10 times the completion rate of a course.

83 percent of finishers (133 people) buy your premium service at $2,000 = $266,000

Total revenue = $281,800

Result: The challenge makes 5 times more money.


🎯 The Strategy: The Challenge as a Sales Machine

Most creators think the challenge is the product.
Wrong.

The challenge is the sales engine.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Low Entry Price

$49 to $119 for a challenge = low barrier

“I can try this without a big risk.”

Step 2: Fast Results

Within 5 to 14 days participants see real changes.

“Wow, this actually works.”

Step 3: Trust Building

You prove your expertise.

“He really knows what he’s doing.”

Step 4: The Winning Offer

On the last day:

“Look at the results you got in 14 days.
Now imagine what 3 months of personal coaching will do.”

Step 5: Conversion

83 percent say yes.

Why?
Because they already experienced your value.


🔥 Why This Works So Well

Principle 1: “80 Percent of the Solution in 20 Percent of the Time”

A challenge doesn’t need to solve the entire problem.

Example:

A “Lose 8 Pounds in 21 Days” challenge won’t turn someone into a fitness model, but…

8 pounds lost = proof that the method works.

Now they want the next step: your premium program.


Principle 2: Real-Time Social Proof

When participants see 200 other people:

  • Doing the same tasks

  • Sharing real results

  • Making progress together

They feel supported.
They stay committed.
Momentum multiplies.


Principle 3: The Initial Investment

When someone pays $79 for a challenge, they are committed.
Their mindset shifts:

“I already paid. I’m going to make the most of it.”

The result:

  • They finish the challenge

  • They see results

  • They buy the next offer


💡 When Is a Challenge the Right Choice?

A challenge is perfect for you if:

  • You want to prove your value fast
    “Let me show you what I can do for you in 14 days.”

  • You sell a high-ticket premium service
    The challenge becomes the gateway.

  • You want to build a community
    Challenges create groups of motivated people moving together.

  • You want to validate demand
    Build in 1 to 2 days, launch in a week, and test the market fast.

  • You want scalability
    Build once, run forever.

A challenge is not right for you if:

  • You cannot promise a result within 5 to 21 days
    Challenges only work when there is a clear, fast, tangible outcome.


🚀 The Challenge as a Growth Engine

An interactive challenge is not just a product. It is a full business strategy.

  • You prove value within days

  • You build a community of committed customers

  • You convert 83 percent into premium programs

  • You generate fast revenue and long-term revenue

  • You build it once and let it run automatically


👉 What’s Next?

Now that you understand why challenges work, it’s time to learn how to actually run one inside the system.

In the next chapter: “How a Challenge Is Managed in the Platform” we’ll break down everything that happens behind the scenes so you can sit back and let the system do the work.

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