What is the best way to handle refunds if the meat of your course is delivered upfront, during the refund period?

Don’t worry too much about refunds. It’s something that happens to every course creator, and it’s rare that someone will take your best content and rip you off. If you let that fear influence how you deliver your course, you might hold back on your strongest material, and that only hurts the students who are truly committed.

Your mindset matters here. This tends to be less of an issue than most first-time course creators expect.

If your most valuable content is at the beginning of the course, there are two things you can do to tighten your refund policy:

• Shorten the refund window. If 60 days feels too long, try 30 or even 14. You can always test a longer policy on your first launch, then adjust later. Just keep in mind that longer refund periods tend to lower the barrier to entry and make it easier for people to say yes.

• Require action to qualify for a refund. We use this approach in Digital Course Academy. Students must show proof that they gave the course a real effort before requesting a refund. If you adopt this policy, briefly mention it during your webinar and provide a link to the full details on your sales page.

If I were just starting out, I would offer a 30-day refund policy, include my best content up front, and release any anxiety about being taken advantage of. It almost never happens, and if it does, those aren't the students you want to serve anyway.

Focus your energy on the people who are here to learn and take action. They’re the ones who will get the transformation you’re promising.