How can I learn Agile and Scrum for free? (Free vs. Paid Learning Comparison)

In the words of STEVE JOBS, "Learn continually - there's always one more thing to learn!". Education and learning are continuous and adapt to our changing needs and priorities. Whether you are about to start your career or looking to upskill yourself, be sure to dedicate time and energy to learning.

In this post, we will talk about ways to learn Scrum, but particularly, we will compare...

FREE vs. PAID SCRUM LEARNING

Let me ask you this question, Why would people pay to learn Scrum when there's so much information out there already available for free? What do you think?

That's probably the number one question I get from my students, and it's a logical one given how a quick google search will just tell you how much is available for free these days.

If this sounds interesting to you, and if you are just starting with Scrum, stay with me until the end of this video, because I will unpack this question for you and give you some confidence to choose the best solution for yourself.

First, I have one question for you. WHAT DO YOU THINK, ARE PEOPLE STILL BUYING SCRUM COURSES, BOOKS, TEMPLATES, ETC IN AN ERA WHEN THERE IS SO MUCH INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR FREE?

Think about it, so much good information and a lot of video content.

Well, the answer is, Yes!!!

Tons of people are going to keep buying Scrum courses. More are going to keep buying more than one. I'm selling them every single day.

But what I would like to do is explain to you Why people are going to buy a Scrum course or access a membership site, or coaching program, even when they can find the information available for free.

Before we start, one thing you have to understand. Good course creators, or writers, are not selling information, they are selling transformation.

What does this mean? The information isn't actually what people are buying and it's not actually what content creators, me included, are selling.

So, if the information is not what we are selling, then, what are we selling then?

We are selling results – the desired outcomes. That's what people want.

So, for example, if you are a fitness coach you're not selling fitness training information products, you're selling body transformation.

You're selling the experience of going from overweight to feeling great and looking great and feeling attractive, feeling athletic, feeling confident.

That's like so much different than I'm selling 13 modules of videos and a workout plan and a diet plan. Who would buy that?

Those are features that come with your product and that's maybe what is being transacted, but you aren't selling that, you're selling transformation, so people want their lives changed, right?

If you want a better relationship, then what you're selling is transformation.

If you want your business to grow you're selling that - growth of the business.

And of course, I don’t sell Agile and Scrum Masterclass, I'm not selling just video tutorials, or templates, I'm selling the transformation, and necessary skills for your new in-demand, well-paid, full of fun but challenging career, of the Scrum Master or Product Owner, in 30 days or less, EVEN IF you know nothing about tech.

Here are the 5 reasons why I believe people will pay for a Scrum course even though there's so much information out there for free:

1. SMART PEOPLE PAY FOR SPEED. If there's one thing that can make them more comfortable, it is worth every dime for them. Smart people pay for other people's experiences. That's how you get where you want to be quicker. But it's really scary doing it on your own. But when you have the opportunity to learn from people who've already been there, then you will go so much faster. Because You will get compressed years into hours or days.
   
   
2. Number one is primarily because there's so much information out there for free, PEOPLE ARE OVERWHELMED WITH CONTENT. So many videos are uploaded to YouTube every day, and every minute, there are just hours and hours and hours of video content being uploaded. If you've ever done a Google search or YouTube search to figure out how to do anything in Scrum, how many results pop up, how do you know which one is the best?
   
   
   Have you ever found yourself watching a video or reading an article to answer a question and then you look at another one, then you look at another one, and then they kind of conflict with each other and disagree with each other and it's overwhelming, time-consuming, and irritating?
   
   
   Right?
   
   
   We have moved from an age of excitement where anything you could ever want to know is available at your fingertips. You can just google it and find it.
   
   
   We have moved now into an age of overwhelm, gosh there's so much information out there, I don't know what the right answer is, I can't get to the bottom of my query because I’ve just been overwhelmed. I don't know where to start. There are a thousand articles or videos on this one search result page and I don't know, which one's the right one.
   
   
   So do you see the opportunity for an online course here?
   
   
   I will take my Agile and Scrum Masterclass as an example. This course is curated information, I am helping my students with their overwhelming problems.
   
   
   I want to give them the transformation they are looking for. In the Agile and Scrum Masterclass I curated the best information I own, and things that I have learned.
   
   
   I am curating the best information into one place, making it easy to follow, making it step-by-step, and guiding students along the way to get them from point A to point B in the shortest time frame.
   
   
   There's no little video here and there, a little article there, podcast, template, helpful book…
   
   
   One place, curated, linear, easy to follow, step by step, clear instruction, industry-proven standards, with a plan to get my students from where they are to where they want to be and as quickly as possible.
   
   
   That is one of the largest benefits of my Agile and Scrum Masterclass and that's what I am offering people when I sell an online course.
   
   
   It's even better than my online content on YouTube because it's curated, it's focused, it's a step-by-step plan, and it's a very easy way to position my course when I sell.
   
   
   So for example, If you are looking to find a fun-time job as a Scrum Master, if you go to YouTube, go to the website, it's just you know videos, articles, it's just these little things, they're all good, they're all little bite-sized snacks, but it's not organized, it's only one microscopic part of the whole puzzle, and it's zoomed in, so it can be helpful it should be helpful but it's not the same as when I position my Module 12, which I say hey here is a system that you can follow.
   
   
   Buy the course and it is a step-by-step plan, all your questions answered in one, where I hold your hand from here to here, that is appealing, and that is why my online course sells well.
   
   
   Again, the first reason is - people are overwhelmed with all the content, so the Scrum course gives you a step-by-step plan to follow.
   
   
3. INFORMATION VS TRANSFORMATION: I would love to see you inside this course, and for those who are already in, let me ask you guys, you went through Module One, and you went through Module Two, Tree… are you glad at this very moment that I sold you this course.
   
   
   Are you 100% happy?
   
   
   If I just built this Masterclass and said, I built it. It's the best course on the Scrum industry that's ever existed from a guy that has been in it for 20+ years, who has passion and heart, and desire to change the world.
   
   
   If I built it and didn't do a launch or didn't run ads, or didn't do a time where I asked for you to buy it, you would not have this amazing course, you would not be sitting here, you would not know it exists, even though it contains the life-changing strategies, the heart, the soul, the passion that I have put into this, you wouldn't know it existed. So you have to realize, if I am not selling, I am actually hurting people.
   
   
4. WHEN IT COSTS MONEY, PEOPLE TAKE IT MORE SERIOUSLY. Have you ever gotten free tickets to a concert even if it's your favorite band? Someone gives you free tickets, they got tickets and they can't go, so they give them to you. Awesome, super valuable, super exciting until the day of the concert something comes up that conflicts with it, that's pretty important to you as well. Maybe you won't go to the show because you didn't pay for the tickets anyway.
   
   
   So tickets we don't take them as seriously as if we had paid for them. If I had paid for the concert tickets you better believe I'm going to find a way to get there because I don't want to lose that money.
   
   
   It's just a hack to get them to take action. Because they pay, they put money in, and they got skin in the game.
   
   
   The same thing applies to courses. So, when somebody buys an Agile and Scrum Masterclass, a magical thing is going to happen.
   
   
   Most of the time people are going to dive into it at least somewhat because they paid for it, and if they dive into it because I've done my job by creating a nice orderly, linear course with a good welcome sequence that shows students how to take advantage of the course, they're going to start to get results, they're going to take it more seriously, they're going to pay attention to my Masterclass way more seriously.
   
   
   For example, I could teach the same thing on my YouTube channel for free, and in a module of my course, that's behind a paywall, people will get more out of the paid module than they will the free video, they will put it into practice, they will get results, and they'll get me an awesome testimonial because this is the most amazing stuff ever.
   
   
   Free content doesn't get nearly as much of a response.
   
   
   Why?
   
   
   Because people don't put it into practice as much.
   
   
   If it's free, they go OH that's a cool idea and then they move on with their life, they watch funny cat videos, but if they watch the course, they are more likely to take action, and if they take action, they are more likely to get results, and if they get results, they are more likely to love the course creator, because he will be the one that got them results, got them transformation, so it happens both after the purchase and it happens before the purchase because people see - this course is probably super valuable.
   
   
   He knows it and he trusts this person because he has been consuming his free content, and there are some great testimonials on there, and he’s sure it's curated perfectly, it's going to have everything he needs in it.
   
   
   And once they're in it, they're going to definitely love it and take action.
   
   
   People take information way more seriously when they've paid for it, than if they got it for free and that is why Scrum courses are going to continue to be valuable for many many years to come.
   
   
5. When someone buys a Scrum course, they are getting more than the information that the course creator is packaging in the product, THEY'RE GETTING ACCESS TO THE COURSE CREATOR, this is really important, and this becomes more and more of a selling point for any type of digital products moving forward, because when they purchase, they know that they're going to get more than just information, they're going to get a little closer to the trainer.
   
   
   Why?
   
   
   Because they are your most loyal fans, and the smart course creators want to serve them and treat them well.
   
   
   Outside the course, content creators just cannot give their YouTube followers as much of their attention.
   
   
   Right?
   
   
   For example, in my Agile and Scrum Masterclass course, you are not just getting access to all this information, you're getting access to me. I'm coming alongside you as your coach.
   
   
   So you get my best-curated material, you're going to take it seriously because you've paid for it, and I will be there in case you get stuck, guaranteed.
   
   
   What is the problem with free resources on YouTube, you get lots of information from smart people but are those people getting you results?
   
   
   Because you need to go out in the real world and take that information and get results on your work.
   
   
   A lot of times that information is outdated, or old, or those videos don't give you a way to apply the information.
   
   
   So, as you can see the future favors online courses that package information, sell transformation, sell results, have themselves available, and creates access to their students through private communities.

LET’S RECAP:

Why Smart people are going to buy Scrum courses even though there's so much great information out there for free?

• Smart people pay for speed. Are you aware of how valuable my course is? Because I will explain all these years of my work compressed into hours.
• They're overwhelmed because there's too much great information out there for free so the course curates the best information, it gives the students a step-by-step implementation plan.
• Good courses are not selling information but transformation. Who is in for transformation?
• People take what they pay for more seriously than what they got for free. That will always be the case.
• People are paying for access to the course creators, that they can't really get with your free stuff. They get more of your attention when they pay for it.

I am not saying that all Scrum courses are the same. But in the Agile and Scrum Masterclass example, I am offering a full enchilada, and I am actually doing people who are just starting with Scrum a disservice if I am not selling them. That selling is service.

So my question for you is as you're thinking through those reasons which of those resonates with you the most right now? Leave your comments and I would be happy to discuss them with you.

Thank you and I see you soon.

Dejan Majkic