The Way TCommerce Powered Tongue-Tied Academy to raise money for charity
In Birmingham, Alabama, pediatric dentist Richard Baxter, DMD, MS can help professionals to identify and treat lip and tongue ties.
This journey, catalyzed due to the birth of his twin daughters in 2014, led to the creation of Tongue-Tied Academy which is a platform that aims to address a widespread yet underrecognized issue.
Since launching the course in 2020 the instructor has had more than 1500 students sign up and donated all the proceeds to charities both local and international.
This is how he came up with his online business for courses, as well as how TCommerce contributed to his growth.
Skip ahead:
- He found his niche
- He signed up to
- He streamlined the checkout process with TCommerce
- He was the one who drove change through charity
- He launched different versions of his course
- He designed a straightforward customer experience
- It was a definition of the term "success" himself
He found his niche
When his girls were babies and he realized that they had tongue ties, which was affecting their ability to nurse. Upon finding a dentist to perform a laser treatment to the tongue tie and they could take a much easier nap. "The dentist suggested that I watch for tongue ties in children because they're more prevalent than people realize; about one in four kids have one" Baxter tells .
Soon, people began asking him about tongue and lip ties. Looking to know more, he dove into every course and book about the subject, but realized that there was not a lot of information accessible. After that, he was able to use lasers for the tongue tie process. After assisting patients and answering the mom's questions and concerns, he began writing blog posts about it. A growing number of people reached out to Baxter to ask for his expertise and he finally decided to create and release his book, Tongue Tied, in 2018. "People have read the book but were still interested in learning more about the subject," Baxter says. Baxter.
He decided that the next task was to develop his own online academy . When the dentist's office closed because of the flu pandemic He had already completed the script, which was over 200 pages long. He was able to hire the film crew that would film the 25-hour flagship course even though the dental office was shut.
He signed up with
Central to Tongue-Tied Academy's success is the relationship it has formed with providing a seamless platform for the delivery of courses.
"What's good about it is that I can organize the lessons into modules," Baxter shares.
He could present his content in bite-sized pieces and added quizzes to the end of each section. He also adds chapters of his book into the program. "I appreciate that it allows me to add different types of content to my lessons, instead of only videos," he reveals.
He's a huge fan of the feature that allows him to automatically generate a certification for his students. "I don't have to do anything for the class in a day, apart from responding to the questions in discussions since everything is completely automated," he says.
He made checkout easier through TCommerce
The transition to TCommerce after switching instead of Stripe has been a huge help in improving the process of checking out for the students of Tongue-Tied Academy. Baxter believes that using TCommerce resulted in him losing fewer sales; since switching to the Stripe integration that process, checkouts have improved as per Baxter.
Supporting a variety of payment methods, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, Baxter says that TCommerce ensures a seamless transaction process, facilitating accessibility and convenience for all users.
"You can now literally hit a button, use your face ID, and take a class," says Baxter. "It's a lot easier now rather than putting everything you know in ."
"I don't even think about it because it's so easy," he says. " Payments takes care of all the details for me and money is deposited into the bank account ."
In the hopes of launching an upgraded version of his most popular course later this spring, Baxter plans on using the option of ordering bumps, which will enable purchasers to purchase additional courses for less, and without ever slowing the process of purchasing.
He was able to make an impact with charitable causes.
When the funds are deposited in his account in the bank, he donates 100% of the proceeds to charity.
From supporting clean water initiatives throughout Africa as well as Asia as well as assisting rehabilitation and anti-human trafficking efforts, Baxter's tireless dedication to promoting the wellbeing of his community is a perfect example of the Academy's larger mission of societal care. "I do not require anything else," he says. "We have a home, we have cars, we're in good ."
"If I am able to help the baby that couldn't feed prior to or who's colicky and having a hard time, it makes it all worth it," he continues.
He launched different versions of his program
In recognition of the diverse requirements within his audience, Baxter launched a condensed version of the course designed for professionals such as lactation specialists and speech therapists. This LITE Version course, priced at $495, provides a concise yet powerful examination of the subject catering to a broader spectrum of students.
Each of his courses is a perpetually updated format which means that students can enroll at any time they'd like. "Teaching this class online has made it accessible as possible," he says.
Additionally, these courses provide American Dental Association-approved continuing education credits. "We utilize an approved CE provider. That means they can use it towards the renewal of their licenses," Baxter explains.
Although the course's flagship costs $2,600 The content, when paired with CE certification--helps users see the return on investment.
He developed a very simple customer experience
Despite his success, Baxter says that he doesn't have much of a marketing strategy.
The typical customer experience begins when people read his book. If they decide to learn more and more, the book directs readers to Tongue-Tied Academy.
If he is speaking at events or conferences, typically attendees are likely to sign up. If people sign up for his list of email addresses, they're received an email from MailChimp that guides people on his website.
He defined success as a person.
Baxter defines success as the ability to multiply the knowledge he has. "It's not me alone doing this," Baxter says.
"We have 1500 students who have completed the program. If they each see even one patient a day, that's more people than I can ever manage alone. ."
Further what defines success for him entails educating providers, assisting parents, and ensuring that more people get treatment, while also using funds for charitable causes around the world.
If you are designing an online course the creator should seek out their passion. "It can be anything," he declares. "And whatever it is that you want to make, you can create the course you want to with it. ."
"Just do it!" Baxter encourages. "I'm not a online-course person. I'm a dentist. However, I've put it on the market, and last year we had the honor to be among the top ten courses on ."
Before he created Tongue-Tied Academy, he created two courses himself, each costing $99 and around 10 people attended. "I learned from that experience," he says. I received better-quality videos and created a top-quality course with Tongue-Tied Academy ."
"You may fail a handful times," he adds, "but this is one of the stages in learning. There's no way to avoid a mistake when you don't learn from it ."
The HTML0 Tongue-Tied Academy continues to evolve driven by a unwavering dedication to education and service and its history of empowerment and altruism serves as an inspiration source to aspiring teachers and innovators alike.