This post reflects what worked for me and what I recommend you do as well in order to get results.

the-goal
So what’s your end game? I presume it’s to reach as many people as possible with your content. If those people pay for your content that’s even better. The financial prosperity will allow you to create even more courses, faster, of higher quality and also think bigger, innovate and leave your mark on the education world.

So when it comes to selecting the right one, the choice comes down to only 2 things….format and traffic.

FORMAT

Here are the questions you need to be asking yourself before making a decision:

How is your course presented to the students?
Is it a modern interface? Can they view it in HD?
Can they view it on mobile devices?
Is it easy for students to learn?

TRAFFIC

This comes down to, what is the platform doing to market itself? Do they bring you sales without any effort from your part? Do they have a marketplace where your product is listed? Does that marketplace have any traffic or is it just hype?

So you are faced with…

Going for a platform without a marketplace automatically makes you the one responsible for traffic generation and getting leads. So in exchange of getting almost 100% of your sales, you take on more responsibilities. This decision is all up to you and what you think is best for your situation.

the-decision
My personal direction was towards elearning platforms with their own marketplaces so I get some sales without having to handle marketing and focus more on course creation. If you are a new instructor I recommend you do this as well since you will need capital to keep on going. Think of it as a snowball rolling down hill. Unlike big companies with deep pockets, you need to build some momentum first.

However….

If you go for the first option of creating your own platform maybe even self hosted here are my 2 best suggestions:

Fedora – Where they have a monthly membership of $29/month if you want a custom domain to be able to consolidate your brand.
The Academy WordPress Theme – Where you don’t have a monthly fee and pay only $58 ONCE, but will require a web hosting service. You can get one from Bluehost (that’s where I host all my websites) or I can offer you FREE HOSTING for the first 3 months, then we can negotiate a fair price.

But if you did go for an elearning platform with a marketplace…

Here are my picks for

top-5-elearning-platforms
#1. Udemy – They have the biggest marketplace for the time being and although the revenue sharing model might not be as high as you might want it, I still find it fair enough considering that you are not putting any effort into getting those sales. (50% you – 50% Udemy, or when the sale is done by an affiliate 50% udemy – 25% you – 25% the affiliate).
As far as the interface goes, it’s very modern and easy to use so no worries in that department.

If you are not on Udemy already, SIGN UP HERE!#2. Skillshare – They have a different model where students pay a monthly membership of $9.95/month and have access to all the courses. Each month, 30% or more from all the earnings the website has is distributed proportionally to the instructors. What factors in are the total number of new students enrolled, new projects created, and video views completed each month across all their classes.
As far as the interface goes, very modern, easy to use, the most eye-catching in my opinion.

If you are not on Skillshare already, SIGN UP HERE!#3. Skillfeed – Very similar to Skillshare when it comes to business model, the main difference is that the “formula” is simpler. You get paid per minute of content viewed.
As far as interface goes, it’s a bit dated, but working great. Rumors say that they are working on a new interface as we speak.

If you are not on Skillfeed already, SIGN UP HERE!#4. Teachlr – I look at it like Udemy’s spanish cousin. Very similar in format, same business model, but with an audience that is mainly Spanish. According to Alexa.com 98% of their traffic comes from Spanish speaking countries, so if you plan on being a success here, consider translating your courses.

If you are not on Teachlr already, SIGN UP HERE!#5. Pluralsight – My first choice! HOWEVER…it’s #5 because they have a very strict author approval process and courses require exclusivity, so you can’t put them anywhere else on the web. But from my experience working with them they have the best support, most professional team I have ever seen in an online platform. While for many of the other platforms I can find a thing or too that is worth complaining about, Pluralsight seems to be the girl you present to your parents when it comes to elearning platforms. Their model, is upfront payment for the course and then a royalty based on course popularity.

If you are not on Pluralsight already, SIGN UP HERE!

A few other mentions regarding the platforms listed above.

I have earned money from all of them.
I know there are a lot of other platforms, I tested out at least 15 more, however earned a grand total of $0 from them. If you earned on other platforms and would like to share your experience let me know, so more teachers can benefit.
The first 4 don’t require exclusivity, so you can post your courses on all 4 to maximize course earnings.

If you liked this post or know someone who can benefit from it,
don’t forget to share it.

I’ve just finished my latest course, How to Stay Abreast in the Ever-Changing World of Tech (in publishing queue…soon to be live).

I’ve talked a lot about how to stay up to date on things, grow your skillset and most importantly network.

During that time, Pluralsight was working hard on making PLURALSIGHT LIVE one of the hottest events in tech.

Immediately one exercise from course came to mind. More precisely attend at least one big event each year.

So, why not THIS ONE?

But before going into details let’s make one thing clear. I am not promoting the event just because I’m an author there.

Out of all the elearning platforms I work with, they are by far the most passionate, hardworking team. Not only focused on growing their numbers (like any business should), but also, focusing on the experience of their students and authors.

They really get it.

They understand what the concept of in service of others really means.

But let’s look at this from multiple angles, not just my experience of working with them, what exactly about this event makes it worthwhile?

The People

Just look for a second at the speakers.

They don’t have their COO or CFO talking. They have their Chief EXPERIENCE Officer, their Chief PEOPLE Officer. It’s the people that have the goal of making your life as a student better, not their financials.

Although the event is called PLURALSIGHT LIVE, it’s nothing about Pluralsight, it’s about you.

Among the heavy names and brands attending you have Stack Overflow, Microsoft Cloud, Adobe, Facebook, so you’ll have the chance to rub shoulders with the people that drive change in tech, not just follow.

The Topics

Looking at the Why Attend page you’ll see that the aim is not solely new technology, but learning and success. How you can integrate education into your organization and grow.

Then you have security, which has become more a problem of when than if. And awareness in this area might make the difference for your company.

The Agenda

If all you want, is the gist from the trailblazers then it’s practically a 2-day event. You arrive Tuesday evening, SEPTEMBER 19th, then have 2 days of keynotes and breakout sessions.

If you want to meet your favorite authors, then Tuesday you have an entire day for that at the Author Summit.

The Why

You can read all the details on their landing page. No need for me to be redundant here. But I’ll share some of the reasons and outcomes you should attend.

The point I want to stress on here is that you’re doing this for YOU.

For the You 5 Years From Now, That:

Will be prepared when their company/client gets hit by a cyber attack

Will see competitors fail for not adopting a new technology

Will partner up with company X because they know one of their managers from that event in September

Will have star employees because they effectively linked skill development with business growth

And even if you don’t attend, what I encourage you is not to ignore CHANGE and the role it plays in life and business, but EMBRACE IT, through learning, by exposing yourself to new viewpoints and demanding more from yourself.

You decide the future you want!

PS: Make sure to use the discount code 8UU6DC if you do plan on attending, my small gift to you, courtesy of the good people at Pluralsight.

Best Online Platforms To Sell Your Content On

FORMAT

TRAFFIC

So you are faced with…

However….

But if you did go for an elearning platform with a marketplace…

A few other mentions regarding the platforms listed above.

If you liked this post or know someone who can benefit from it,
don’t forget to share it.

Join the conversation Cancel

Why Attend Pluralsight LIVE 2017?

So, why not THIS ONE?

The People

The Topics

The Agenda

The Why

For the You 5 Years From Now, That:

Best Online Platforms To Sell Your Content On

FORMAT

TRAFFIC

So you are faced with…

However….

But if you did go for an elearning platform with a marketplace…

A few other mentions regarding the platforms listed above.

If you liked this post or know someone who can benefit from it, don’t forget to share it.

Join the conversation Cancel

Related Posts

Why Attend Pluralsight LIVE 2017?

So, why not THIS ONE?

The People

The Topics

The Agenda

The Why

For the You 5 Years From Now, That:

If you liked this post or know someone who can benefit from it,
don’t forget to share it.