This post reflects what worked for me and what I recommend you do as well in order to get results.
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.
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
#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.
As far as the interface goes, very modern, easy to use, the most eye-catching in my opinion.
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.
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.
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