Where should you host your courses online? Self Hosting vs Marketplaces

[@GRUMO]

Self-Hosting vs. Marketplaces - Which option do you prefer?

[@AlexStadler-AT]

Hi Miguel I started using a WordPress course website. And as soon as I have enough traffic and customers, I might will move to thinkific. But for now its WordPress and Digimember Plugin. Best regards, Alex

[@GRUMO]

@@AlexStadler-AT That's how I started too. It's the cheapest option providing you are ok with maintaining your own platform. Also, when I started teaching online 9 years ago Thinkific didn't exist and only recently they started to offer a completely free plan. Just be aware that if you have many courses, migrating them can be a pain!

[@AlexStadler-AT]

Yeah, that might be true. Thanks for your awesome content :)

[@jimkiser1429]

Miguel , Great and very useful content. As per BR's comment below, it was also very timely for me.

[@GRUMO]

@@dikshabhardwaj8296 What do you mean by data links?

[@julienreveillon]

The arguments you propose are interesting although well known. On the other hand, there is a parameter that nobody ever takes into account: it is the specificity of the course with a balance between on one hand generalist courses, not very specialized with a large audience (and competition) and on the other hand hyper-specialized courses with a restricted audience. In my opinion, this is a major parameter to consider in this kind of comparison.

[@GRUMO]

Good point Julien. I take that generalist courses belong on marketplaces and more specialized on a self-hosted platform where you can charge a premium.

[@ARTUPIDA]

Thankyou mr Tony Stark :)

[@yourbigshare]

I can see Good to Great at the background 👌🏾✅

[@GRUMO]

Great book!

[@merovingianproject]

Very informative. Thank you. Can you host a course on multiple platforms at the same time without any legal repercussions?

[@GRUMO]

Yes you can

[@merovingianproject]

@@GRUMO very fast answer. Thank you. Big fan.

[@GRUMO]

@@merovingianproject Thanks!

[@confeccionmusical]

Could you upload the same course on Thinkific and Udemy?

[@GRUMO]

Yes.

[@sherion80]

Thank you, Miguel, for this overview. My WORST CASE scenario for self-hosted courses (in my case Learndash on WordPress) is that some technical glitch (not seldom on WordPress) would disrupt the access to the course for my clients. And I would be accountable for that! Secondly, how to ensure people still can access their purchased courses in case you decide to discontinue the business or switch to other solutions? I think, this is the most vulnerable issue for self-hosting. What's your take on this?

[@GRUMO]

You need to invest in a platform that has good prospects to last. Look at their founders and investors to see if they are legit. For me that platform is Thinkific. I know Greg their CEO, he is good guy. They just raised $20M and are growing like crazy. Also, always keep a backup of all your courses on a local hard drive in case your chosen platform folds.

[@arpomukherjee8776]

More power to you Grumo

[@GRUMO]

Thanks!

[@jasvendrasaini9289]

really informative. Thanks for sharing and putting your efforts to deliver this informative content.

[@GRUMO]

Thanks for watching!

[@mrdeivydrodriguez1]

Very informative video! Just earned yourself a subscriber! Cheers.

[@GRUMO]

Thanks!

[@BasitAli-mq9lk]

Thanks for sharing the video.I am a new Beginner I want to launch a new course .I am confused which Platform should I use to start selling courses.Please suggest

[@GRUMO]

If you already have an audience of know how to do marketing then use Thinkific. Otherwise, use a marketplace like Udemy or Skillshare. And if you're not sure, use both and see what works best for you.

[@Velvet_Mystique]

What is the minimum capital you need to build an email list?

[@GRUMO]

You can start for free using Convertkit or Mailchimp. Then, to get subscribers, you need to produce great content consistently and drive people to an email opt-in form. It takes time. I took me about 4 years to get to 9K email subs.

[@TheWizardofWestLA]

Great information

[@GRUMO]

My pleasure!

[@Bogdanbmm]

On self hosting: WordPress + LearnDash. What would be other alternatives to explore instead of LearnDash ? Looking to explore more before deciding. Thank you !

[@GRUMO]

There are many alternatives: Kajabi, Podia, LearnWorlds... but I'm not familiar enough with any of them to make any recommendations.

[@CleverHybrids]

Love your content Grumo! Muchas gracias. Quizás podemos hacer una charla en nuestro podcast 😎

[@GRUMO]

Gracias! Vale 👍!

[@bojddo]

Thank you for the video. Would it be a good strategy to try both approaches at the same time and test them?

[@GRUMO]

Yes, I would try both, specially if you are not interested in spending too much time doing marketing. The marketplace will be a simple way to test demand for your course. If you get traction there then you can use some of the revenue from the marketplace to pay for the self-hosted option.

[@bojddo]

Grumo Media great! Thank you!

[@waynewilliams5992]

Thank you for all of your information.

[@GRUMO]

My pleasure Wayne.

[@nelgtruth4607]

Great video! I am convinced with Thinkific. But I just have one query. Will I be able to set up quizzes and the course content in a different language? Say for instance hindi or tamil? Please do let me know.

[@GRUMO]

Thanks! Yes, you can change the language to over 50 different languages including Hindi (I don't see Tamil though)

[@trinevolvestudios]

i have a question Grumo - I am on wix and my video course is 50 hours long. It has a LOT of value bc it took years to make. I would like to self host. But unfortunately it is impossible for me to afford to self host there - it just costs too much for me. Is there any way around this? I was thinking put the videos on youtube - make them private - but that only allows up to 50 users. Now technically - i could re upload a video on youtube as private - for every 50 customers i get - and make little changes to the video in order to continue uploading. This is the only way to not have to pay that insane amount just to get my 50 hour video course on wix. I rather that then give away downloads of the huge course anyway - which not only takes up hard drive space of the students but is somewhat inaccessible and not right there streaming - plus it encourages piracy to give away the videos like that. Ok that's what's up with me for now - any help is so appreciated. i also love ur video here but cant think of putting up my course on those marketplace sites bc wow they kind of butcher the price and take all the money - it seems not smart at all for me since these arent small classes but very valuable ones. i dont plan on charging more than $400 and will even come down to $200 depending on sales - but i just cant bring myself to go on those marketplace sites unless absolutely necessary. Do you think i can go there - then build money and then take my course off of them and then host it myself when i have enough income? i feel like i am selling myself extremely short by going there - even if i get more students - i wont get much money from that sphere of things. Any insights?

[@GRUMO]

Hi, I recommend you use Thinkific. You can host one course for free for unlimited students. All the other alternatives will be much more complex and will end up costing more in terms of wasted time. Also, if you are charging for your course, you will be able to afford some expenses.

[@trinevolvestudios]

@@GRUMO thank you!! great video as well!

[@mysticlight785]

Is it possible to plugin the Udemy course on our own website?

[@GRUMO]

No. You would have to reupload the course to your website.

[@mysticlight785]

@@GRUMO thank you so much!

[@VNAYvdj]

Can we host same course in different Platforms like Udemy, Coursersa or our personal website ? Please guide

[@GRUMO]

Udemy and Skillshare allow you to post your courses anywhere else including your website. Coursera works directly with educational institutions not individual instructors so their terms of service may be different depending on the agreement with the institution.

[@VNAYvdj]

@@GRUMO Thank you for your response. RESPECT. More power to you Sir.

[@LifeinGlow]

Thank you for the video, re Udemy, does it allow to put links to any websites or youtube videos / channels? (Whether your own or some free /accessible references like recommended resources, longer demos, examples or any original copyrighted products - videos, music etc? Can you intergrate such links into the course? Like a youtube video. I've seen that on some Udemy courses but don't remember if it was an uploaded video or an embedded one. Same question about skillshare... (I haven't tried it yet).

[@GRUMO]

Hi, re: Links: links to other websites can only be included in the last lecture or "bonus lecture". Re: videos from others: Udemy doesn't scan for copyrighted material so it's up to the instructor's discretion to use only material they have permission to use. In general, it's ok to use small video clips as long as proper credit is given to their original author. I think the same rules apply to videos on Skillshare.

[@ChristopherPhillipsDev]

Thank you for this overview. Suppose for starters though that I would only offer digital downloads of e-material. I've always wondered how refunds would be handled in those situations. Theoretically, all customers could get the content for free: Buy the course, download it, say it's garbage, get the refund, and keep the content. There's no way for us to actually get the digital copy out of the hands of the "disgruntled" customer. Do most companies state in terms and conditions that once downloaded, e-material is ineligible for refund? In addition to that, you mentioned that self-hosting allows us to own the emails entered by customers. How is that handled if we use services like Thinkific?

[@GRUMO]

There is little that can be done to restrict access to content once is downloaded. However, providing your course is good, refunds should represent a low single digit percent of your total sales. Thinkific allows you to access your customer emails too.

[@ChristopherPhillipsDev]

@@GRUMO thank you for your answer!

[@GRUMO]

@@ChristopherPhillipsDev my pleasure!

[@philippjozeph2306]

Hi Grumo, do you think it would be possible to upload an unlisted course to youtube and then sell access to it ? If anything this would be a "cheap" start, or do you believe Thinkific would be better?

[@GRUMO]

Yes, that is a great idea! I actually created an app to help host and sell courses hosted on KZbin. It's called CourseApp. You can learn more about it here → kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJnOlGmmqNdpqrc

[@MarzellCrypto]

really helpful thank you!

[@dsouchon]

Brilliant!

[@GRUMO]

Thanks!

[@juliefreeman8125]

Great overview.

[@Bogdanbmm]

Great, any suggestion for my case: no video course, just multiple choice quizzes and mock exams (same, multiple choices), hence no need for something very fancy and pricey. It would be a course but with 3 levels, hence people should be able to pay for each level individually as they progress. Also would be nice if they can pay one fee for access, monthly or for a set time period (4 months, until the exam). Basically the keys of my course would be: quizzes/mock exams & flexible payment schedules. Any recommendation would be great ! Thank you !

[@GRUMO]

You could use Thinkific for that.

[@Napstone]

“Did a homo sapiens send this email to you?” 😂