15 Platforms to Publish and Sell Online Courses (and Counting)

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Looking to sell online courses, but confused by all of the platform choices? In this post I draw on my two decades of eLearning industry experience to highlight some of the top online course platforms and help you narrow your list. While you are here, be sure to grab the free platform selection guide to help you make the right choice faster and smarter. (And, if you are ready to create online courses and other online education content, be sure to check out the free Learning Revolutionary's Toolbox!)

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To sell online courses, it used to be that you had to master an authoring tool, license a learning management system (LMS) – or come up with a workaround – figure out hosting and e-commerce, and then somehow deal with end user support. These days, you can get across the finish line with little more than the digital video camera in your phone, an Internet connection, and one of the platforms listed here.

Here’s a concise look at some of the best of what’s out there for helping you create, market, and sell online courses on the Web. [Read more…]

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10 True Alternatives to Udemy for Selling Online Courses

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Don’t mix apples and oranges when looking for an alternative to Udemy

[Updated June 18, 2018] I run across a lot of blog posts that aim to highlight an alternative to Udemy, the major online marketplace for publishing and selling online courses and a very popular option for subject matter entrepreneurs. In most cases, though, these posts highlight platforms like Teachable or Thinkific as alternatives. While, technically speaking, these are good alternatives (and I am a fan of both), I suspect that a lot of people searching on “alternative to Udemy” or “sites like Udemy” are really looking for a substitute for Udemy.

Simply put, an alternative represents a different way of achieving essentially the same purposes – in this case, selling online courses.

A substitute, on the other hand, is essentially a replacement – in this case, a platform that offers essentially the same functionalities as Udemy.

While that may sound like just a bunch of academic hair-splitting, it’s actually a critical difference. One of the main functions of Udemy, after all, is to offer a marketplace, a ready-made destination for people who are shopping for online courses. This is one of the main reasons that subject matter entrepreneurs flock to Udemy in the first place. So, sites like Udemy – ones that are really like Udemy – need to offer a marketplace.

While both Teachable and Thinkific – both often touted as alternatives – offer significant advantages over Udemy in many ways, they do not offer a marketplace – and, as far as I know, have no plans to. (For other options like Teachable and Thinkific, see 15 Platforms to Publish and Sell Online Courses.)

So, what other platforms do offer a marketplace for your courses? That is, which sites like Udemy may truly be a substitute for Udemy rather than (or in addition to) an alternative to Udemy? Take a look at the following: [Read more…]

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The Best Learning Management Systems for Small Businesses to Sell Online Courses

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[Updated June 14, 2018] The “learning management systems for small businesses” category has improved dramatically in the past few years for businesses interested in selling online courses. It used to be that if you wanted to sell courses, you either had to develop custom software or bolt e-commerce onto platforms that were built for corporate training or delivering college classes. Needless to say, this usually came with plenty of headaches and and a less than ideal experience for customers and channel parters.

Learning Management System for Small Business - Photo of Learning Management System return key on keyboard

These days, many small businesses may be able to take advantage of the new breed of platforms geared toward solopreneurs and very small entrepreneurial businesses that I cover in 15 Platforms to Publish and Sell Online Courses. This is particularly true, for example, of Teachable, which has begun expanding its efforts to support enterprise customers, or Thinkific, which has implemented very strong features for selling to custom groups.

However, based on my own experiences and feedback from many small business owners, some of these platforms may not meet the more sophisticated demands of established businesses, particularly those that already have a significant base of face-to-face education customers. That’s why I decided to create a separate “learning management system for small business” page.  The following is my short list of platforms to consider. [Read more…]

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Host a Virtual Conference – 10 Tips for Success

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Screenshot from Learning Technology Design Virtual Conference Web site

Back when I was writing Leading the Learning Revolution I was high on virtual conferences as a potential business model. Since then, my enthusiasm has only grown. More importantly, I’ve since gone through the process to launch and host a virtual conference and have been offering that conference – Learning • Technology • Design™ (LTD) – successfully for the past two years.

If you or your organization already offer a face-to-face conference, hosting a virtual conference can be be a natural way to reach even more people. If you don’t currently offer any sort of conference, launching a virtual conference can be a great way to expand your portfolio of offerings, attract new customers, and generate new revenue.

In an earlier post, I talked about some of the reasons I think virtual conferences are a business model all edupreneurs should consider. In this post, I offer tips for a successful virtual conference based off of my experience over the past two years as well as experience working with a range of clients that host virtual conferences. [Read more…]

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The 4 Critical Components of a Successful Product Launch Formula

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product-launch-formula[Updated May 10, 2018] Do a quick search phrases like “launch online product,” successful product launch,” or “product launch formula” and you will see that a lot of people – perhaps even you – seem to be looking for insight into how to get a new product off the ground successfully. And there are plenty of self-appointed “gurus” out there happy to take your money in exchange for their “formula.”

Of course, if your goal, like the goal of most readers here, is to sell online courses and other educational products, then there is no denying that having a sure fire product launch formula would be incredibly valuable. What may not be so valuable is forking over hundreds or even thousands of dollars – and usually quite a bit of time – to get access to some guru’s secret formula.

Why? Because there is no secret formula.

Yes, there are always new tools and techniques you can pick up to improve how you build and launch a product, but the fundamentals of a successful launch are well established at this point. If you don’t have them in place, fancy tools and techniques are practically worthless.

So what are the fundamentals of a successful product launch formula? Here they are – no credit card required: [Read more…]

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The Benefits of Blogging for Your Online Course Business

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**This post was originally published on 07/27/15 and updated on 04/26/18.**

The benefits of blogging are huge.

If I had to name the three things I’ve done over the years that have enabled me to break free from working for others and create an income and lifestyle based on my own terms, consistently building e-mail lists and speaking – whether at conferences or via digital channels – would be number two and three on the list.

But number one – by a long shot – would be blogging.

That may go against what you hear in other places. Blogging just isn’t as trendy as it once was, and truth be told, I don’t spend quite as much time on it as I once did (more on that in the future). But when I reflect on what has fueled the success I’ve had to date, it’s clear to me that nothing else has been as big a factor.

There are at least three huge benefits of blogging. [Read more…]

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