“Where does everyone host their online course?” is a question that has generated almost 1,000 post views on OCCCNA.
OCCCNA stands for Online Course Creators Community For Newbies and Advanced Beginners, with 5000 members all over world.
As the Admin on OCCCNA, I had to attend to the question as OCCCNA’s tagline is ASK PAUL.
So, this is my comprehensive answer to the question Ebbie Vicky Emeka asked, “Where does everyone host their online course?”.
At as the last count, the question had elicited 53 comments, including from my good friend Peter Shunn.
Peter Shunn’s elaborate comment (which you can get here) is 99.99% correct.
I reserved the remaining 0.01% because as professionals, we should not and will not recommend the platform(s) we use.
We should recommend a platform best fit for purpose.
For instance, I use my proprietary platforms, including ibmcer, but I will not recommend it for someone else.
This is my reason: my platforms are down 50% of the time and I’m yet to resolve the challenge.
You guessed right, you can host your courses on my platforms for free.
You only pay me 3% of your earnings when you make money, that is, when you make a sale.
On the other hand, commercial LMSs such as Kajabi, Podia, Graphy, Ontraport, Vonza, etc. are far better in the long run.
However, they are too expensive in the short run for a beginner generating no revenue.
But Graphy has an edge, which I elaborated when I did price comparison of all the major LMS’s on OCCCNA.
I use #Graphy, and you’ll soon see why.
Next in line are the stand-alone platforms like #Teachable, Thinkific, Ruzuku, etc., which are equally good in their own rights
I use Teachable to this day.
Then there are also the lesson selling platforms like Coursera, Udemy, Alison Courses, etc.
I don’t I don’t use these platforms because most are geared towards academic courses.
Hopefully, I will throw up a couple of courses on the three platforms in 2023.
Finally, don’t forget Skillshare and Slideshare.
These platforms put money in your pocket and boost your credibility when you publish on them.
But do you know that you can host your courses on YouTube and Vimeo and make money?
All you need to do is set them up your courses (video lessons) as Unlisted.
You only share passwords with those who have bought your course and you can go to sleep.
This strategy has netted me eight figures with zero adverts, zero sales funnel, and zero marketing.
Ask me how I did it.
My success with selling digital courses online has spinned off other absolutely unexpected income streams. Let’s reserve that story for another day.
So, as Peter Shunn said, where you host your course depends on what you want or wish to achieve.
And as he further explained, the course hosting platform that is good for you today will become constraining tomorrow.
In effect, he went on to say, you have to keep evolving with the platforms you choose as you grow.
My personal objective now is to scale globally and reach a wider audience and Graphy suits the bill.
Graphy is a global, all-in-one course hosting platform that rivals the top end platforms.
Indeed Graphy allows me to scale at a fraction of the cost of the premium LMSs and my proprietary platforms.
Graphy allows me to pay when I make money unlike most others, which take their fees upfront. Forento also does the same if I’m not mistaken.
Perhaps a time will come when I will revert to my personal platforms.
The reason is, in the end nothing beats what is yours.
All I have said here are my take and you’re not bound to pay a hoot.
In summary, my advice to every course creator starting out is, DON’T SPEND MONEY until you start making money.
Don’t spend money on a course hosting platform until you start making money.
Brendon Burchard, who is an investor in a top LMS, didn’t start with that platform until he’d achieved global prominence.
He established his credibility by posting free content on YouTube for years before pivoting to face-to-face training via his #TheExpertsAcademy
At a point the fee for TEA was $5,000 and you had to book one year in advance.
As they say in my own part of the world, the rest is history.
Brendon Burchard is recognized globally as the biggest online trainer out there.
So, in the long run, as a “Newbie” course creator, course hosting platform is the least of your problem.
Your biggest challenge is having something to say, a TPOV to share it and the RIGHT audience willing to listen. That means they are willing to put hands in their pockets and pay you or buy.
When you have these three ingredients – winning idea, TPOV, hungry market – choosing a course hosting platform becomes a walk through the park.
The reason is simple – you will know where most of your target audience (“hungry market”) is congregating.
Remember, as the marketing cliché goes, success in marketing boils down to one thing “finding a hungry market.”
Hope this helps Ebbie Vicky Emeka, a “Newbie) course creator, and all the “Newbies” on OCCCNA out there.
@CoachPaul /Creator, iSchool (On Graphy).
