Well hello again! We’ve been talking about packaging up your course and turning it into a sellable product.
In the last lesson we looked at the work required to upgrade your course assets in readiness for your first full launch.
In this lesson we’ll talk about your course platform, which is where those upgraded assets will be uploaded so they are accessible to your buyers.
If you used a dedicated course platform for your beta launch, you can just update those assets in situ and run your full launch from the same place.
But if you kept your beta launch simple, and are only now moving to a fully fledged course platform, you’ll need to choose which one to use.
And that’s what this lesson is designed to help you to do.
The Reality of Choosing Your Course Platform
There are dozens of good platforms out there and trying to sort through all the options can easily lead to what I call “platform paralysis”.
So here’s what I’ve learned over my years in the online course world:
- You’ll never compare all the platforms side by side. There are too many, the features won’t line up exactly and new ones appear all the time.
- No platform is 100 percent perfect for you. They’ll all have something that’s missing or you don’t like. Give up on the idea of a perfect choice.
- The platform you choose with isn’t a forever decision. Once you better understand what you need, you can switch and migrate your content.
If there’s no perfect decision, how can you at least make a good one?
By understanding the most important factors when choosing a platform.
In this lesson we’ll explore those deciding factors.
Note: The following factors won’t just affect the platform you choose, but the specific subscription plan you join.
So let’s jump in…
1. Does the platform include video hosting?
It sounds like an essential feature, but not all platforms include video hosting.
This is most common with platforms that charge a one-time fee rather than a monthly subscription because video hosting is an ongoing cost for providers.
If your chosen platform doesn’t include video hosting, you’ll need a third-party service like YouTube or Vimeo, which may have an additional cost.
2. Does the platform provide a community?
Community is one of our three programme “pillars” and providing a community is a great way to support students as they work through your course.
Some course platforms have a community feature built in, but it’s usually more basic than a dedicated community platform like Circle.
That’s okay, as a simple community is sufficient if your content is the main focus, and it’s certainly convenient having everything under one roof.
So if you want to provide a community, make sure you know what the platform you’re considering provides in that area.
And if your favourite platform doesn’t support community, factor in the additional cost and setup time of integrating third-party software.
3. Does the platform include email marketing?
Most course platforms will send essential customer emails like purchase confirmations and password resets on your behalf.
But with the exception of all-in-one platforms like Kajabi or Podia, most don’t support email marketing, which is a valuable way of promoting your course.
That’s fine if you already use a tool like MailChimp or ConvertKit to stay in touch with leads and existing customers. (You can usually also link your email software to your course platform to keep customers in sync.)
However, if you don’t yet use an email marketing tool you’ll either need to choose a platform that includes it, or sign up for a separate email provider.
Note: a small number of course platforms require a third-party email tool for sending even essential transactional emails.
4. Does the platform handle sales taxes?
I can’t advise on whether you should be collecting taxes from your course buyers. (The answer depends on where you’re based, where your buyers are based, and the specifics of your course and business.)
However, support for sales taxes varies significantly from platform to platform.
Some ignore taxes altogether. Some collect taxes but don’t remit them. Some handle everything for you.
Be sure to check your chosen platform has the support you need.
5. Does the platform support [Feature X]?
As well as the core features you’d expect to find on any course platform, numerous additional features are available on some but not all platforms, or available on some plans but not others.
Here are some examples:
- Quizzes – these let you test students’ understanding of key concepts and even block further progress until a certain score is achieved
- Coupons – these let you create special offers for specific groups of people when marketing your course
- Certificates – these allow you to automatically issue a certificate of achievement to students who successfully complete your course
- Affiliates – this lets other people promote your course for a commission
If a specific feature is a deal-breaker for you, don’t assume a particular platform supports it out-of-the-box, confirm that it does.
6. Does the platform meet your budget?
As you would expect, course platforms aren’t free. Most charge a monthly or annual fee.
A modest plan on a basic platform could cost around $19/month, but you can pay $199/month or even more for additional features and capacity.
Note: Annual plans usually offer a healthy discount.
Naturally you hope that your future course sales will render your monthly costs irrelevant, but it’s important to have a budget in mind.
Most platforms will have multiple plans with a range of prices and feature sets, allowing you to scale up as your course grows.
And some will allow you to start out on a free plan and upgrade when you’re ready to sell.
So, Which Platform Will You Choose?
It’s easier said than done, but try not to overthink the platform decision.
As long as you’re willing to be a little flexible, you’ll learn to make the best of whichever platform you choose.
I use Podia because it does everything that most people need for a reasonable price. It’s not the most feature-rich or the sexiest looking, but it’s simple enough for the average course creator to manage on their own.
That said, I’ll put a resource below with some additional options.
See you in the next lesson!