If you’ve ever considered buying or selling an online course, Udemy has most definitely crossed your mind. It’s by far the most popular site for buying online courses, and the quality is usually rather good. Furthermore, as a buyer, you may use ratings and reviews to weed out the garbage.
However, the major question for you is if it’s a good place to market your online courses. We’ll discuss why Udemy is so popular and the qualities that make it so tempting in our Udemy review.
What exactly is Udemy?
Today’s would-be educators have various options for selling their knowledge online. You may either build up a website where you trickle out new abilities to your clients every week or give your students lifetime access to your courses through a marketplace like Coursera or udacity.
Companies can use the course creation tools accessible on the web to create course content tailored to their specific needs. Udemy is one of those platforms that allows you to create a wide range of courses without being a web developer.
Udemy is a website that offers Massive Open Online Courses or M.O.O.C. Unlike Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, and other similar platforms, Udemy does not need users to create their website and courses from scratch. Instead, you use a pre-approved template to create your course, which you then sell on a platform alongside other instructor.
On Udemy, anybody may produce and market course content, and every course includes access to video educational sessions and “modules.” As a result, on Udemy, there are hundreds of thousands of courses covering everything from using E.D.X. to playing the piano.
Creating a fantastic Udemy course is about offering a simple learning experience for the specific course you want to sell. The system’s builder ensures that you can easily design course content and give a legitimate learning experience to a diverse group of students.
It’s quite simple to set up an Udemy account and start potentially earning money because anyone may publish a course on the platform. Your courses will be displayed among other learning opportunities to a large existing audience, similar to Skillshare. It is, however, your responsibility to create your course and ensure that clients use it. Always remind your students that they can take your classes at their own pace.
Anyone who may teach on Udemy is both a good and a problem. On the one hand, people can contribute their knowledge on almost any subject. On the other hand, you aren’t delivering courses through a recognised university. A lack of course accreditation may make it more difficult to persuade your pupils that your lectures are worthwhile.
How Does Udemy Work for Content Creators?
Udemy appears to be a fairly easy and useful product on the surface. This online learning portal allows you to distribute course information online and through Android and iOS apps. Thanks to the large community, you can also earn amazing course reviews and steadily grow your reputation. It’s not difficult to use Udemy.
As previously said, anyone can teach a course on whatever subject they want as long as they follow Udemy’s criteria. You don’t have to pay any fees to become an instructor, but if you want to enhance your chances of selling, you may provide a 30-day money-back guarantee to your students.
If you want to create a free course on Udemy, you don’t need permission, but if you want to create a premium course, you’ll need to follow quality requirements, including making sure your course has:
- High-definition video
- High-definition audio
- Five lectures or more
- At least 30 minutes of video content
- Instructor engagement
- Helpful supplemental resources
Educators who create paid courses will also require a Payoneer or PayPal account to link to Udemy to collect monthly payments.
Udemy, in particular, places a greater emphasis on video than other online learning platforms. Your courses will require at least 30 minutes of video, so Udemy teachers will need to create that content before they begin. You must also provide at least five lectures.
Fortunately, adding course materials to the Udemy platform is simple enough for content developers. Dropbox, Google Drive, and other popular technologies can mass upload documents. One possible advantage of Udemy is that when you publish an e-learning course on the platform, you keep its rights. You can also post your excellent courses on your website and do your digital marketing to draw attention to them.
When you create a masterclass for Udemy, you just give them permission to utilise and promote your course on their platform. You may learn more about how this works by looking at the Business content collection policy and permission policy.
Udemy also includes a Marketplace Insights tool that can show you what kind of demand specific topics have without doing a lot of LinkedIn and Google research. This can help you get the most out of your educational opportunity. This could be a nice place to start if you’re not sure what to make a course about. Udemy’s website and mobile app can also help you advertise your course.
Udemy also offers a specials programme, which allows you to increase your chances of attracting customers by offering a discount on your course. All you have to do to create a course on Udemy is follow a few simple steps, beginning with creating your Udemy account, and then:
- Choose a course topic: Think about what you want to teach in your course. You can get assistance from the market insights service.
- Define your target market: Determine who you’d like to reach with your courses and how you’ll engage with them.
- Create a course outline: You should have a general notion of how everything will fit together before creating an online course. Begin by determining what you’ll cover in each component of your course. Each segment should focus on a single talent.
- Plan practical activities: Make sure you employ all of Udemy’s features, including the ability to walk customers through practical tests.
- Check your transactional options: make sure you’ve got the necessary payment system in place to accept credit cards, voucher codes, and other methods of payment.
- Make sure you have the right processes in place to give audio and video training resources for your customers’ personal development.
- Set a price for your course: Choose an appropriate fee for the amount of information you’re providing while avoiding telling them that your lessons are a rip-off.
Udemy Basics
Starting to sell on Udemy appears to be a no-brainer at first glance. You don’t have to worry about hosting or site design because the platform is already established for you. In addition, students can discover your courses through Udemy, removing any promotion on your end.
However, this level of convenience comes at a price. I’m all for selling your courses and other items on the internet, but I also feel that your primary source of cash should be your website. You have complete control over your branding in this manner, and practically every penny of the sale price goes directly into your wallet.
However, because you must complete your marketing and operate your site, this freedom comes at a cost.
Remember that no matter what type of course solution you use, you’ll need to take steps to ensure that you stand out on social media and that your course appeals to the category with which it corresponds.
So, in this Udemy review, I’ll go through the benefits and drawbacks, as well as the types of business people who should use Udemy.
If you prefer to hear my voice, I’ve made a video version of the tutorial for you.
Udemy Pros
Udemy features a vibrant community and a user-friendly search tool to help you get your course in front of millions of people. If you want to start earning money while you build your following, I think Udemy is a good place to start. If you already have a website and a following, it’s also a great way to supplement your income.
The benefits of Udemy are numerous, so let’s go over some of the most useful tools, features, and pricing options.
The Community
People may search for and find the correct courses on Udemy because it offers by far the widest collection of themes and topics. The search module suggests certain categories, and the normal client should find what they’re looking for when browsing the site.
Although Lynda.com offers higher-quality courses, Udemy stands out for its number and grading system.
As a result, Udemy has a vibrant community of users who interact in forums and go straight to the Udemy website to acquire courses. It also helps since Udemy gives substantial discounts all year.
Users can also sign up for the Udemy email newsletter to obtain updates on new courses that may interest them. However, this is also a disadvantage because most of the branding is for Udemy, and not all of the traffic is directed to your class.
However, you may get consumers from other courses, making it a win-win situation for new course creators.
Udemy has integrated the entire communication system. As a result, you won’t need to build a forum or a comment section for your courses. Furthermore, you will not be responsible for sending out emails or selling your session in any way.
You only need to upload your courses.
When I analyse online course platforms, I usually go over all of the amazing features like marketing, course creation, statistics, etc. However, even if your platform includes all of those functions, you’ll still need to create the emails, develop the website, and start the marketing campaigns.
The majority of the effort with Udemy is spent designing and posting courses to the platform. The course format is already configured for you on Udemy, so there’s no need to fiddle with it. You also don’t have to upload your logo or create a comment section.
The infrastructure for launching and managing an online course has already been set up. Understandably, individuals choose this setup because it allows them to generate a lot of money without putting in the extra effort.
Also, as long as the consumer clicks on your unique sales link, you may still sell your courses and make close to 100% of the sale money.
Sales come from two directions.
There are a few benefits to being a part of a thriving community. You’re responsible for sending emails, generating advertising, and providing referral links to people who might be interested in your courses if you have a standalone website. With Udemy, this is also achievable.
If you take your Udemy course link and encourage someone to click through and pay for the course, Udemy will give you 97 per cent of the money. That’s quite impressive.
Udemy also has a marketing strategy and a community. You’re more likely to land sales this way because Udemy courses frequently appear in Google search results–all without having to work on your SEO.
When looking for lessons, many people head straight to the Udemy website. Even if you only get 50% of the revenue from a transaction made through Udemy (rather than your unique sales link), it’s still a sale you wouldn’t have had if Udemy hadn’t stepped in to help.
Lifetime, Offline, and Mobile Access are all available on Udemy.
Let’s pretend you’re a landscape photographer who wants to learn more about Adobe Lightroom.
You go to Udemy and purchase a course on both subjects.
Because you’re like landscape photography, it’s only natural that you’ll be on the road and outside, perhaps with spotty internet access. Don’t be concerned! The majority of Udemy courses may be downloaded and used offline.
In addition, our hypothetical photographer will have access to the course for the duration of Udemy’s existence.
Finally, mobile access makes viewing courses and videos from phones and tablets considerably more convenient. It makes no difference if you’re on a train, a plane, or strolling around the Grand Canyon; all you need is a phone (with no internet access) to check out your paid courses.
It’s easy to find courses on Udemy.
Another aspect of this Udemy review worth highlighting is how easy it is for your consumers to find your content. Content can be lost in a database with over 65,000 courses. You should, however, be able to locate the appropriate audience.
For example, you’ll be able to target the precise type of student you wish to attract when you build your course by answering questions like:
- What are the benefits of taking your course for students?
- Who should enrol in this class?
- What will your student require in terms of tools and knowledge?
Subsequently, your classes will be placed in the appropriate “Categories” pages on Udemy’s website.
The Marketplace Search Tool is simple to use for both educators and students. You can either search for a specific subject or enter keywords relevant to the course. Of course, if you want to attract as many students as possible, you must make sure that your lesson description is very useful and keyword-rich. For most educators, there will already be a lot of competition on Udemy.
Students will notice “Featured courses” when searching for courses by category, which are the most popular and highly rated courses on the Udemy platform.
Tracking your course engagement and optimising your description and content as often as possible is the greatest approach to ensure that you wind up in this section.
Because it’s so simple to sort content by rating, popularity, topic matter, and other factors, you’ll have more opportunities to keep track of your competitors.
It’s a good idea to evaluate some of the most highly rated and popular courses in your field regularly so you can figure out what you need to do to boost your chances of success.
Is there any information you can provide that isn’t covered in other courses, for example? Will including additional video content in your lessons improve their appeal? Could you bring in a guest lecturer to help your campaign become more thought-provoking?
Customer Support: Getting Help from Udemy
Are you making your first foray into the realm of online courses?
If you answered yes, you’d almost certainly require assistance. Even if you’ve taught before, chances are you haven’t spent much time online sharing your knowledge.
What’s the good news?
Udemy has a variety of options for getting the assistance you require.
You may learn more about becoming a premium instructor, changing your course, and even earning additional money by teaching by visiting the website’s F.A.Q. Section. You can also narrow down your search for help by going to other sections of the Udemy knowledge base, such as:
- Course Management
- Safety and Trust
- Quality Standards
- Payments
- Course Building
- Selling and Promotion
By selecting one of these options, you will be directed to a collection of in-depth articles and tutorials that address most of your queries.
Udemy provides a global teacher community that you may use for additional help. For example, in the instructor forums, you may ask questions and get answers from other teachers who, like you, have spent time learning how to utilise Udemy properly.
“StudioU” is the official forum for new teachers to ask questions and introduce themselves. If you’re a published instructor, on the other hand, you can join the Published Instructor club to speak with other instructors.
If none of the “D.I.Y.” help alternatives appeals to you, you may always submit a support ticket to the Udemy staff for expert assistance.
Udemy Cons
The majority of Udemy’s drawbacks are related to branding and control. The cost isn’t horrible in my perspective because you wouldn’t have many of these sales if it weren’t for Udemy in the first place. However, I feel that Udemy should be used to supplement your sales strategy.
On Udemy, some course creators make millions of dollars. I would think that having their website is probably not a concern for those persons. Udemy appears to be working for them, and the demand for complete branding and pricing control is unlikely to alter.
Those are the chosen ones.
Udemy should be used in conjunction with your website for most course sellers.
You Must Compete Against the Big Dogs
A rating system is beneficial to the typical consumer, but selling your course next to a merchant with thousands of five-star reviews is problematic.
The Udemy community and marketing system can be beneficial to newbies, but you’ll discover that most early marketing is done by you rather than Udemy.
Consider this: until you build a unique online course, you’ll be compared to others who have thousands of students and reviews. No sensible person would choose your 0-rating course over one with a higher reputation.
Udemy Slashes Prices Like Crazy
The course creator sets the price on Udemy. This is useful for estimating your earnings potential, but Udemy also runs sitewide sales regularly.
For example, I just came upon Valentine’s Day offer that reduced $200 courses to roughly $10. And this isn’t unusual. Weekend and weekday sales, holiday and non-holiday sales are available on Udemy.
As a result, you may notice an increase in your subscription count during certain times. The only downside is that you’re now stuck with $5 instead of splitting a $200 transaction with Udemy.
I’ve been waiting for pricing to drop because I know it’s part of Udemy’s marketing strategy. They’re more interested in bringing in waves of kids since it gets people on their platform.
Students who paid $10 for one course may be willing to pay several hundred dollars for a different one. Unfortunately, you might be the $10 course, and someone else could get the advantages.
Branding is a Problem
This is a straightforward one to address because Udemy doesn’t provide many tools for customising your courses. For example, you may certainly put your face in films, but a logo with distinctive colours would be far better. Furthermore, all emails and marketing materials sent out are branded for Udemy, not for your company.
Udemy takes a large percentage of your sale.
This has already been discussed as both a benefit and a drawback. But, even if Udemy generates the lead, I don’t believe a course author should receive only half of a transaction.
How to Use Udemy to Create an Online Course
If you’re planning to utilise Udemy to build an online course, the first thing you’ll need to learn is how to use the platform.
You’ll be ready to start your course with confidence now that you’ve learned about the benefits and drawbacks of Udemy. We’ll walk you through the essentials of getting started so that you can move on from this Udemy review on the good road.
You’ll need a great lesson plan with a lot of good content to share with your students. Here are a few things to remember:
- Research your audience and find out what kind of queries they’re asking
- To assist you, look for some online course creation videos.
- Create a lead magnet on a branded website that directs visitors to your course.
- To keep people interested, use a variety of movies, photos, and other media.
- Support your students with regular feedback.
Go to the Udemy support website’s “Course Building” area when you’re ready to start. Everything you need to know about changing content in your lectures, managing videos, and setting assignments for your course can be found here.
The Course Management Dashboard is the major item you’ll need to become used to. This is your step-by-step guide to making and distributing a course.
So, how can you put this tool to work for you?
It’s not as difficult as it appears.
On each page of the course management dashboard, you’ll find ideas and information to help you with your lesson plan strategy. On the left-hand side of your website, you’ll see a list of things you need to complete, such as adding course messages or including assignments. As you accomplish each stage, those objects will tick themselves off. It’s a simple process, according to most Udemy evaluations.
When you’ve published your course, you may also go back into the system and edit anything if you need to.
There are choices to:
- Change the student you’re after.
- Adapt the course image, description, subtitle, title, marketing video, basic details, and instructor profiles
- To your curriculum, add sections, videos, lectures, and more.
- Incorporate new instructors into your programme.
- Price changes and coupons are made.
- Keep track of your students.
- On the Udemy Course Organization dashboard, you may learn to manage all of the above.
F.A.Q.: Top Questions about Udemy
Do you have any more questions about Udemy?
For further information, look over these frequently asked questions.
Are the courses on Udemy accredited?
Usually? No.
Unlike MOOCs given by schools and institutions, Udemy courses rarely provide a certificate of expertise that a potential job may accept. Udemy is more about learning how to do things to develop your abilities and self than improving your CV. Udemy allows people from all over the world to share their knowledge with other would-be learners all over the world.
Udemy isn’t a good location to get college credit.
Is Udemy a Better Learning Platform Than Lynda?
Depending on whom you ask. Lynda is a flexible learning platform for people who want to take various courses for a monthly flat charge. However, Udemy allows clients to pay lessons per diem. This means that you pay just for the instructional resources you’re going to use.
Is a Certificate of Completion available from Udemy?
Yes.
A certificate of completion is issued to students who complete an Udemy course, which they can share with friends, families, and even potential employers. These certifications, however, are not recognised by any educational institution. Moreover, certifications are not available for free courses in Brazil.
Is there a way to get free courses on Udemy?
Absolutely!
On Udemy, there are a plethora of free leadership courses for advanced, moderate, and beginner leaders. The only issue is that searching for and filtering through results for free courses is difficult. As a result, users may need to spend some time scrolling through all of the possibilities in their chosen category before finding a free course package.
Tutors and educators can also discount courses if they wish to distribute their lessons to friends and family members for free.
How much does Udemy set you back?
Signing up as a learner or an instructor on Udemy is completely free. However, you’ll have to pay for each lesson separately when you buy a course – unlike Lynda; you won’t be charged a monthly subscription.
Instructors can utilise Udemy’s “global price tier matrix” to determine how much their lessons should cost based on the type of education they provide and where their students live. The course cost is capped at $199.99, and instructors can change the price of their course at any time.
If you wish to, you can also provide a free course. You can, however, only change from free to paid once. If you return to free after switching to premium, your promotional choices for the course will be permanently blocked.
Do Udemy Courses Have an End Date?
No.
Your course does not have a time limit. You’ll have unrestricted access to the content you’ve paid for as soon as you pay for a class.
How Do You Purchase an Udemy Course?
Easy!
When a user finds a course on Udemy that they wish to buy, they simply click the Purchase button and are directed to a checkout page. On the Checkout page, you can pay with a credit or debit card, as well as bank transfers and purchases made through the App Store or Google Pay. PayPal acquisitions are also possible.
Who Should Think About Using Udemy to Sell Online Courses?
Udemy is a good option for people who wish to supplement their current online course website with a new cash stream. The community will assist in amass extra sales while the simple course creation tools are already there for you.
