What are your thoughts on the new Udemy pricing model?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Camden Ross on March 30, 2016 at 5:32am

I don't think I ever have paid full price (or even over $40) for an online course -- and I have access to several top rated Udemy courses (that retailed at the time $200+ if I remember correctly). While there may be value for the course developer to have their courses priced very expensively, unless they run a special that deeply discounts it, I am unlikely to purchase - regardless of the topic.

When I heard that Udemy was changing their pricing model, I was a little happy, but also a touch worried that it might impact the platform. In theory, a higher priced course will cover a topic more in depth, but this doesn't have to be this way. With a narrow band of price, only time will tell if it will get crowded with varied-quality courses hovering around the $40-50 mark.

This means as a purchaser, I will be more interested in number of current users and number of ratings for a given course, which will give an edge to more popular instructors and make it harder for quality newcomers to the platform.

So these are my thoughts. Hope you're having a great week Jeff!

~Cam

P.S. I should also add that the lower prices make purchasing courses more appealing, and it makes me more likely to grab a course for something I want to learn better rather than do my own Google self-learning -- which is what I have done for most things up to this point since I am on a pretty strict budget.

Permalink Reply by Camden Ross on March 31, 2016 at 6:03am

That seems fine.

I entered this discussion to share my thoughts on Udemy's change in pricing, not to share my thoughts on the platform or advice that people should run far away from it.

I'm sure there were teachers who abandoned the platform because they wanted to charge more, but they likely lost students in the move. Would they make more elsewhere? Some might, some may not.

I have not created a course like you would find on Udemy or any similar LMS platform, I have only benefited from being a purchaser. I have been very impressed with the quality of instructors on the classes I have purchased (about 6 or so courses).

Will the quality of the courses available change? Maybe. I know that the instructors I have purchased from have hundreds of students on the platform. This makes them likely to keep teaching through it, and if I run the numbers, they appear to be doing very well.

Again I am responding to Jeff's question about the price change structure on one LMS platform -- not my thoughts on the platform itself, or any recommendations to leave it or suggestions for other platforms to use instead. I have no idea if Jeff has courses on Udemy, nor do I think that is a bad idea for teachers to be using this platform.

Group LeaderPermalink Reply by Terry Hadaway on March 30, 2016 at 6:57am

I prefer using the free WordPress Learning Management System plugin—LifterLMS. That allows me to host my courses on my own WordPress site. There are several advantages to this:

1. No one can tell me how much I can charge for my course.
2. I can keep the income and not have to share it with the host.
3. It allows me to cross-promote my resources in any way I choose.
4. My courses don't get lost in the multitude of similar courses.
5. My courses are part of my overall business plan...all hosted in the same location (blogging, courses, coaching, consulting).
6. Did I say that LifterLMS is free? Yep... not a scaled-down version, but the full thing. You can purchase upgraded support and so forth, but if you can manage a WordPress site, you can run LifterLMS. Lifter is a state-of-the-art LMS that makes it possible to trigger situational engagements, create membership plans, and more.
7. The average Udemy instructor makes $7000 per year... using self-hosted courses, you can grow your business to six figures in a short amount of time.
8. With the Udemy model, the more you make, the more they make. In the self-hosted model, the more you make, the more you keep!

I currently have a free resource available. It's called 10 Steps to an Awesome Course. It will help you get on the road to turning your knowledge into evergreen resources. You can click the image to the left to get your copy.

Here's the thing... if you have your content ready to be hosted on Udemy, you've already done the hard part. Why settle for a few thousand dollars per year when you can make ten to one hundred times that amount?

I posted a course on Udemy in August 2013. My total earnings from that course are $95. That's almost three years, so I'm averaging about $30 per year. I have the same course on my website. It's more expensive than the Udemy version. It's been there less than a year. However, I've made more than $10,000 from it.

If you have questions about creating engaging, effective educational resources and courses, shoot me an email at [email protected].

Terry Hadaway - 48 Days Learning Coach

Group LeaderPermalink Reply by Terry Hadaway on March 30, 2016 at 12:04pm

LifterLMS is compatible with WooCommerce and PayPal. I process all payments through PayPal without any complications.

Group LeaderPermalink Reply by Jeff Long on March 31, 2016 at 1:07pm

Hey Terry. Thanks for chiming in. I hope all is well!

I know the lead developer of LifterLMS. He's a great guy.

I know the lead developer of LifterLMS. He's a great guy. I bought into LearnDash before LifterLMS came out, so I usually use that, but was able to become a beta tester for LifterLMS when it came out last year. I like what they're both doing. Ultimately they do similar things and each have their own strengths.

Permalink Reply by Tim Wright on June 6, 2016 at 9:21am

Would it be unethical (or against Udemy TOS) to offer smaller introductory courses on Undemy (to tap into their larger audience base), but then recommend other courses hosted on your own website in the final module?

Permalink Reply by Scott Duffy on June 6, 2016 at 9:25am

Yes, you are allowed to pitch whatever you wish (consulting service, newsletter signup, the advanced course on your own site) in the final module. But only in the final module and nowhere else.

Permalink Reply by Tim Wright on June 6, 2016 at 9:32am

Thank you, Scott. Just to clarify, you're saying it is NOT against Udemy Terms of Service (TOS) to promote other courses in the final module (only). Is that correct?

Permalink Reply by Scott Duffy on June 6, 2016 at 9:39am

Worth reading the rules directly.

https://support.udemy.com/customer/portal/articles/2069151-bonus-le...

"A bonus lecture is the last lecture of the course, typically after the concluding lecture. You can use this space to market your other courses and products to students and to inform your students of additional material that you provide beyond the course. It is considered to be a marketing tool."

Yes, you can pitch The Brooklyn Bridge for a very special price in the bonus lecture.

Permalink Reply by Tim Wright on June 6, 2016 at 9:41am

Excellent. Thank you again, Scott. I appreciate your help. :)

Permalink Reply by Bob Carpenter on June 6, 2016 at 12:43pm

Thanks for that input, Terry. I have a wordpress site and will be trying Lifter LMS. You make an ironclad argument for it, and opened my eyes to what I can do with my wordpress site. As soon as I post this, I will download your 10 Steps offer...thank you in advance for that!

Also, thank you for the coffee at Innovate. It was very delicious and I enjoyed it.

Group LeaderPermalink Reply by Terry Hadaway on June 10, 2016 at 6:31am

You are welcome, Bob. I always want entrepreneurs to have access to the best free solutions. That makes our businesses profitable more quickly. We enjoyed serving coffee... wish we could have been there longer but Melinda's oral surgery interrupted our availability. We'll be back at future events with more coffee and more fun. Thanks!

Terry

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