These are online
course platforms that, in addition to providing ways to author/assemble
courses, also provide an existing marketplace in which to sell online courses.
I’ve only included what I consider to be the top contenders here. For more
extensive list of options in this category, see Looking for an Alternative
to Udemy?
OpenSesame
If
you happen to be an expert, or manage experts (e.g., if you represent a
training firm or association) that is developing offerings at this level of
sophistication,OpenSesame might be the first place you want to check out. You
can also upload video, and the company claims that courses published in its
system can be accessed by any learning management system (LMS). So, for
example, if you know there are businesses out there that would want your
content, but are going to want it on their own LMS, this could be a very
powerful option. The company takes 40% of any sales you make through its
platform.
Link: https://www.opensesame.com/sell-online-elearning-training-courses
Skillshare
Skillshare provides
instructors with tools to create courses composed of video lessons and a “class
project.” (All classes are have these two elements.) Classes are normally 10-25
minutes long, broken down into short videos, and they are all pre-recorded and
self-paced. Once you have enrolled more than 25 learners in a class, you become
eligible for participation in Skillshare’s Partner Program and can earn money
through the royalty pool managed by the company – usually $1-2 per enrollment,
according to the company. (Unlike Udemy – discussed below – Skillshare sells
subscriptions to all of its content rather than to individual courses.) Once
you are a partner, you’ll also get compensated for new Premium Members ($10
per) you bring to Skillshare through your Teacher Referral link. The Skillshare
site reports that “Top teachers make up to $40,000 a year.”
Link: https://www.skillshare.com/teach
Udemy
The
folks at Udemy say “Our goal is to disrupt and democratize education by
enabling anyone to learn from the world’s experts.” From what I can tell, they
have been doing a pretty good job at it. The Udemy platform gives subject matter
experts a simple, straightforward way to assemble content like PowerPoint
slides, PDF documents, and YouTube videos into a coherent course experience.
You can then publish into the Udemy marketplace and use a variety of tools to
promote your masterpieces. Udemy is free for instructors – the company makes
it’s money by keeping 50% if it sells your course. If you make the sale, you
keep 97% (Udemy takes a 3% transaction fee). Keep in mind that your are
currently required to price your courses in $5 increments between $20 and $200
on Udemy (source) – quite restrictive, in my opinion.
Even so, ThinkTraffic reports that some some
instructors have been having quite a bit of success.
Link: http://www.udemy.com/teach
