OCTOBER 17, 2023

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Welcome to The Tilt, a twice-weekly newsletter for content entrepreneurs.

Options for Your Online Course

Online courses in your content business distinguish expert creators from hobby creators. Only 9% of hobby creators sell courses, while 33% of expert creators building a small business do, according to The Tilt research.

The survey found that online courses also rank in the top three most profitable revenue streams. But how do you find a platform to host your online courses when you’re ready to monetize?

First, consider your requirements – and don’t just think about what you need for your first course. Identify potential criteria for upcoming courses and related services. You don’t want to pick a system now only to find it doesn’t meet your needs for the next course, and you have to switch. Learning another system and promoting a different platform to your audience can present unnecessary challenges.

Do you want a one-stop platform where you can build a website, email list, courses, etc.? Or do you just need a place to host your courses? Will you offer quizzes and exams in your courses? Will you distribute certificates for students completing your courses?

Will you price your courses individually or charge for a membership that includes the courses? Will you create a learning community connected to your courses where students can interact with each other and you?

Of course, expenses also come along with each platform. Most of the platforms charge a monthly fee – even free comes with a charge as you usually must pay a transaction-related fee for each sale. Evaluate the benefits for each subscription category and learn how easy it is to upgrade when your course listing or student group grows bigger.

Here’s a list of some of the most popular online course-related platforms:

• ​Teachable: You can sell courses and digital downloads. Subscriptions range from $0 to $199 a month, plus transaction-related fees.
• ​Thinkific: You can build courses and communities as well as mobile apps. Starter plans range from free to $74 a month.
• ​Kajabi: Designed to be an all-in-one platform, creators can sell courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships, and communities. Fees range from $119 a month to $319 a month with no transaction fees.
• ​Podia: Built as an ecosystem for creators, services start with websites and email lists to digital downloads, courses, webinars, and affiliate programs. Prices range from free to $75 a month. Transaction fees are not charged for the paid accounts.
• ​LearnWorlds: You can host and sell online courses and related products. Prices range from $25 a month (plus $5 per course sale) to $249 a month.

You may be familiar with course sites like SkillShare, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning. They are platforms designed for the students – they sell memberships that give access to the wide catalog of courses. Instructors receive a percentage of a monthly stipend or revenue based on the total minutes of their classes watched. Course creators don’t have control over the revenue, but they do benefit from the wide-scale general marketing and promotion done by the platforms. If you have a small audience right now, you may want to consider these options as a reasonable starting point.

– Ann Gynn

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Entrepreneur: Maria Melchor

Biz: FirstGenLiving​

Tilt: Money management for first-generation Americans and young people

Scene: Website, newsletter (2K), Instagram (187K), TikTok (37.7K), LinkedIn​

Snack Bites:

• Maria wanted to learn about money management for her own life. She turned that education into a side hustle to boost her income.
• The expert creator’s first revenue stream was one-on-one coaching. Now, she earns most of FirstGenLiving revenue (about $75K to $85K this year) from speaking engagements and brand partnerships.
• Next up for Maria is an online course – a revenue stream that doesn’t require a recurring time commitment from her and lets her reach more people.

Why We Stan: Maria’s content tilt is different enough to make her stand out from other financial education creators. She also realized coaching alone wasn’t enough to sustain a full-time business and continues to expand her revenue streams.

– Ann Gynn

​Read more about Maria and her journey.​

Know a content creator who’s going full tilt? DM us. Or email tilt@thetilt.com.

• ​The No-Click Social Media Strategy (Content Inc.)
• ​AI Chatbots Run Amok (This Old Marketing)
• Let’s talk consulting and coaching this Tuesday for Tilt Your Business: A Weekly Mastermind for the Creator Economy. Starts at 12 p.m. US EST with Tilters Michelle Peterson Clark and Ann Gynn.
• ​CEX2024 Call for Speakers is now OPEN. We are looking for original talks that will help content creators build audiences, drive revenue, and refine processes. Submit today!