My friend and I are in the early stages of starting an online e-learning business focused on the Asian market. We want to offer western-style education to white-collar workers, with courses that cover English language proficiency, business skills, and soft skills development. Between us, I’ve got 8 years of marketing experience, and my friend has 10 years in sales, so we’re confident we can leverage our skills for this venture.
That said, we’re pretty new to actually creating e-learning courses. I worked for an e-learning provider for three years, so I’m familiar with the industry, but not the nuts and bolts of course creation. We’ve come across Kajabi, which seems like a strong option since it handles everything, but I’ve also seen mentions of Paradiso and other platforms.
Does anyone here have experience with these platforms or have any other recommendations? We’re looking for something that can help us both build the courses and host them on an LMS. Any advice or insights would be super helpful as we dive into this
Congratulations on launching your e-learning business.
Your background in marketing and sales provides a strong foundation for success.
Choosing the Right E-Learning Platform
Platforms like Kajabi, Paradiso, and Teachable are popular options for creating and hosting online courses. Each has its pros and cons, so it’s important to choose the one that best fits your needs.
Key Factors to Consider:
Ease of Use: How intuitive is the platform for course creation and managing students?
Features: Does the platform offer what you need, such as course creation tools, marketing features, payment processing, and student management?
Pricing: Compare the costs of different plans and features to find the best value.
Scalability: Will the platform support your growth as your business expands?
I suggest taking advantage of free trials offered by these platforms to see which one works best for you.
Course Creation Tips
Define Your Target Audience: Understand who your ideal student is to tailor your course content effectively.
Create Engaging Content: Incorporate a mix of videos, audio, and text to keep learners engaged.
Structure Your Course: Organize your course into clear modules and lessons for easy navigation.
Test and Iterate: Use feedback from beta testers to refine and improve your course.
Marketing and Sales
Leverage Your Network: Use your existing contacts to spread the word about your courses.
Social Media Marketing: Share engaging content that attracts potential students.
Content Marketing: Write blog posts and articles related to your course topics to build interest.
Email Marketing: Grow an email list to nurture leads and promote your courses effectively.
Creating and hosting online courses is a rewarding endeavor. It involves selecting the right topic, designing the course structure and curriculum, planning content, selecting an engaging delivery method, producing course content, choosing an online course platform, setting goals and pricing, and launching and marketing the course. The process can be broken down into actionable steps, such as choosing the right topic, designing the course structure and curriculum, setting goals and pricing, and promoting the course through various channels. It is essential to consider the target audience, the subject you are knowledgeable about, and the demand for the topic. The process can be further simplified by focusing on the right platform, defining learning outcomes, and establishing a pricing structure that reflects your value. Remember, your unique perspective and expertise will make your course stand out.
Define your course topic and audience. Use platforms like Teachable or Thinkific to design and host your course. Develop engaging content, including videos and quizzes, and market your course through social media and email.
The e-learning platforms are summarised as follows:
Kajabi: A one-stop shop with robust capabilities for marketing, sales, and course building. Easy to use, yet possibly expensive and with more features than necessary.
Paradiso is an advanced LMS including gamification and customised reporting. Better for intricate configurations, but more difficult to administer and appropriate for larger-scale deployments.
Teachable: Simple to use, with robust capabilities for student administration and course design. less extensive in marketing features than Kajabi, but more reasonably priced.
Thinkific: Easy to use, adaptable in terms of price, and capable of creating multimedia courses. For sophisticated marketing, further integrations can be required.
Podia: Features for digital downloads, subscriptions, and courses; straightforward and reasonably priced. Restricted in contrast to platforms with greater depth.
LearnWorlds: Provides robust tools for user involvement along with interactive elements. may be too much for newcomers to handle.
For what you require,Kajabi or Teachable could be appealing for their marketing tools and ease of use, while Paradiso or LearnWorlds might offer more customization and advanced features. Free trials or demos could help determine the best fit.
