4. SEO Project Manager at Airbnb
Previously SEO Manager at PayPal
Created an online SEO training course
with 5,000+ users called ClickMinded
Who is this bozo?
5. ClickMinded started
as a live, face-to-
face training class at
a co-working space
in San Francisco.
13. The Course Skeleton
Create a simple
skeleton outline
of your entire
course in Google
Docs.
Create a simple 1.0
presentation with
just text in Google
slides.
Convert the
Google Slides into
a well-designed
Powerpoint or
Keynote.
14. No good at Powerpoint or Keynote?
Use Upwork.com to find freelancers to do it for
you.
15. Stock Photography & Video
• Free
‣ Unsplash
‣ Gratisography
‣ Death To The Stock Photo
‣ Negative Space
‣ Picjumbo
• Paid
‣ Shutterstock Video
‣ VideoHive
‣ VideoBlocks
‣ GraphicRiver
‣ PhotoDune
16. • Video courses seem to command the most dollars.
• They’re more difficult to pull off but worth it in the end.
• Live audience vs just you.
• Scouting a location.
Video Courses
17. Video Courses & Meetup.com
• One of the best, fastest, cheapest ways to get people of similar
interests into a room with you.
• Set up a Meetup group at least 30 days before your event, create an
event right away.
• You don’t even necessarily need a location for your event, just start
collecting names.
• This effectively becomes a mailing list for people interested in your
subject.
• Integrate Eventbrite - don’t make it free! Put a price on it and offer a
discount.
18. Fast, Cheap & Effective Video
Have a Mac? Use Photo Booth.
19. Fast, Cheap & Effective Video
Have a iPhone? Shoot with that.
20.
21. Tools & Apps for Your Phone
Cinema FV-5
on Android
FiLMic Pro
on iPhone
Smartphone
Tripod
22. One of the best films at Sundance was
shot on an iPhone 5s.
23.
24. Additional Content Mediums
• Slides: Use Slideshare to embed an entire presentation.
• Slides with audio: Record your voice while you’re going
through slides via Screenflow.
• Embedded quizzes: Use self-graded quizzes to make sure
students are getting it.
• Downloadable files: PDFs, MP3s, MP4s, Programming Code
& Scripts, Graphics and more.
26. Marketplaces
There are a few top-tier “self-serve” course marketplaces. These
are ecosystems you should consider uploading your content to.
27. Marketplaces
• There are a number of additional “teaching ecosystems” that have a
high barrier to entry. You generally have to contact them, get approved,
and sometimes even fly to where they are and re-shoot their content in
their style. Don’t start with these.
• There are a large number of “2nd tier” course marketplaces. Don’t start
with these either.
• There are also MOOCs, which are generally free and have content from
major universities. You generally couldn’t even start with these if you
wanted to.
28. Self-Serve Marketplaces:
• The first place you should go to create a course.
• Great if you don’t want to create your own site.
• Millions of students, thousands of teachers, strong promotional
network.
• Pretty good UI and a good course editor.
• Very high revenue share (Udemy takes a minimum 50% of all sales).
• If you opt-in to Udemy’s marketing programs, they take even more.
Udemy
29. Self-Serve Marketplaces: Udemy
• Udemy sends out coupon codes way too frequently.
• Udemy gives you 100% of revenue from students you refer, but you
don’t get their email address, and Udemy markets competitor
courses to them.
• You can not price your course above $300.
• The rules are subject to change (and have changed frequently).
30. Self-Serve Marketplaces:
• 750,000+ Students.
• Creative orientation (Design, Photography, DIY, Culinary).
• 25+ students puts you in their partner program.
• Pays out on the number of monthly premium enrollments + student
projects created in each class.
• Not very straight forward and they seem to obfuscate it with weird
examples on their FAQ page.
• I generally don’t like participating in “all you can eat” learning
engagements because the incentives are for the marketplace and
not for you.
Skillshare
31. Self-Serve Marketplaces:
• “All-You-Can-Eat” course marketplace from Shutterstock.
• Students pay $19 a month, can access all content.
• Instructors are pooled together and paid 30% of all revenue based
on how many minutes students watch.
• Most courses are less than 20 minutes.
• I generally don’t like participating in “all you can eat” learning
engagements because the incentives are for the marketplace and
not for you.
Skillfeed
35. WordPress
• WordPress is a free content management system (CMS) that powers
~20% of the internet.
• What started off as blogging software has become a powerful way
to run a comprehensive website.
• One of the biggest benefits of WordPress is the vast ecosystem of
themes and plugins that are available.
• Many learning managements systems (LMS) to create online
courses are built on WordPress as themes and plugins.
37. Learning Management System (LMS)
• Software that hosts your online course is called an LMS.
• Most LMS’ allow you to create multiple courses, and within
those courses you can create a series of chapters and
lessons.
• Most LMS’ also include a grade book and progress tracker.
• An LMS is not an online learning ecosystem like Skillshare or
Udemy, it’s the software you install yourself.
38. Learning Management System (LMS)
• The upside to using an LMS is more control over the look
and feel.
• The downside is more technical integration needed and
multiple 3rd parties that need to ‘play nice’ with each other.
• Content can be text, video or images and grading can be
automated
• Not all of them are on WordPress, but many are.
39. LMS:
• In my experience, the best way to host your own course.
• You can host your content as a subdomain on their site or
your own.
• I recommend WordPress as your primary site and Fedora
installed on a subdomain.
• $0 - $300 a month.
Fedora
40. • A WordPress plugin that functions as a great LMS within WordPress.
• Technically works with any WordPress theme, but some
customization is required. They recommend using the WooThemes
Definition theme.
• Other themes that work well with Sensei are Skillfully, Guru and LMS.
• Relies on the insanely popular WooCommerce for checkout
functionality.
LMS: Sensei
41. LMS: Sensei
• Uses the regular WordPress database to store user
information.
• Not great for quizzes and tests.
• Lots of plugin conflicts that would break lessons, checkout
functionality, logins.
• Starts at $129.
42. • WordPress plugin that integrates with your existing theme.
• Drag-and-drop content creation within WordPress.
• Full courses have modules, modules have course units,
course units have tests and quizzes.
• Better quiz and test functionality than Sensei.
LMS: WP Course Ware
43. LMS: WP Course Ware
• Not as seamless as Sensei.
• Requires a separate membership & payment integration to
secure content.
• Easily integrates with s2 Member, Wishlist, Premise,
Memberpress, Membersonic & Paid Memberships Pro.
• Starts at $99.
44. LMS: Learn Dash
• WordPress plugin that integrates with your existing WordPress
installation.
• All-In-One solution: You don’t need a separate plugin to manage
memberships, drip content or process payments
• Integrates with PayPal, 2CheckOut, Woocommerce and a few other
45. LMS: Learn Dash
• Uses the Tin Can API, which allows other high-end learning
systems to communicate with each other and track learning
experience
• Many higher ed institutions use LearnDash.
• Starts at $99.
46. Second-Tier WordPress LMS
WPLMS Academy Clever Course LMS Press
EduLMS Educator WPS
There are lots of these you can check
out, but I still recommend using Fedora.
47. WordPress Membership Plugins
• You can create content, and then create a WordPress
membership site to access that content (DIY LMS).
• Some LMS plugins require a membership integration (WP
Courseware):
‣ Wishlist Member
‣ Digital Access Pass
‣ Magic Members
‣ Member Mouse
‣ Paid Memberships Pro
48. GumRoad
• GumRoad is a beautiful, fantastic, fast way to sell digital content.
• 5% + 25¢ per transaction.
• There are a number of ways to sell an online course through
GumRoad:
‣ Use GumRoad to create a multi-file product.
‣ Drip out course content over time with a GumRoad Workflow.
‣ Use memberships to charge on a monthly / annual basis for content.
‣ Use pre-orders to sell content before it even exists.
50. Charge More Than You Think
• People get value in different ways.
• Have multiple price points: The best price is the most the student
will pay.
• People value the product more when you price higher.
• Rule of thumb: $25 for 1 hour of content.
51. You Charge More When You Have:
✓ Higher production quality.
✓ More teacher / student engagement.
✓ Offer more value than competitors.
52. Multiple Products & Bundling
• Consider cutting up your
course into multiple
products.
• 3 products is a good start:
‣ Bronze
‣ Silver
‣ Gold
• Additional upsells & products
for each:
‣ 30 minute phone call
‣ Premium support / unlimited
email support
‣ Additional content / eBooks /
Information
‣ Access to a community
53. Discounting
• Price your course high and don’t lose credibility with
excessive discounts.
• Set a firm deadline on your discount a.k.a “finite sales
window”.
• Deadlines get deals done!
54. Discounting
• 3-7 days is a good start (enough for 3 emails):
‣ First send a “This discount is coming soon” email.
‣ Then send a “This discount is now live” email.
‣ Finally send a “This discount ends in X hours” email.
• Add products as a bundle rather than lowering your
price. Example: “get an additional ebook free if you
sign up in the next 24 hours”.
55. Subscriptions
• If you’re providing ongoing value, offer a subscription.
• Subscription model is okay, but only if you can
consistently provide value:
‣ Monthly webinar or phone call
‣ Forum or message board
‣ Weekly or monthly lesson updates
56. Subscriptions
• It doesn’t make sense to pay monthly for content that
doesn’t change.
• Huge value in recurring revenue.
• Most membership and LMS WordPress plugins offer
this functionality if they integrate with a major payment
processor.
61. Don’t Want To Create A Website?
• Fedora & GumRoad will host for you (but you bring
your own users).
• Udemy, Skillfeed & SkillShare will host for you (with a
revenue share).
63. Video Hosting
• Many course platforms take care of video for you
(Fedora, Udemy, Skillshare, Skillfeed).
• A few others require you to manage video on your own.
• If this is the case, you have the following options:
‣ Wistia
‣ YouTube
‣ Vimeo
‣ Easy Video Player & Amazon S3
64. Promo Video
• Over-invest in your promo video.
• For many people, the promo video is the make-
or-break factor in purchasing.
• Be succinct and end with a clear call to action.
65. Student Management
• Email response time is a giant consideration
for everything:
✓Getting sales
✓Getting referrals
✓Getting great reviews
✓Keeping students
66. Commenting on Lectures
• Many LMS include the ability to comment on lectures.
• This is great - but maintain it! Seeing a lecture with
unanswered comments from weeks / months / years
ago is not good.
67. Facebook Groups & Community Forums
• Offering a community is a great value-add.
• It’s very difficult to manage / maintain / contribute to a
community over the long term. Have a long term
vision before you commit to this.
68. Launching Your Course
• Get your course live before it’s perfect.
• Consider a very precise, very specific value
proposition. Example:
‣ ClickMinded: 10x your traffic from Google
69. Other Good Course Titles
• Build 15 iPhone apps in 30 days.
• Become a Bartender in 12 hours.
• Learn CPR this Weekend.
• Remix Your First Song Today.
71. SlideShare
• A web-based version of powerpoint or keynote.
• Great way to embed content.
• Not only is Slideshare great to embed on your own
site, it’s great for generating leads to your content.
• Publish your slides, leave them public on slideshare
and make sure to include links back to your site.
72. Certificates
• People love certificates.
• People will justify absurd things in order to add a line
on their resume.
• Many LMS have certificate systems built into them -
most of them suck.
• Accredible is a great 3rd party tool to host and
manage certificates.
