Generating Sales with E-Learning Websites
Posted 3rd June 2014 at 12:19 PM by imarkedy
Generating sales with e-learning websites is one of the most effective ways to generate a full-time income online. In this post, we’ll review quick tools, tips and techniques to assist readers desiring to launch their own Internet business using MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) software.
To begin – the two best known open course business model types are as follows;
1. Subscription based; the top website in this category, without doubt, is Lynda.com however, other smaller competitors have popped up challenging Lynda’s dominance such as Udemy and more recently, Curious.com.
2. Free e-learning websites; these online platforms are both for-profit and non-profit businesses. They include such well-known brands as Khan Academy, edX, Coursera as well as MOOC.org which, as of this writing, is still in the beta phase. MOOC is a partnership between edX and Google.
Before going further, it is important to answer the question “Why doesn’t Youtube or Vimeo make this list?” There are many answers especially concerning Youtube. Above any other content type, Youtube is mostly for entertainment but it does have training and ‘brand building’ value for business. Having been Youtube fanatics since its launch in 2006, we say with the utmost authority that although there are great learning videos available to stream, few are grouped into a cohesive, high quality course as with more serious e-learning websites. This isn’t to insinuate no quality content exists only that very few teachers produce a cohesive course which learners can use to dramatically improve skill-sets. Before beginning to plan your new website, it must be decided how you are going to generate sales and profits with streaming content. We could hardly cover every conceivable monetization type in such a short post but will give what we believe most effective.
Here are ways to monetize your content (but not limited to);
1. Subscription based learning; this means charging a fee for access to a secure, member’s only area where content is located. Whether monthly, yearly or even one-time fees, subscription based (recurring) sites are best for building a full-time income and for the more ambitious, creating an e-learning empire.
2. Monetizing Free Content; although some of the websites mentioned earlier are currently free to use, at some point, they will have to monetize. For example - Coursera, currently producing no sales, is for profit and has massive expense involved with operating their business and as times goes on, investors will demand ROI (return on investment).
3. Donation capture; very few, having spent time on free video websites, haven’t seen a ‘donate now’ button asking for user contributions. However; this is the least profitable way to generate revenue and for those desiring to build a serious online learning website, we advise staying away from this option if possible. If you believe your content has value and properly marketed, others will also.
Let’s dig a bit further into these monetization options. First, subscription based websites are the most profitable. Although we put forth monthly, yearly or even one-time revenue capture options, we encourage you to be as creative as possible with how revenue is captured. New e-learning organizations should provide great value for the least amount of cost to online learners. Don’t take this as us encouraging you to be the ‘low-cost’ provider. As with type cast actors, once you pin yourself in a corner, it is hard to change without suffering a business altering backlash from online students! If not charging a subscription fee, perhaps monetizing your content is another option. In our humble opinion, very few business models monetize content as well as free streaming movie and documentary sites.
Of course and especially as it concerns free movie sites, advertising is often aggressive featuring spam software ads popping up with each click. It is best to not annoy visitors which, should you offer overly aggressive pop-ups, will increase your site’s bounce rate. Take the time to discover a perfect balance between monetization needs and freebies. To see great balance of monetization and streaming educational documentary content, go to Documentary Heaven and take a look around. This organization embeds freely available Youtube videos and surrounds each with advertising banners.
When visitors click on ads, website owners receive revenue so as monetization options go; we encourage you to seek the best deal possible before allowing another company’s ads to stream on your website. If choosing this business model, think bigger than a paltry few pennies per click (available from Google AdSense and others) and check out Affiliate based websites which offer much more generous revenue sharing options like Clickbank.
Asking for donations is, among the three options listed, the toughest to both build and maintain a successful e-learning website with. Having measured this, we say with 100% surety that very few people, when offered something free, will voluntarily pay for its use. Further, accepting donations comes with different legal reporting obligations than does charging subscription based fee arrangement or advertising monetization. Long before selecting this option, we encourage you to investigate federal, state and local laws regulating donations.
When setting up your online learning website and regardless of what business model you chose, it is vital to have some form of information capture tool set up. Easiest is contact forms and email capture software. Although little known, customer-visitor contact information adds to valuation of a company! Ever wondered why Facebook, being a free to use social media website, was valued in the BILLIONS of dollars before going public? Facebook is the most efficient user information capture SOFTWARE ever conceived. Their valuation resulted from capturing information on more than 1 billion users and now, marketing to their interests. Whatever road you chose, take seriously your monetization plan and continue to test which is best for your organization’s goals.
B.D. Dale
Small Business Development Center
To begin – the two best known open course business model types are as follows;
1. Subscription based; the top website in this category, without doubt, is Lynda.com however, other smaller competitors have popped up challenging Lynda’s dominance such as Udemy and more recently, Curious.com.
2. Free e-learning websites; these online platforms are both for-profit and non-profit businesses. They include such well-known brands as Khan Academy, edX, Coursera as well as MOOC.org which, as of this writing, is still in the beta phase. MOOC is a partnership between edX and Google.
Before going further, it is important to answer the question “Why doesn’t Youtube or Vimeo make this list?” There are many answers especially concerning Youtube. Above any other content type, Youtube is mostly for entertainment but it does have training and ‘brand building’ value for business. Having been Youtube fanatics since its launch in 2006, we say with the utmost authority that although there are great learning videos available to stream, few are grouped into a cohesive, high quality course as with more serious e-learning websites. This isn’t to insinuate no quality content exists only that very few teachers produce a cohesive course which learners can use to dramatically improve skill-sets. Before beginning to plan your new website, it must be decided how you are going to generate sales and profits with streaming content. We could hardly cover every conceivable monetization type in such a short post but will give what we believe most effective.
Here are ways to monetize your content (but not limited to);
1. Subscription based learning; this means charging a fee for access to a secure, member’s only area where content is located. Whether monthly, yearly or even one-time fees, subscription based (recurring) sites are best for building a full-time income and for the more ambitious, creating an e-learning empire.
2. Monetizing Free Content; although some of the websites mentioned earlier are currently free to use, at some point, they will have to monetize. For example - Coursera, currently producing no sales, is for profit and has massive expense involved with operating their business and as times goes on, investors will demand ROI (return on investment).
3. Donation capture; very few, having spent time on free video websites, haven’t seen a ‘donate now’ button asking for user contributions. However; this is the least profitable way to generate revenue and for those desiring to build a serious online learning website, we advise staying away from this option if possible. If you believe your content has value and properly marketed, others will also.
Let’s dig a bit further into these monetization options. First, subscription based websites are the most profitable. Although we put forth monthly, yearly or even one-time revenue capture options, we encourage you to be as creative as possible with how revenue is captured. New e-learning organizations should provide great value for the least amount of cost to online learners. Don’t take this as us encouraging you to be the ‘low-cost’ provider. As with type cast actors, once you pin yourself in a corner, it is hard to change without suffering a business altering backlash from online students! If not charging a subscription fee, perhaps monetizing your content is another option. In our humble opinion, very few business models monetize content as well as free streaming movie and documentary sites.
Of course and especially as it concerns free movie sites, advertising is often aggressive featuring spam software ads popping up with each click. It is best to not annoy visitors which, should you offer overly aggressive pop-ups, will increase your site’s bounce rate. Take the time to discover a perfect balance between monetization needs and freebies. To see great balance of monetization and streaming educational documentary content, go to Documentary Heaven and take a look around. This organization embeds freely available Youtube videos and surrounds each with advertising banners.
When visitors click on ads, website owners receive revenue so as monetization options go; we encourage you to seek the best deal possible before allowing another company’s ads to stream on your website. If choosing this business model, think bigger than a paltry few pennies per click (available from Google AdSense and others) and check out Affiliate based websites which offer much more generous revenue sharing options like Clickbank.
Asking for donations is, among the three options listed, the toughest to both build and maintain a successful e-learning website with. Having measured this, we say with 100% surety that very few people, when offered something free, will voluntarily pay for its use. Further, accepting donations comes with different legal reporting obligations than does charging subscription based fee arrangement or advertising monetization. Long before selecting this option, we encourage you to investigate federal, state and local laws regulating donations.
When setting up your online learning website and regardless of what business model you chose, it is vital to have some form of information capture tool set up. Easiest is contact forms and email capture software. Although little known, customer-visitor contact information adds to valuation of a company! Ever wondered why Facebook, being a free to use social media website, was valued in the BILLIONS of dollars before going public? Facebook is the most efficient user information capture SOFTWARE ever conceived. Their valuation resulted from capturing information on more than 1 billion users and now, marketing to their interests. Whatever road you chose, take seriously your monetization plan and continue to test which is best for your organization’s goals.
B.D. Dale
Small Business Development Center