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What are the best ways to increase the amount of passive income you earn via your online course?

Jun 6, 2024

     Reader Disclosure

If we could tell you that you could make more passive income from your online course using self-hosted platforms for courses?

What's Inside Switch

Falsehoods About Third Party LMS Platforms

You might agree with this statistic which shows that 57% percent of the course designers decide the success of their courses through student satisfaction. 23% consider student participation, while 21% are focused on student income.

This is that some course creators believe it's best to choose third-party LMS platforms like Udemy, Teachable, and Kajabi in light of:

  • They are hoping it will lower their marketing costs and decrease the need for massive initial investments in hardware and software.
  • They believe it can help the brand to be introduced on the marketplace in a more rapid way.
  • The assumption is that it's simple to use and doesn't require any technical expertise that makes it easy for course creators to develop, launch, and manage their courses.

But, these advantages are expensive and includes:

  1. Revenue sharing costs is increasing.
  2. 75 % of course creators earn less than $1000 each year. Only 1 percent of instructors earn more than $50,000 a year.
  3. Some courses may be overlooked by the crowd. This means that you'll need to spend more marketing to get your message out to those you'd like to reach.
  4. There's not many chances to build friendships with students who aren't on social media platforms.
  5. It's not possible to customize your profile or your brand's image through these platforms.
  6. It's a challenge to follow the students' progress through the funnel.
  7. There are fewer opportunities for engagement due to the absence of gaming and community-based integrations.

     Self-hosted course platforms    

If you're an online-based instructor frustrated by the high cost and limitations on SaaS LMS platforms, you're not the only one. Many educators face the same challenges.

But there's a better way self-hosted platforms for courses.

If you decide to create your own class, you'll be in the control of your course content and save money on fees for revenue sharing and find new methods to earn more.

Spend a few minutes thinking over this...

Imagine being able to tailor your course in the way you want, and you earn more from the money you've earned.

Moving to a self-hosted service doesn't only mean cutting down on expenses, it's about unleashing the full potential of your company and making it the most profitable and sustainable enterprise.

Are you still not you are convinced? Check out this explanation below.

     The cost of Revenue Sharing    

When you're making use of popular SaaS LMS platforms to sell and manage your online classes, you need to understand their revenue sharing model.

The majority of them charge a substantial percentage of your profits and could be accumulating quickly and ultimately drain your profits.

Here is a comprehensive overview of the most commonly used ways to share revenue on famous SaaS LMS platforms:

     1. Teachable

Teachable has a variety of pricing plans, and their revenue-sharing structure varies based on which plan you choose. The following is their pricing for the year is:

  • Free Plan cost $1 plus 10% for every transaction.
  • The Basic Plan ($39/month): 5 per cent transaction fee.
  • Professional Plan ($119/month) and Business Plan ($499/month) The Professional Plan has no transaction fees, but limited limitations on publication for classes.

     2. Thinkific

Thinkific has a range of pricing levels with different consequences for sharing revenue:

  • Free Plan: No transaction fees, but it is limited in its capabilities.
  • Basic Plan ($49/month) Basis Plan (49$/month). Basis Plan has no fee for transactions, however it does offer digital downloads.
  • Plan Pro Plan ($99/month) or the Premier Plan ($499/month) The plan has no fee for transactions, but you will have restricted access to community online services.

     3. Udemy

Udemy offers a distinct revenue-sharing method that's different to Teachable as well as Thinkific:

  • Organic sales: Udemy gets 50 percent of their profits through purchasesmade via their marketplace.
  • Instructional Promotions: Teachers only keep 97% of the profits from sales that they make by themselves (using coupons to reward instructors), with Udemy paying a 3 per cent administrative fee.
  • Paid User Acquisition When it comes to the type of sales made via Udemy's pay-per-click methods, instructors only receive 25% of the revenue.

     4. Kajabi

Kajabi has subscriptions which combine with other charges that conform to the following plan:

  • Kickstarter ($69/month) and Basic Plan ($149/month) There are no transaction fees, but limited choices and options.
  • The Growth Plan ($199/month) and the Pro Plan ($399/month) There is no transaction fee and only a limited amount of students who are active.

The revenue sharing models are designed to emphasize the expenses that are associated with using third-party LMS platforms. Though these platforms are convenient and robust features periodic fees and decreases in revenues will drastically reduce the profits you earn.

Self-hosted options can permit you to hold the vast majority of your earnings and provide greater flexibility in the way you present and manage your classes.

This is a comprehensive analysis of the two platforms.

     A Comparison of Earnings Potential: SaaS LMS vs. self-hosted course platforms.    

Scenario: Let's say you are able to offer a course online for $100.

SaaS Example of LMS Platform:

  • Teachable (Basic plan): If you offer a fee for transactions that is an average of 5, you'd lose $5 per transaction.
  • Per sale, earnings of 95 dollars.
  • A monthly subscription cost: $39
  • If you can sell 20 courses a month that's $95 times 20 plus $39 = $1,861.
  • Udemy (Organic Sales): With a 50 percent revenue share you'd be losing an equivalent amount of $50 each sale.
  • Per sale, earnings of $50.
  • If you can sell 20 courses a month: $50 per course x 20 = $1000

Self-Hosted Service Examples:

  • Monthly membership for (Most Well-liked Plan): $33
  • Per sale, the profit is $100.
  • If you're selling 20 courses per month 100 x 20 = $33 = $1,967

Comparison:

  1.       Teachable (Basic Plan):      
  • SaaS LMS Earnings: $1,861/month
  • Self-Hosted Earnings: $1,967/month
  • Difference: $106 more with self-hosted
  1.       Udemy (Organic Sale):      
  • SaaS LMS Earnings: $1,000/month
  • Self-Hosted Earnings: $1,967/month
  • Differential: $967 more for self-hosted

In the course of a year, they make up a substantial sum. It's around $11,604 savings over the course of a year!

     Self-hosted courses such as Courses will help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on the volume of sales.    

Now that you know how much you can save and earn with a self-hosted course solution, let's look at the benefits of switching to this service.

     Advantages of Self-Hosted Learning Platforms    

Self-hosted course platforms offer an effective option in comparison to SaaS LMS solutions by giving the complete control of your content and operations.

It is thought to be an efficient choice, particularly when

Making use of the capabilities of WordPress provides unbeatable possibilities to customize and adapt, enabling you to design your perfect experience to educate that is consistent with the brand's image and mission in business.

When you opt for self-hosted courses platforms like those offered by e-learning.com You will enjoy a variety of advantages. One of these is lower expenses, better control as well as the ability to utilize various monetization strategies to maximize the amount you earn.                Check out the Courses Overview of feature

Let's examine these benefits thoroughly.

     Control and Control of the Ownership of Content    

Being in control is one of the most powerful attributes that a person can possess and is one of the most important aspects in achieving success with brand and advertising.

With self-hosted course platforms like you can tailor every aspect of your course according to the unique brand identity of your company.

From style and layout to the inclusion of multimedia elements, having full control over the content you create allows you to build a the perfect and efficient learning environment that reflects the brand's aesthetics and values.

Being the author of your own content allows you to utilize a variety of strategies for marketing without limitations.

You are able to design and promote promos, bundle classes offer discounts or use various tools for marketing and plugins available to WordPress.

This lets you connect with your customers more efficiently and modify your plan in response to feedback from live events as well as analytics.

     Direct Customer Relations    

One of the main benefits of self-hosted course platforms is the ability to create personal, non-mediated connections with your students.

In the absence of any intermediary system, you are in a position to interact directly with your students by communicating with them via personalized messages, feedback as well as support.

If you manage this platform, you will be able to access a wealth of information on the student's behavior as well as their preferences and performance.

The information you gather is vital to knowing how to make optimal decisions and what's not within your classes.

By analyzing data, you can tailor your curriculum and teaching strategies to meet the needs of your students. This leads to higher satisfaction from your customers as well as retention rate.

The use of intermediaries can limit the ability of your company to provide prompt and reliable customer service.

Self-hosted options allow you to be capable of implementing a complete support system that includes forums, live chat and direct messages.

Instant access to help and support can significantly improve the experience of students and help address issues before they escalate.

     Monetization through Membership    

One of the most effective methods to make money from your online course on self-hosted platforms is to incorporate the course into an online learning model.

The subscription model encourages ongoing involvement which leads to higher retention since students always gain value through their memberships.

By providing access to an extensive catalog of content at a low monthly price, you are providing substantial value, and you can encourage students to join.

Forums, community features and live Q&A sessions create a sense of belonging between participants, thereby increasing the involvement of your community.

     This technique improves the quality of education you offer your students as well as creates the potential for recurring income.    

Base Body Homepage
Body-loving, base babes

They provide online as well as person-to-person training sessions at their boutique fitness center in Sydney, Australia.

Utilizing , Base Body Babes manages the paywalled content they offer and also their own products on their site offering members access to home and gym-based fitness classes, along with tutorials and recipe libraries.

This model permits the community to make recurring income in addition to providing significant value their customers.

     Fixed costs and unlimited expansion    

Here's a breakdown this cost:

  •       Web Hosting      
  •       Domain Registration      
  •       LMS Software and Plugins      
  • provides four major pricing levels :
  • Basic: $179.50/year, suitable for beginners.
  • Additional costs: $299.50/year Includes additional options and features.
  • Pro: $399.50/year, ideal for companies that require advanced technology.
  • Cost: $499.50/year This is great news for entrepreneurs and creatives who have ambitions.
  • Additional Charges:
  • SSL certificates for safe transactions ($0 to $100/year), usually included in the hosting package).
  • The fees charged by payment gateways (typically about 2.9 percentage plus $0.30 per transaction).

The reason why you should choose us ? We'll tell you our cost and what you stand to benefit from...

Pricing:

  • A Basic Plan $179.50/year
  • Plus Plan: $299.50/year
  • Pro Plan: $399.50/year
  • Elite: $499.50/year

Return On Investment (ROI):

To determine the return on investment, we'll take the assumption that you choose to sign up on the Plus plan, which costs $299.50/year. If you're able to sell a bundle of courses or membership at $100, and sell just 3 memberships per month your monthly income will be $300.

Over the course of one year, that's the equivalent of $3,600. After subtracting the costs of ($299.50) and hosting ($240 at $20 per month) this is $3,061 in net annual profit.

The analysis shows that even in the absence of any sales, the return on investment is substantial, making it an economically viable option!

 Assessing the Potential for Scalability without additional costs per User or Content

One of the biggest benefits of self-hosting your course has is the possibility to scale it.

Contrary to SaaS platforms that are priced per user, or taking part of your profits it allows you to scale your company without incurring costs.

Here's how:

  • Unlimited users: Once your site is up and running, once it is up and running it is possible to add an unlimited amount of members, without an additional charge. This means that the cost are fixed no matter the amount to which your membership expands.
  • Flexibility of Content It is possible to create and host unlimited courses as well as membership levels. This allows you to expand your offerings and diversify your revenue streams without fretting about the rise of costs.

Self-hosted platforms such as this offers an affordable and predictable cost structure as well as a significant growth potential.

A scalable and flexible infrastructure, there are cost-free per-user fees, you could increase your membership base as well as the content you offer, increasing profitability as well as making sure that you have a steady growth.

There's more.

     Integration with various Business Tools    

Self-hosted platforms like also offer the ability to connect various businesses tools to improve overall operations and offering insight into the behaviour of students and efficiency.

Here's how:

     2. CRM Systems:

     3. Analytics Tools:

     4. Calendar/Scheduling Tools:

     5. Form/Survey Builders:

     6. Payment Gateways:

Below are additional details on how to connect your business account with a variety of instruments.

Watch >> Supercharge your membership site with the help of extensions and integrations

     Moving from Self-Hosted Hosting to Self-Hosted    

After you've been convinced by the benefits of switching your SaaS LMS Platforms and self-hosted ones. This is what you must take next:

Move to HTML0!

Moving from a SaaS LMS platform to self-hosted courses like these can be overwhelming, but it's doable by following a clearly defined strategy.

This is a step-by-step tutorial to guide you with the process

     The first step is to begin by defining a plan    

  • Assess Your Current Platform Check out the current SaaS LMS platform's features, data, and restrictions.
  • Create Goals Choose the objective you're aiming to reach by the time you transition (e.g., lower costs and better control).
  • Create a plan for migration Define the steps along with timelines, as well as the obligations. Be sure to have an entire backup of your data.

     2. Install the Self-Hosted platform that you've built.

  • Install Purchase and install the plugin on your WordPress site.
WATCH for How to Install the plugin

     Step 3. Export Data from SaaS Platform    

  • Backup information Make sure you've backups for all contents of the course, such as user data, course content, and any other information that is relevant.
  • Export Content Utilize the tools for export that are provided in your SaaS LMS in order to download the required information, which includes information about the user, as well as media files.

     Step 4: Import Data    

  • import users Make use of plugins and manual methods for importing user data, ensuring an continuous access for students already in.

     Phase 5: Configuration    

  • Membership Levels It is possible to set up levels of membership which are in line to your company's design.
  • Payment Gateways Set up payment gateways such as Stripe or PayPal to ensure safe transactions.
  • Customization It is possible to alter your look and the layout on your web website to show your company's image.

     6. Try Everything    

  • Testing of functionality Verify that the functions, such as course access, membership levels as well as payment methods function correctly.
  • User experience test the user journey from signup through course completion in order to guarantee a smooth journey.

And now, it is now time!

     Step 7: Start and then promote    

  • Inform Users Let your existing users of the change with clear instructions and also help them use the new system.

5 ways to make a seamless transition

  • Plan complete, with exact timelines and backups of data.
  • Inform the changes in a clear manner to the users and provide assistance.
  • Verify each function carefully to ensure that any disruptions are not caused.
  • Use existing resources as well as migrate guides, starting with a brief portion of the information needed to address problems before they turn into.
  • Give constant support through FAQs and Helpdesks, and evaluate performance and make adjustments on the feedback.

If you adhere to these steps by following these steps, you'll be able effortlessly transition from a SaaS LMS into a hosted system which gives you complete control of your content as well as maximizing your earnings.

     A Quick Recap    

See how far we've been.

We began by examining the drawbacks to relying on third party LMS platforms to manage your revenue from online courses.

Then we shared the significant advantages self-hosted platforms and classes offer, including full ownership of content, lower expenses, and greater control on marketing and branding strategies.

We also carried out some comparisons and managed to convince people in charge that investing in self-hosted learning platforms such as Courses could be a game changer for the creative enterprise you run.

Also, it is important to remember that when you get rid of the expensive costs of revenue-sharing, and utilize Tools like Courses you can build a profitable and scalable educational online company.

Think about comparing the price of your current platform against. the benefits. If you're currently using WordPress it's time to consider an effective solution that will maximize the potential for growth and profitability.

Let us know via comments which of you are planning to switch to a self-hosted service for classes like Courses. We look forward to answering any questions you may ask us.

Sarah O Sarah is passionate about simplifying the technical details of websites, plugins, along with digital marketing. As a Content Writer for Member Press, she has a sharp eye for writing informative and valuable written content. Sarah is a key player in educating and empowering users to fully utilize the potential in Member Press plugins. Bringing a blend of expertise in technology and a creative flare, she ensures that each article not only informs but also inspires. While she is in the process of writing articles, she loves investigating the latest technology and the latest trends in digital marketing. She's always searching for innovative ways to enhance user experience.

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