Which Platform is best to Sell Courses at ? (Udemy, Alison, Skillshare or Linkedin) 🙄
4 min readJan 18, 2023
Selling on Udemy, Alison, and LinkedIn all have their own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. Here is a SWOT analysis of each platform:
SWOT Analysis Selling on Udemy:
- Strengths: Udemy is a well-established platform with a large user base. It offers various tools and resources for course creators, including analytics and marketing support. Additionally, Udemy has an extensive library of courses, making it easy for students to find and enroll in your course.
- Weaknesses: Udemy takes a 50% commission on all course sales. Additionally, the platform has a lot of competition, making it difficult to stand out among the thousands of other courses available.
- Opportunities: Udemy is constantly updating and improving its platform, which allows course creators to take advantage of new features and tools. Additionally, Udemy is expanding internationally, so course creators can tap into new markets and reach more students.
- Threats: Udemy is a crowded marketplace, so it can be challenging to stand out among the many other courses available. Additionally, Udemy’s commission structure can be a deterrent for some course creators, as it can reduce their overall earnings.
SWOT Analysis Selling on Alison:
- Strengths: Alison is a free-to-use platform, so you don’t have to pay fees to list your courses. Additionally, the platform has a large user base so you can reach many students.
- Weaknesses: Alison has a limited range of courses, and most classes are free. Additionally, the platform only offers a few tools or resources for course creators.
- Opportunities: Alison is expanding internationally, so you can tap into new markets and reach more students. Additionally, the platform is constantly updating and improving, offering course creators opportunities to take advantage of new features and tools.
- Threats: Alison is a crowded marketplace, so it can be challenging to stand out among the thousands of other courses available. Additionally, the platform’s limited range of tools and resources can make it difficult for course creators to market and promote their courses effectively.
SWOT Analysis of Selling on LinkedIn:
Strengths:
- LinkedIn is a professional networking platform with a large user base, providing a built-in audience for potential customers.
- The platform allows targeted marketing and advertising to specific industries and job titles.
- LinkedIn has a strong reputation as a professional networking platform, giving credibility to courses sold.
Weaknesses
The platform may not be as well-known for selling courses as other platforms like Udemy or Alison.
- The platform is primarily used for professional networking and job searching, which may not be the primary focus of some users.
- Limited features for creating and selling courses compared to other platforms.
Opportunities:
- As more professionals are looking for ways to upskill and advance their careers, there is a growing opportunity for course creators to target this audience on LinkedIn.
- The platform’s growing user base and increasing focus on online learning offer more opportunities for course creators to reach new customers.
- LinkedIn’s acquisition by Microsoft in 2016 has led to increased investment and development in the platform, which could lead to new opportunities for course creators.
Threats:
- LinkedIn is a relatively new platform for selling courses, so there is a lot of competition from other, more established platforms.
- The platform’s algorithm may not be as favorable for course creators as other platforms, making it harder to discover potential customers.
- The platform’s focus on professional networking may lead to a more business-oriented audience, which may not be the ideal target market for some course creators.
Swot Analysis of Selling on Skillshare:
Strengths:
- Large and diverse audience: Skillshare has a large and diverse audience, which allows instructors to reach a wide range of potential students.
- Easy to use: Skillshare’s platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate, making it simple for instructors to create and publish their courses.
- Built-in promotion: Skillshare provides instructors with built-in promotions for their courses, such as through their website and social media channels.
- Revenue sharing: Skillshare has a revenue-sharing model where instructors can earn money from their courses through a percentage of the overall revenue generated.
Weaknesses:
- The low average revenue per course: The revenue-sharing model of Skillshare means that instructors may earn less per course compared to other platforms or self-hosting.
- High competition: With many instructors on the platform, it can be challenging to stand out and get noticed among the competition.
- Limited control over pricing: Skillshare sets the course pricing, meaning instructors have limited control over how much they can charge.
Opportunities:
- Continual growth: As online learning continues to grow in popularity, the demand for courses on Skillshare is likely to increase.
- Diversification: Skillshare allows instructors to diversify their income streams by creating and selling multiple courses on the platform.
- Collaboration: Skillshare allows instructors to collaborate with other instructors, which can lead to increased visibility and potential sales.
Threats:
- Low barrier to entry: The ease of creating and publishing courses on Skillshare means that there is a low barrier to entry for new instructors, leading to increased competition.
- Quality control: With many courses available, it can be difficult for students to sift through and find high-quality courses, which could lead to negative reviews or low enrollment for instructors.
- Platform dependency: Instructors relying heavily on Skillshare for their income may be at risk if the platform were to experience any issues or changes in their business model.