Beyond a single course marketplace

This forum focuses on creating and selling online courses outside of any one specific marketplace, since Udemy already has its own dedicated space on this site. Here, members talk about self-hosting a course through course platform software, using other course marketplaces, and building a course business that isn't dependent on a single storefront's traffic, pricing rules, or revenue split.

Choosing how to host your course

Self-hosted platforms

Self-hosting through dedicated course-hosting software gives creators more control over pricing, branding, student data, and how the course is bundled or upsold, but it also means you're responsible for all of your own marketing and traffic. There's no marketplace search bringing students to you. Members compare different course platforms based on features, cost, and ease of use.

Other marketplaces and hybrid approaches

Some members use other course marketplaces alongside a self-hosted version of the same or a different course, treating the marketplace as one distribution channel among several rather than the only outlet. This forum discusses the tradeoffs of that hybrid approach, including managing pricing consistency across platforms.

Creating a course people actually finish

Members are consistently honest that building a good course is genuine work. Outlining a curriculum that solves a real problem, recording and editing video or audio, creating supporting materials, and testing the course before launch all take real time. A frequently repeated point in this forum is that course completion rates across the industry tend to be low, and that a course focused on a specific, practical outcome tends to perform better than one that tries to cover too much ground.

Pricing your course

Low-price volume versus premium pricing

Course pricing is a recurring debate: some members favor lower prices aimed at higher volume, while others price courses at a premium and pair them with more support, community access, or live components. Neither approach is universally right in this forum's discussions. It tends to depend on the topic, audience, and how much ongoing support is built into the offer.

Bundles, cohorts, and upsells

Several members mention that bundling a course with templates, a private community, or live coaching calls has helped increase both price and perceived value, compared to selling a plain video course on its own.

Marketing your own course

Without a marketplace's built-in audience, marketing becomes the creator's responsibility. Members discuss building an email list before launch, using content marketing or social media to demonstrate expertise, running a structured launch period rather than a quiet release, and gathering early feedback from beta students to use in later marketing, while being careful never to fabricate results or reviews that didn't happen.

What experienced members say about the timeline

A consistent message in this forum is that a course business rarely produces meaningful income from the very first launch. Members who've built sustainable course income generally describe a process of releasing a first version, gathering feedback, improving the material, and building an audience over multiple launches. Patience and iteration matter more than getting everything perfect the first time.