4 ms·

Why I stopped selling courses on Udemy (2014)

39 points by hoodoof 12y ago

gvb 12y ago
(2014) Looks like it still has the same revenue share scheme that Roy complained about. https://teach.udemy.com/ https://teach.udemy.com/
brianbreslin 12y ago
That explains why they send out so many ads for 90% off courses. The author would get almost nothing anyway so their hit isn't terrible.
- arikrak 12y ago
  In those cases, I think the author agrees to only get a cut of the remaining 10%.
arikrak 12y ago
Udemy was able to get teachers to use their platform by sharing most of the revenue with them, but once they had a large platform, they cut the revenue sharing dramatically. It's very hard for competitors to take on a dominant platform,even Craigslist still manages to dominate many areas. However instructors can list their courses on both Udemy and on other sites, so this could be something a competitor could try to build off. Perhaps competitors can chip away at specific niches of Udemy, just as happened to Craigslist. For example, one site could focus on business, while another covered web design. Personally, I would be interested in building up a platform around programming courses. This site could offer a number of improvement over Udemy, such as coding challenges and a better format for video. It could also instructors a guaranteed lifetime revenue share above a certain point (say 75%).
- mark_up 12y ago
  Udacity already fits the bill.
WestCoastJustin 12y ago
Creating quality content is the hard part. Learning hubs need to offer value added services, especially to programmers, as we can just create our own platforms, and go direct. I run https://sysadmincasts.com/ https://sysadmincasts.com/ a weekly screencast for sysadmins, and have been approached to create on-line courses (not by udemy, but several similar sites). The thought of adding a middle man is almost sickening, as it takes countless hours to create something worth watching, so why give money away?! Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of an on-line learning hub, where you can add courses as needed. But as a creator, it also sucks to work extremely hard to create something, and then have someone step in and take half of it (or more). So, there are some things to be worked out.
vvpan 12y ago
I don't think the author is using the term "pyramid scheme" correctly.
- bbcbasic 12y ago
  Correct. He is not using it properly. What he is really complaining about is the drop in commission for being a teacher from 90% to 50%. This is coupled with a very poor affiliate scheme that doesn't compensate for that loss.
- curo 12y ago
  Perhaps not, but he points out at least two similarities: - Earlier members get bigger payouts - Udemy is making $0 off the first recruiting member, which would otherwise be unsustainable, if it weren't recovering that money off future members. (members = teachers)
  - bbcbasic 12y ago
    A pyramid scheme means the main way to make money is by recruiting more people to join the scheme. And the only way to obtain the privilege to recruit people is to pay to join. The main way to make money on udemy is by selling courses (your own, or other people's as an affiliate). > Earlier members get bigger payouts I don't see how this is true. > Udemy is making $0 off the first recruiting member, which would otherwise be unsustainable, if it weren't recovering that money off future members It is called a loss leader. Supermarkets do this, they are not pyramids. P.S. I know someone will think it, but it is not a Ponzi either :-)
patio11 12y ago
Udemy presumably thinks that the relevant comparison for students they bring you isn't 100% of the sale, it is zero, because but for Udemy that sale wouldn't exist. If you don't want to pay for a built-in userbase, build your own platform -- start an email list, build it up gradually by delighting people, and then sell stuff to them. You'll keep 95% of the gross. Also charge more. That's the single worst thing Udemy does to instructors: their incentive is to build platform (user signups) but yours is to build revenue, so they will dictate pricing low, but you want to price high. Same story on App Store.
- WestCoastJustin 12y ago
  You nailed it. 1. start an email list 2. build it up gradually by delighting people 3. sell stuff to them I have followed this method. Although, the gradually part took about two years ;)
  - bbody 12y ago
    Roy does this already. He has a lot of his courses on Fedora.
fffrad 12y ago
Every start up that looks like a game changer soon realize that they actually need money. Their motto change quickly.

39 points by hoodoof 12y ago

gvb 12y ago

(2014) Looks like it still has the same revenue share scheme that Roy complained about. https://teach.udemy.com/ https://teach.udemy.com/

brianbreslin 12y ago

That explains why they send out so many ads for 90% off courses. The author would get almost nothing anyway so their hit isn't terrible.

arikrak 12y ago
In those cases, I think the author agrees to only get a cut of the remaining 10%.

arikrak 12y ago

Udemy was able to get teachers to use their platform by sharing most of the revenue with them, but once they had a large platform, they cut the revenue sharing dramatically. It's very hard for competitors to take on a dominant platform,even Craigslist still manages to dominate many areas. However instructors can list their courses on both Udemy and on other sites, so this could be something a competitor could try to build off. Perhaps competitors can chip away at specific niches of Udemy, just as happened to Craigslist. For example, one site could focus on business, while another covered web design. Personally, I would be interested in building up a platform around programming courses. This site could offer a number of improvement over Udemy, such as coding challenges and a better format for video. It could also instructors a guaranteed lifetime revenue share above a certain point (say 75%).

mark_up 12y ago
Udacity already fits the bill.

WestCoastJustin 12y ago

Creating quality content is the hard part. Learning hubs need to offer value added services, especially to programmers, as we can just create our own platforms, and go direct. I run https://sysadmincasts.com/ https://sysadmincasts.com/ a weekly screencast for sysadmins, and have been approached to create on-line courses (not by udemy, but several similar sites). The thought of adding a middle man is almost sickening, as it takes countless hours to create something worth watching, so why give money away?! Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of an on-line learning hub, where you can add courses as needed. But as a creator, it also sucks to work extremely hard to create something, and then have someone step in and take half of it (or more). So, there are some things to be worked out.

vvpan 12y ago

I don't think the author is using the term "pyramid scheme" correctly.

bbcbasic 12y ago
Correct. He is not using it properly. What he is really complaining about is the drop in commission for being a teacher from 90% to 50%. This is coupled with a very poor affiliate scheme that doesn't compensate for that loss.
curo 12y ago
Perhaps not, but he points out at least two similarities: - Earlier members get bigger payouts - Udemy is making $0 off the first recruiting member, which would otherwise be unsustainable, if it weren't recovering that money off future members. (members = teachers)
- bbcbasic 12y ago
  A pyramid scheme means the main way to make money is by recruiting more people to join the scheme. And the only way to obtain the privilege to recruit people is to pay to join. The main way to make money on udemy is by selling courses (your own, or other people's as an affiliate). > Earlier members get bigger payouts I don't see how this is true. > Udemy is making $0 off the first recruiting member, which would otherwise be unsustainable, if it weren't recovering that money off future members It is called a loss leader. Supermarkets do this, they are not pyramids. P.S. I know someone will think it, but it is not a Ponzi either :-)

patio11 12y ago

Udemy presumably thinks that the relevant comparison for students they bring you isn't 100% of the sale, it is zero, because but for Udemy that sale wouldn't exist. If you don't want to pay for a built-in userbase, build your own platform -- start an email list, build it up gradually by delighting people, and then sell stuff to them. You'll keep 95% of the gross. Also charge more. That's the single worst thing Udemy does to instructors: their incentive is to build platform (user signups) but yours is to build revenue, so they will dictate pricing low, but you want to price high. Same story on App Store.

WestCoastJustin 12y ago
You nailed it. 1. start an email list 2. build it up gradually by delighting people 3. sell stuff to them I have followed this method. Although, the gradually part took about two years ;)
- bbody 12y ago
  Roy does this already. He has a lot of his courses on Fedora.

fffrad 12y ago

Every start up that looks like a game changer soon realize that they actually need money. Their motto change quickly.