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The Best Online Course-Building Platforms for 2023
Are you an aspiring knowledge entrepreneur? AKA someone who possesses a skill set with a passion for teaching and sharing those skills to empower others in the hope that it will lead to a sustainable revenue source.
You might have started with one on one coaching and have heard about the magic of selling courses as a way to earn passive income. Or maybe you’ve been selling courses for a while on course marketplaces like Skillshare and Udemy, but now you’re ready to take your business to the next level.
It can be overwhelming to know where to start when there are so many platforms for hosting and building an online course business. Especially when the platform you choose sets the tone for everything else, from how engaged your clients are to how much money you can make!
So to make it easier on you, we’ve curated the top five course-building platforms and why they stood out to us.
SocialGlow
SocialGlow is the new kid on the block, but don’t be intimidated by how fresh they are to the course-building scene. In fact - accessibility is one of their main pillars. Their community-first course-building platform is designed specifically to make creating courses and getting them to your clients as simple and painless as possible.
SocialGlow’s Standout Features:
#1 Built with the technologically challenged in mind: If you want to jump onto a platform and start creating courses and building a community without a learning curve, then SocialGlow is the way to go. Your students will love how their mobile app and browser experience feels like they are using social media rather than taking a class. It’s accessible and familiar to anyone.
#2 Gamification: SocialGlow wants your course and community experience to be addicting, so they’ve incorporated ways for your clients to earn points, achieve rewards, and help create fun competition by populating leaderboards for everyone to see.
#3 Groups: One of the reasons SocialGlow stands out from other course-building platforms is its Groups Feature. It puts your community and courses in one place. It has all the features of a Facebook group, inviting, fun, and engaging digital space - but you no longer have to fight algorithms.
#4 Content Template and Scheduler: Automate the content you post in your community spaces. You can reuse templates in unlimited groups!
#5 Support: SocialGlow’s customer support will respond in their live chat within 5 minutes! Not only will their dedicated support team guide you through any of your questions while getting started, but they are also available to answer any questions and troubleshoot problems for your customers!
Kajabi
Kajabi has been an all-in-one coaching platform for over a decade. It offers a robust collection of features, making this an excellent platform for anyone who wants to run their entire coaching business using one program. From building your course to guiding you on best marketing it, Kajabi covers all your bases, even if it takes a while to figure out how to use it.
Kajabi’s Standout Features:
#1 Email Marketing: Kajabi’s has email marketing integrated within the platform. It is the most capable email marketing feature in the course-building market and has everything you need to market your course through email.
#2 Website and Landing Page Builders: Because Kajabi is an all-in-one solution for coaching businesses, it also offers an easy-to-use website and landing page builder. There are many templates to make it as simple as possible to build a website that also connects to your course program. However, there are few customization options.
#3 Marketing Pipelines: This feature essentially offers a visual representation of how to guide your customers to follow a path that leads to sales. It provides templates that do the logistical work for you, so you can work on each step while also seeing the bigger picture.
#4 Support: Kajabi’s support team responds within a day, and there are options to have a real-life person walk you through how to use Kajabi when you first sign up.
Thinkific
Thinkific is another all-in-one solution that centers around the course-building experience for the user. From the moment you sign in to the platform - it’s already nudging you in the right direction. Thinkific is an excellent platform if you’re an expert in what you’re teaching but not a master at building courses and don’t want to spend time overthinking how to represent your material best.
Thinkific’s Standout Features:
#1 Their Course Builder: Thinkific’s course builder is much more intuitive than other course builder platforms because of its template structure. While creating, you’ll find pre-populated downloads, surveys, instructor messages, and sample quizzes. Then, all you need to do is plug in your content, and you’re done!
#2 Live Lessons in Zoom: You can connect your Zoom account directly to Thinkific and easily host live classes, coaching sessions, and webinars.
#3 In-depth Student Data: Thinkific collects and organizes the data around your student’s engagement in a way you can utilize in making your courses better. From how long it takes students to complete a course to the attempts vs. completion rates for each lesson - they curate all that information in an easily digestible package.
#4 Free option - the free option boosts lots of the same features as the paid version to test out the program and see if it’s the right fit for you.
#4 Free Plan: Their free option boasts lots of the same features as the paid version to test out the program and see if it’s the right fit for you.
Teachable
Teachable is similar to Thinkific and Kajabi, but stands out in its customization options and focus on helping you maximize your course sales.
Teachable's Standout Features:
#1 Customization: Teachable has a drag-and-drop website template that is considered your course's storefront, but if you know how to code, it also allows you to tinker with the template to make it your own!
#2 Sales Focused: Teachable's design minimizes the obstacles that might interfere with your course being purchased. Features such as 1-step checkout, coupons, and affiliate links. Even their email marketing is designed to increase your sales.
#3 Aesthetically Pleasing: Teachable's student experience is considered less clunky and more intuitive than the other all-in-one course-building platforms.
#4 Free Plan: Teachable's free plan is another great option if you want a more extended free trial to see if it's a good fit for you and your business. However, they do take a transaction fee for every course purchased.
Mighty Networks
Like SocialGlow, Mighty Network is a course builder focusing on community building. This option is a great one if you want your students to be thoroughly engaged and able to have active conversations throughout the learning experience. However, Mighty Networks works best for educators & coaches who use courses to complement their programs.
Might Networks’ Standout Features:
#1 Activity Feed: It's built into each course and fosters engagement and conversation as your students go through the course. Your students will experience their lessons in a cohesive community space.
#2 Mighty Effect: It's a feature that allows you to personalize the content for each student.
#3 Rich Posts: Since Mighty Networks use the power of community within the lessons and allow for a multimedia experience - the lessons customers’ experience feel fuller and less sterile than other course-building platforms.
#4 Profile Pages: Mighty Networks gives personalized and customizable profiles to your students.
As you can see, all of these course-building platforms have a unique set of features. Many are robust and packed with options you can tinker with to make the best fit your needs. However, there can be a high learning curve because there are many options within one program. If you want to start building courses and a community right away, then SocialGlow is the best bang for your buck! Not only does SocialGlow have a straightforward and easy-to-use course-builder that allows for unlimited hosting and multimedia experience for your students, but you can also create as many communities as you want. The possibilities are endless.
Start your free 14-day trial of SocialGlow today!
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