November 2018 was a tough month to beat (Black Friday was a REALLY big deal back then,) but it finally happened!
We all know there are a lot of forces working against us lately, and I won't rehash them here. I think how you react to them is what's important. For me, they kicked me into high gear to try and compensate. I like what I do, and I want to keep doing it… and that means working a little harder now.
As always, success on Udemy is a long game. But here's the strategy that worked for me:
- Build up your customer base on the marketplace. This takes time, and having multiple courses you can cross-promote between. The more students you can send promotional announcements to, the more successful your subsequent course launches will be, and this effect keeps compounding over time. I've been doing this for nine years now.
- Be selective in the topics you teach. It was a lot easier to find in-demand, unsaturated topics nine years ago, but it's not impossible today. The world is changing quickly, and new hot topics are always emerging that present fresh opportunities. The step change you see in my graph late last year was from being first to market on a hot new certification exam, and what drove August into record territory was launching two more certification exam courses where again I was among the first to market. In addition to certification prep, my interview prep course also does well. You want to find topics where people have an urgent problem to solve (like passing an exam or interview) where you have relevant expertise, and be among the first to offer a comprehensive solution.
- Be yourself. Your students need to like you. Let your personality show as you teach; be relatable. I really don't think you can accomplish that with things like AI-generated scripts and voices.
- Team up. I've had the privilege of co-instructing with some of Udemy's top instructors, and this allows us to get comprehensive courses out the door quickly, and to cross-pollinate our audiences. Most top instructors only work with people they know, so old-fashioned in-person networking is the key there.
- Focus on what you control. You can see from the graph that Udemy Business is where most of the growth has been in the long run, but as instructors you have little control over the performance of your course once it is in the UB catalog. Producing topics that UB needs is certainly important as you want to be in there, but the marketplace is still the biggest lever you have. Your revshare is much higher in the marketplace, and your promotional announcements are only relevant to marketplace customers. Those promotional announcements are what drove last month's results for me, and they fueled a strong start for my new courses that will continue to pay dividends in the future. Your performance in UB is hard to move, but your performance in the marketplace does respond to your efforts.
Last month also pushed me over a significant lifetime revenue milestone, and I've crossed over 900,000 students now - almost all of them paid. I don't do free coupons.
What I also didn't do is external marketing. I've tried repeatedly and have never had a positive ROI on ads, and only minimal sales through YouTube, LinkedIn, and other free channels. Social media might be helpful when you are just starting out, but by the time you have your second course, cross-promotion using promotional announcements will be your most effective tool.
I should also point out that I've had my share of flops. Some of my courses only bring in around $20/month. Sometimes even your best efforts just don't resonate with what the marketplace needs. Again, it's the courses that solve a pressing need that do the best.
Success on Udemy does not come easily anymore, and it's only getting harder. But it's not impossible.
I'm currently recharging on a vacation and may be slow to respond, but happy to answer questions in the comments.
