From free to paid

Hi,
Sorry if this has been asked before. Originally, I was planning to publish my course for a price but due to some technical issues, looks like it is not going to happen any time soon. And until those issues are fixed, I want the stripped version of my course to be available for free by taking out a portion. When the time comes to switch it from free to paid, I intend to add the relevant material (videos,script files,extras etc.)
Now I know it can be switched from free to paid once but in this particular scenario, I'm going to delete some of my uploads and share the "unfinished" or "incomplete" version with learners, which, still is going to be useful. And when I finally overcome all the technical obstacles, the rest of the course will be reuploaded and a price will be set for the course.
The question is:
1) Is the scenario above feasible?
2) Once switched from free to paid, how will the old students access my course? Will they naturally have to pay the price to have the whole course or they will automatically have it all for free?

One last note, I don't know if this is a legitimate marketing strategy or not but I didn't plan it. As I said, my original intention was to sell it but due to things out of my control, I am left with this option as I don't have the luxury of waiting for too long. Thanks for your attention.

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RonErez

Hi Nubarak,

I'm not from Udemy but I think you can do (almost) anything you want as far as uploading, updating and removing content. Keep in mind that your students, including the free ones, have some expectations from your course. So if you delete certain content your course might not meet certain expectations and lead to bad reviews.

To be honest I don't understand your marketing strategy. Note that those students that received your course as a free course do not receive your promotional emails or educational announcements.

So here are a couple of opinions/tips.

Never offer a free course.
If you do want to offer something for free then create a paid course and offer free coupons
In general I would not recommend giving anything for free, including free coupons
Udemy courses are very inexpensive when discounted. Offer discounts, even $9.99 ones but don't offer free coupons
Cross-promote between paid courses. That's usually the best way to get students to use coupons unless you happen to have a large following.

Please note that I'm just an instructor and not from Udemy. You could contact Udemy policies/support just to keep your mind at rest that you're not violating any conditions.

Happy Course Creation!

Ron

Nubarak

Appreciate the response @RonErez
As I said, It is not my strategy, things just were naturally led to this. As to your tips:
- 1. The course contains 3 modules and I'm going to make only the first one available, with some limitations.
- 2. Can't. Technical barriers won't let me create a paid course for now and I can't wait for another month.
- 3. That's exactly what I had in mind. It contains so much value that it would be unjust to give it for free.

I'm almost sure that there are going to be learners who will be eager to see more in exchange for money. And when the time comes for all the issues to be resolved, I'll publish the whole course while setting a fair price.

cristianethiel

Hi Nubarak. I agree with @RonErez. A free course should be something that you really want to give away, but not as a strategy to attract paid students. Unfortunately, that strategy does not work on Udemy. If you want to build awareness around your name or grow a community, a free course could be beneficial. Maybe you should post the free content on YouTube and create an email list. Then, when your course is finished, you could send coupons with special deals to your list.