*Official Black Friday 2024 Megathread*

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Comments

  • I have not been saying many Black Friday Ads or Promos on Social Media either. I see lots of other BF Ads though.

    The Marketplace investment must be quite low, despite fervent assurances to the contrary.

  • FrankKane
    FrankKane Posts: 1,856 rolemodel rank

    fwiw, my own Black Friday promotions on my own websites - including another side business that has nothing to do with education - have been complete flops this year so far. Clearly Udemy hasn't invested a ton in promoting their own sale this year, but bigger forces may be at play too.

    I am seeing a bit of a lift on Udemy the past few days, but nothing different from any other sale really thusfar. Sending out my own promo announcements on the 11th had a bigger boost. I'll still take it though.

  • @FrankKane yeah, economic conditions are hard worldwide, hopefully everything will get better in the future.

  • SeanFowler063
    SeanFowler063 Posts: 59 storyteller rank
    edited November 28

    Hope the sales tick up here

  • Matthieu
    Matthieu Posts: 16 trailblazer rank

    There is a french saying: "It's at the end of the show that we pay the musicians." That means in this case we will see the final result at the end of this promotion.
    I can not imagine Udemy skipping the "biggest" sale of the year. It is a crucial moment for both them and us.
    … So wait and see, we might be surprised for the last days 🤞

  • 2 years back was the peak Black Friday I got. Since then, it is getting much lower every year. Something that Udemy team has to address to in case they wish to keep their instructors on their system!

  • vins
    vins Posts: 30 trailblazer rank

    I have been in this platform for the past 5 years. In the previous years, Students did not wait till the last day during this thanks-giving promotion. We could see increase in sales as soon as it opens. But not this time. I remember, in the earnings call, they kind of said Udemy wants to shift resources to focus more on UFB and marketplace sales could be expected to decline. But I can not stop wondering - Was Udemy not making profit via marketplace sales at all? if yes, why would it have to shift the resources instead of adding more resources to focus on UFB as well?

  • I just feel less money being paid to instructors and less money being spent on marketing, which is the perfect storm for me. I love what Udemy has done in the past, but it just feels stuck and a lack of commercial energy. I hope I am wrong. Times are tough and I dont see any strategies to push that.

  • Kamil
    Kamil Posts: 48 storyteller rank

    @Matthieu You're right, we should wait to judge, but unless something unexpected and spectacular happens on the last day (tomorrow), this Black Friday will not live to the hype for me. As it stands, it will be worse than last year. Let's see.

  • Thor
    Thor Posts: 2,331 rolemodel rank

    Happy Black Friday.

  • Zero sales. Goodbye forever Udemy 😡

  • Positive thoughts lead to positive sales!

  • Kamil
    Kamil Posts: 48 storyteller rank

    One thing to note when making comparison with last year is that last year the entire promotion cycle, including Cyber Monday, happened in November. This year, we are at the end of the month, and the Cyber Monday will happen in December. So we are not getting as much promotion time this year as last year.

  • @Kamil , when will be the cyber Monday?

  • @NoorFakhry i think 2 December

  • Dud. I am looking forward to January and another 2.5% from Udemy for Business. /sarcasm

    Reminiscing about the good ol' days?

  • Thor
    Thor Posts: 2,331 rolemodel rank
  • Mufaddal
    Mufaddal Posts: 376 mentor rank

    Lower than November 2023

  • Picked up a bit yesterday and today, but still lower than a few years ago.

  • Finally there is some uptick in sales 😊

  • FrankKane
    FrankKane Posts: 1,856 rolemodel rank
    edited November 30

    Well, sales were more than double the usual amount yesterday (for me - YMMV). That's cool.

    But if you look at the month as a whole backing out subscription revenue and my own promotions, November is flat compared to October (the half day remaining in the month notwithstanding). That's a first. It seems yesterday's bump was mostly cannibalizing sales from earlier in the month.

    Revenue attributed to affiliates is actually down from October, and advertising is only up a tiny bit. Organic is down.

    Compared to Nov. 2023, non-subscription revenue is down 15%, but some of that could be attributable to Cyber Monday falling in December this year.

    Black Friday stopped being a big deal once Udemy went public in 2021, got new leadership, and decided to focus on B2B subscriptions. That's just reality. We should gauge our expectations accordingly.

  • SivakamiS2017
    SivakamiS2017 Posts: 791 visionary rank
    edited November 30

    Not only is BF NOT spectacular, but UB minutes seem really low this month too. Lower than the usual Holiday reductions.

    And of course, let's not forget the many bugs in the platform, which now take months to fix !

    None of this is exciting in the least ! Quite the opposite. It's the MOST demoralising period for Instructors, especially those who have been around for a few years.

    No, that's not right. January will be worse.

  • As much as they write to me to think positively I don't see any of this if in 2018 in November I made 4570 dollars while this month 49 dollars. I'm sorry but for me Udemy is totally dead and I only keep the courses because they bought them

  • AHardin
    AHardin Posts: 575 visionary rank

    While I'm seeing an uptick in sales the last few days, it's been quite abysmal compared to 2023 and 2022. Compared to 2023, my Nov Udemy Organic Sales are down 39% and Ad Program sales are down 37%. Compared to 2022, Organic is down 45% and Ad sales is down 40%. Over the past two years, that's a huge drop off in Udemy's centerpiece annual sale.

    But I don't think we can attribute it solely to Udemy. I think Black Friday has lost it's glitz and glamour over the years, as it's transitioned to a several week to month long event for many retailers. Add inflation to the mix, and that's hurting it even further.

  • I made only $6 this black friday, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • I had my best marketplace month ever. My last all-time high was in October 2022 when I launched a course with a big instructor (which was an all-time high I thought almost impossible to beat). This November was +200% Year-over-year.

  • ScottDuffy
    ScottDuffy Posts: 888 rolemodel rank

    2024 ending on a high note!