How do I go from 100's to 1000's of students? Any advice?

[Jamie De Smit]

Hey there! I've been chipping away at creating a few courses over the past year or so and have gained around 1300 students. I would love some advice for how to scale this up and really start gaining more students, profit and momentum. 

If you have time, please check out my courses as I'd LOVE some feedback 🙂

[ChrystieV]

Hi @Jamie De Smit Welcome to the community! 😀

I'm sure other instructors will chime in with advice, however, I wanted to point you towards this webinar we did a few months back that might be valuable in helping you gain the momentum you are looking for.

[Jamie De Smit]

Thanks so much @ChrystieV! I'll certainly check out that seminar. 

[SharonRamel]

Hi @Jamie De Smit - welcome fellow Aussie. The first thing I would do if I were you is to expand your Udemy bio - it is only one paragraph long. This is your opportunity to sell yourself and your qualifications as to why they should journey with and trust you.

I looked at two lectures in your Biomechanics course. You present well and have good balance of face to face/ interesting graphics and video footage - well done.

One quick win for students is to very early one give to give them an activity they than can do. I helps connect them to the course, the earning and you. For example after your intro to biomechs maybe have an assignment asking about why they are here on the course, do they have any injuries or areas they specifically wish to work on with either themselves or a friend. You don't have to ‘save them’ with your replies - it is to stimulate a deeper thinking from them.

Have you started any social media? A Facebook group for example for all of your courses - if you have questions to get in you dont have to restrict it to student only. I have many sales from people curious but not ready to commit.

Reviews - you are very light on for reviews. Are you sending out regular educational announcements? They are a great opportunity to thank students for their reviews and to ask them to keep them coming. We cannot prompt what type of review but we can ask for them. I scorn shot my top reviews of the week and add them to the bottom of the announcement- students love being recognised and thanked. 

[Jamie De Smit]

Hey @SharonRamel, thanks so much for your detailed response and feedback. 

• I'll redo my bio!
• An assignment is a great idea, thanks 
• I do have social media for my brand - PE Buddy. I have done some light marketing on this but not sure how effective it has been
• I'll have a play with the educational announcements

Thanks again, and great to connect with a fellow Aussie!

[SharonRamel]

My other thought just now @Jamie De Smit , is what is it called in the Americas - is it called PE. Using that might confuse people. You need a global slogan or name that is instantly recognisable.

[Jamie De Smit]

Hi @SharonRamel, I believe it is called PE almost everywhere around the world. But good point!

[Rahul Iyer]

Hi @Jamie De Smit,

Thanks for the question. Below are the details that should answer your question:

1. Course Topics: To identify which courses to create, are you using Marketplace Insights? It is one of the best tools to identify which courses are in demand. If you are looking for ideal topics, the best are those that have relatively higher demand and lower supply.
2. The Riches are in the Niches: If your topic/knowledge area is saturated, no problem. You can create topics that are more niche than the others. For example, Yoga is a saturated topic. But you can teach for specific niches such as Yoga for Corporate Executives, Yoga during Pregnancy, etc. This will be a differentiator and will help you establish yourself.
3. Focus on Reviews and Customer Satisfaction: This is a no-brainer but needs to be stated as its essential. Those courses that have excellent reviews thrive on Udemy. So, if you want the Udemy algorithm to give you more students, aim for higher ratings. Plus, use the Q&A Discussion board as a means to interact and solve your student questions. Students love to interact with their instructors and if they find you chatting with them, you are here to get a good word of mouth publicity.
4. Make Your Course Title | Requirements | Description Appealing: I read through some of your course titles. I will be candid and honest, so please bear with me. When I read Anatomy Crash Course | Muscles, Bones, the Heart & the Lungs and the subtitle is Pass any quiz, test or exam! I am trying to figure out (as the audience), why should I buy this course? What problem does it solve? Am I the right person for this course? What do you mean by pass any quiz? What quiz are you referring to? Who is the target audience? These questions are left unanswered. If I were you, I would possibly write the title as Your Incredible Body & Its Anatomy (for Athletes) (I just made up this title to give you the context). Your course titles should talk to the audience. They should convey what problem you are trying to solve? Who is this course for? And why should I take this course? The Requirements are not clear. And Description tells me that I should take this course because learning is for fun. Ahh! That is hurting. I would suggest going through some YouTube videos on how to write effective titles and other details that will appeal to your audience. Sorry, if I was sounding too direct on this, but I just wanted to share my inputs with all honesty.
5. Define Who Your Audience Is Clearly: I am reading Who is this course for? section of the above course. You've written: Secondary School students, Athletes, Personal Trainers, Anyone Interested in learning about their incredible bodies. That's too broad and non-appealing. If I was an athlete, will I take a course that is also the same for secondary school students who are taking some exam? I would look for a course designed just for my interest. The broad categories are a major turndown.

I hope these inputs are helpful 🙂

[Jamie De Smit]

Wow, thanks so much for your detailed response @Rahul Iyer! Lot's of homework for me to do haha. And I don't mind your directness at all, very helpful. Do you have good examples of your own or other courses that demonstrate some of the things you mentioned?

[Rahul Iyer]

Hey @Jamie De Smit,

Thanks 🙂. My course titles might not be the right fit as I prepare my students for certification exams. However, feel free to look at any top niches and review the titles for mostly those courses that rank on page 1. For example, look for Java, Python, photography, life coaching, or some best sellers in your space. Reviewing others' work who have been there and done that will be the best exercise to know what works here on Udemy.

Hope this helps 🙂

[MadhuSohani]

Thank you Rahul for the detailed reply. It would be helpful to all teachers visiting this page! I realised that there is scope for redoing my bio! I am in a WhatsApp group with you, and picked up this link from there. 

[LizBrownUX]

A tip I would add to what's already been shared: Keep the content fresh. Add a new lecture to expand on the topic, or a new downloadable PDF, or links to new resources or articles. 

Also, say in your course title/description that your material is fresh by putting the year for example. You want prospective students to know that you're teaching techniques that are the latest and greatest as of 2022, not strategies from say, 5 or 10 years ago. 

Put a reminder for yourself on your Google calendar to do this every year - update your material with fresh content (and check that you don't have a course title that says 2022, but it's currently 2023).

[Jamie De Smit]

Thanks @LizBrownUX! Do you mean add new things to your existing and published courses?

Great tip about adding the year, just added this to all my courses!