Udemy

Bella. Let me add my voice to the well wishes. Thank you for your support, information and good ideas. You have made my efforts on Udemy more successful than they would have been. All the best in your new life.  ... View more

As for the above post--sorry, my edit and delete buttons wouldn't work.  ... View more

OR--you could create a better course than already exists, promote it everywhere, answer all student questions and occasionally update the course, and than sit back and enjoy passive income. That could work.  ... View more

Can't happen. Udemy takes an emotional, physical and mental commitment over time.  ... View more

I have two thoughts if this is the first video students will see. 1. Fantastic--engaging visuals, good music and good voice quality. I am envious. 2. Few, if any students want to learn much about your background. They want to know what you can do for them. My thought is to describe yourself in 2-3 sentences and then explain what students will be able to do after your course. How will they be different? What advantages will they gain? I believe the first video is a sales and engagement tool. Less on facts and information and more on emotional engagement. Good luck. ... View more

Andrei Good grief. You have me digging into my OBS studio and adjusting my bitrate and my AAC. I hope I don't electrocute myself or someone else. Thanks for the tip. ... View more

Andrei, This is not a direct reply to your question as I do not have much of a technical background, but I have successfully uploaded 13 courses and was able to sleep nights. My suggestion is you go by what Udemy is telling you. Your videos work. Upload and don't worry. Good luck. ... View more

I sure could use feedback. I have been on Udemy for 1.5 years, have learned a lot and am ready to learn more. My hope is to turn views into more purchases. My course "Management Skills: Problem Solving, Decision Making and More" is a good example of my current efforts. Any thoughts on the landing page and preview videos would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. ... View more

Thanks for your response @Bella. Good to know. I will always have questions. Why didn't I know the things you listed? Why isn't Udemy reporting back in highly  visible ways? Providing progress reports? Asking for more details of ideas? Feedback is critically important to communication, but especially so with improvement efforts. If you truly want input, let us in on the output process. You have a ton of available talent in the instructor corps that isn't being accessed. Your response is a good example of what works, and you earned yet another like!  ... View more

One other thought. I have sought most of my writing skills information through books written by great writers and editors. You might have to figure out how to compete with that group. Writers may prefer to explore ideas via the written word. ... View more

I'm a writer, always looking to improve my skills and sell more books. First thing I would want to know: are you a successful writer? If not, the second thing I would want to know: who have you helped to success? After that, the course sounds great. ... View more

Landon, I'm not great shakes either, but this is what I'm learning: Emphasize the subject matter less and more what the student will be able to do. I'm enamored with my subject and almost unconsciously promote it, rather than the benefits to the student. Make your pitch more emotional than intellectual. Basically make a promise and prove how you will meet it. Be simple and concrete, keep sentences short and to the point. Present great content (student wins) early. Study all the marketing ideas on the Udemy platform. And then use many of them. Keep pushing forward with the patience of a saint. Remember to entertain as well as teach.   You come across with great credibility and natural friendliness. Enjoy the learning curve and don't hesitate seeking input from other Udemy instructors. You've joined a warm and friendly group.   Good luck!    ... View more

@Bella. Thanks for the info--kudos to you! ... View more

Three major difficulties make this an ineffective exchange. One is there isn't a common set of facts, partly due to some instructors defining that reviews are for their benefit. Without a common understanding of review systems, how they are created and how they are evaluated, common understanding is not going to happen, nor the acceptance of opposing viewpoints. The second problem is that for some, this is an emotional issue. Logical responses only incite more intense emotions; which is happening here.  The third is the different desired outcome. Some want a system that eliminates valid and invalid low ratings to benefit instructors while others support a system that maximizes student input. This difference in goals is the natural result of defining the issue differently. N'er the twain shall meet.  Perhaps a fruitful discussion would be how to productively handle the sting of a low review. Not looking at them until a course is not performing well seems like a good idea. I've learned to do that with my books. But I do want to acknowledge the pain some of my fellow instructors are feeling. I go through periods when I think about returning to book writing sooner rather than later to avoid some of the built-in Udemy frustrations.     ... View more

You are asking the right questions at the right time. Before you create a Udemy course you have two tasks. Use the Udemy tools to determine what course topics are in demand and are under served and do research to find out what specifics potential students want to learn. You design your course to match your interests to the interest of potential students. A third task is to explore the marketing area of this Community AND the technical constructing of courses. After that, come back with specific questions for fine tuning and you should get the answers you need. As for income, at the moment that is impossible to know. People say it is a long term effort for success and I think that is true. Good luck. ... View more

Your request is unclear. What course? What duration do you want? Perhaps someone could then help. ... View more

What are "kudos?" If they are the same as "likes," why not call them that? If not the same, definitions would be nice. ... View more

As I understand consumer review systems, their primary purpose is to provide perspective customers an honest evaluation of a product: Hopefully for the business, the content provider and the customer, information that promotes a purchase.  A dishonest system, one that has a response bias, will soon cause damage to all.   A secondary benefit of reviews is feedback for the business and content providers to improve their products. Negative comments are especially helpful for this purpose.  However, review systems are not designed to protect or support defective products. Somehow, the review system must weed out poor products, improve others, and enable customers to purchase the right product. Not an easy task.   There are philosophies behind any review system. One is to maximize responses, usually by allowing quick and easy ratings with no comments. This encourages responses of all kinds. Another approach is to mandate written comments. This usually winds up with extremes, high praise and livid negatives, with fewer in-the-middle comments.  The bias of this system is toward the positive.   Amazon.com maximizes ratings, supporting customer input but also allowing them to cheat the system with bogus reviews, both positive and negative. A few of my books, for example, received obvious troll one-star reviews with no recourse to remove them.   I don’t believe the argument that ratings without comments are a disservice to instructors will work. The ratings are for prospective students. And they work as intended.   My suggestion is for the insides of the rating system to be shared with instructors so that a more informed discussion could be held. Perhaps the details must be confidential so it cannot be gamed; yet instructor concerns deserve a more open and informed discussion. Maybe together we can create a stunningly effective system.     ... View more