NINE years with Udemy, what next

[Nicola]

Hi everyone.

With 40 painting courses and nine years of experience it just goes to show that sticking with something can pay off.

Until now.

I have gradually built up a following, a good reputation, and been a bestseller many times, but now I am struggling to get a decent amount of revenue. October was not good and the last time I had such a low month was October 2017.

Accepted, the pandemic may have had a deeper than we realise effect on many things.

I am just wondering what Udemy has in store now they have gone public.

Any thought out there.

Thanks Nicola

[SAPBuddy]

@Nicola seems many instructors has similar problems. You have quite many courses with good feedback. My assumption is this could be temporary otherwise I don’t see anything wrong here.

[Rahul Iyer · Accepted solution]

Hi @Nicola,

It is great to see the depth of your experience and the diversity in your courses. There are many reasons for the slump. IMHO, one of the key reasons I must cite is that during the pandemic, several hundred/probably thousands of new instructors joined Udemy creating courses in many niches. If your niche has a low entry barrier, you will find more courses, more instructors and more competition.

While Udemy is doing what it does best, your competition may be taking away the slice of revenue you used to earn earlier. I would call this as an external environment factor which is beyond your control. The silver lining is to be successful on Udemy, one has to stick to it for long-term. This is your strength (9+ years, right?) And in my experience, most instructors do not continue in the long run. Hence, even if there may be a slump at this point, the additional number of instructors who may not be as persevering as you are, may NOT continue. As the pandemic effect recedes, we will all reach a new status quo.

This is my assessment based on what my observation in my niche. Hope this helps 🙂

[Anni407]

Got it, there are many new instructors but also new students, right? And why is the price structure different? the question is… I have recognised and seen in some cases, that Udemy offers to students better prices for courses from new instructors (sometimes with less reviews) instead from the long experienced ones. Any clue why? 

[Thor]

I think the reason some instructors see a slump is the increase in instructor numbers and courses.

A few years ago it was 20k instructors, now 80k, 60k courses vs 180k+.

Most instructors will make 1 course and vanish. 

The hardest hit categories are the entry level ones, where many more instructors can/are choosing to teach.

[Nicola]

Thank you, that makes sense. It's likely some instructors will fall by the wayside and things will even out again.