The concept of aggregation has crept into every sphere of our lives. Right from ordering food to booking cabs, we have seen aggregators take over. However, one such area where aggregation was never expected to happen was in the field of learning. Today, E-Learning platforms are connecting aspiring learners with subject matter experts in a peer-to-peer fashion. It might not be wrong to state that E-Learning platforms are the Uber for knowledge.
The democratization of the education ecosystem has resulted in E-Learning platforms, becoming lucrative channels of business. Going ahead, we will learn about the nuances and nitty-gritty of creating a tailored E-Learning business.
E-Learning - the possibilities:
The constant quest for people to upgrade their knowledge and expertise has resulted in an explosive growth of E-learning app like Udemy both as a business and as an activity. E-learning platforms offer courses for everything, right from creative learning such as dance & global languages to advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Blockchain, the options are infinite.
The revenue of the E-Learning segment lies in three major streams, which portrays the platform highly lucrative:
- Products such as E-books, course materials, and others
- Service subscription on a monthly or annual basis
- Advertisements and promotions for brands and labels
Why is E-Learning profitable?
- Apart from platform development and hosting, there are virtually no additional expenses.
- Creating an entire course at less than $100. Hence, no burning a hole in the pocket.
- Availability of numerous free tools online to design E-Learning courses.
- Charging users between $10 to $1000 for each course, the return on investment (ROI) is considerably high.
The different business models:
When it comes to E-Learning, there are two major types of business models. The night school model and the academy model.
The Night school
The night school model lets students access a set of selected course-material for a specified period. The learners follow a set curriculum right from the beginning. Periodic quizzes and tests grade the progress of the students. In most cases, there are no deviations from the course due to its disciplined nature. To access additional learning material beyond the course, students have to pay extra.
The courses are created in line with global users needs and benefit them seamlessly. There are no limits to the number of courses listed on the online platform. The course range begins from as low as $7 and skyrockets to $5000.
However, in the night school model, there are constant needs for periodically relaunching the courses and products. This is to ensure continued interest among users. The night school service model ensures a steady stream of revenue for the platform.
The Academy model
The Academy model functions like a Netflix app for online education. Students can pay a subscription fee and access all the courses offered by the online academy. The unique model ensures the contents regularly updated with fresh materials.
In the long run, the Academy model is more successful. The famous model segments extensive courses into smaller units. For example, to train students on mountaineering, the course is segmented into choosing the right gear, selecting the season, and teaching risk management at high altitude.
As discussed earlier, the academy model opens up avenues to infinite possibilities and offers passive income. There is no need for the constant relaunch of products, unlike in the case of night school model. To keep the revenue flowing, ensure periodic creation of fresh content. Simultaneously, an active community to discuss courses should be maintained. Note that the income might not be as immediate as in the night school model, but once the course clicks with users/learners/students, revenue becomes constant.
Starting your E-Learning business
Commencing the business can be carried out in a few simple steps:
Identify what to teach
It is better if the course is oriented towards a solution than a problem. Identify the industry or the skill to work with and among them, zero down on what to teach. These bits of information will help set up the business and fix target audiences.
Find out what customers want
It can't be denied that businesses run on customers, and any company should focus on solving their queries. There are several places where audiences share/discuss their issues and requirements. Areas like the comments section on social media and magazines furnish a clear understanding of what people seek. Collecting periodic data and curating them will supply ideas on what needs to be offered in an E-Learning course.
Create a product that will appeal
A course should be designed to engage with students/learners. Video courses have been steadily growing amongst the online community. The medium offers easy creation and integration of numerous creative contents & materials. Smartphones with excellent quality video recording capability can contribute immensely in this segment. Given the fact that users like to access courses from anywhere, videos are the most beneficial way of creating materials, especially for an Academy-style subscription service model.
Creating the platform
You can either create a custom platform or use a pre-existing one. Creating a platform might seem easy on the surface but involves substantial groundwork. It is always advisable to use pre-existing teaching platform. The medium saves on time that might otherwise be spent in developing from scratch- after all, time is a precious investment.
Creating a tailored platform requires a domain name and hosting service to handle video streaming. Also, the requirement of essential security features to ensure content remains secure from hacks and un-authorized accessibility. Additionally, the platform needs to be integrated with payment gateways for smooth and secure processing of user payments.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that E-learning is here to stay, thanks to its convenience and global accessibility. With the growing demand for learning, the lucrative platform plays the right chords. However, developing one from scratch might not be the smart move ahead, try your hands-on Udemy clone script and save on time and money, literally!