Why is this software unique?
Udemy is free for creators to create and host courses.
Udemy is free for instructors.
I can create as many courses as I want. The platform is easy to use and has a bunch of features, like a quiz maker, practice tests, and assignments, that let creators build engaging online courses.
I could also access insightful marketing data to create winning courses.
Pricing
But it retains a percentage of the sales. As an instructor, you can earn up to 97% when a student purchases through your coupon or referral link. And 37% if they buy through other means.
Feature 1: User experience of course builder
Signing up as an instructor on Udemy is pretty straightforward.
It only requires your full name, email, and password. Then complete the process by providing quick information about your experience and audience size. And this takes you straight to your dashboard.
It took me less than a minute to sign up for an account.
I also found the dashboard to be beginner-friendly—the menus are all lined up nicely and tidily on the sidebar. And creating a new course is as simple as clicking the “New Course” button and following three simple steps.
First, I chose between creating a course and practice test. Next, I indicated the course title and category. Finally, I accessed the course builder.
This course creation platform prioritizes intuitive user experiences and designs, niching in on a user-friendly experience for beginners and advanced users alike. Udemy’s course builder section lays out everything I need to create a course neatly on the sidebar as it did on the welcome dashboard, plus step-by-step instructions on getting started.
The platform provides lots of documentation articles to help me out if I get stuck, but I found Udemy so intuitive that I didn’t have to use them.
Feature 2: Learner engagement tools
Udemy features several tools that encourage active student participation in their learning process.
I found the quiz, practice test, and assignment features useful. However, only premium instructors (paid course creators) can use them. I tried them out and they’re really easy to use.
The quiz maker impressed me the most. When I tested it, I was able to include up to 15 possible answers to a question and even indicated the best answer. It also allowed me to add a related video lecture to help students answer the question.
In addition, Udemy offers an online certificate generator that enables instructors to issue certificates to students upon course completion. Students can also review courses to provide feedback on their learning experience.
I switched to the student dashboard and enrolled in a free course to test this feature. I couldn’t figure out how to leave a review. I guess I have to complete the whole course first.
Feature 3: Marketing and payment features
Udemy offers limited built-in marketing features.
It only lets me upload a promotional video to my course detail page, generate a referral link, and create multiple coupons. I believe it could offer more, like allowing instructors to promote their courses by running native ad campaigns, as obtainable on Amazon.
However, providing referral links means instructors can run external campaigns to generate course sales. And the best part is, you’ll keep 97% of the revenue.
I am comfortable with Udemy’s payment methods. The platform supports PayPal, Payoneer, and direct deposit (although that’s only for US residents).
Feature 4: Scalability
Udemy is highly scalable.
I noticed that instructors can create as many courses as they want, and there’s no limit to the number of students they can have. Some courses can get up to 1.7 million students, like this course on Python.
The platform is huge, with over 62 million students and 830 million course enrollments. A student can enroll in as many courses as they can afford.
Affordability
Udemy is affordable as you don’t need to pay anything to use the platform.
Feature 6: Unique features
Udemy provides marketing insights that let you understand opportunities for each course topic.
I tested this tool to find opportunities for photography.
And I was impressed with the insights. Udemy provided me with data on student demand, median monthly revenue, top search keywords, and the search volume trend.
I also found the “Enrollment by Channel,” “Conversion rate,” and “Top earning courses” insights useful.
For instance, data on enrollment by channel helped me figure out the different ways students find photography courses on Udemy. This can help instructors plan their marketing strategies.
Also, by looking at the topic conversion rate, I was able to figure out how competitive photography courses are. And the top-earning courses can give me some ideas for creating a better photography course.