How to Scale Your Co-Produced Course by Expanding to Multiple Platforms

Scaling your co-produced digital course is key to maximizing its reach, increasing enrollment, and boosting revenue. While hosting your course on a single platform can be effective in the early stages, expanding to multiple platforms can significantly enhance your course’s visibility and attract a broader audience. The right platform mix allows you to reach students across different ecosystems, increase marketing opportunities, and leverage the strengths of various platforms.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can scale your co-produced course by expanding to multiple platforms, the key benefits of this strategy, and how to execute it effectively.

1. Why Expanding to Multiple Platforms is Crucial for Scaling Your Course

Expanding your co-produced digital course across multiple platforms provides a range of benefits that will help you reach new audiences, increase credibility, and create additional revenue streams. Here’s why this strategy is critical for scaling your course:

• Wider Reach: Hosting your course on multiple platforms gives you access to larger, diverse audiences, including those who may not be active on your primary platform. This broadens your potential customer base and boosts your visibility.

• Increased Marketing Opportunities: Different platforms offer unique marketing tools and promotional features. By utilizing multiple platforms, you can tap into various marketing strategies, from social sharing and email campaigns to paid ads and affiliate programs.

• Brand Authority and Recognition: Being present on several well-established platforms can build your brand’s authority. Students are more likely to trust a course that’s available on multiple credible platforms than one that’s limited to just one site.

• Diverse Revenue Streams: Each platform offers different monetization models. For example, one platform might allow for a subscription-based model, while another might support one-time payments, giving you opportunities to maximize revenue from different sources.

• Reduced Dependence on One Platform: Relying solely on one platform leaves you vulnerable to changes in that platform’s policies, algorithms, or fees. Expanding to multiple platforms minimizes risk and ensures consistent income even if one platform experiences a downturn.

2. How to Effectively Expand to Multiple Platforms

Expanding your course to multiple platforms requires careful planning and consideration of each platform’s strengths and potential drawbacks. Here’s how to scale your co-produced course successfully by leveraging multiple platforms:

1. Choose the Right Platforms for Your Course

Before you expand your course, it’s important to research and select platforms that best suit your course content and target audience. Not all platforms are equal, and each offers unique features and user bases.

• Actionable Steps:

  • Evaluate Audience Fit: Consider where your target audience is most active. If you’re teaching a business-oriented course, platforms like LinkedIn Learning or Udemy may be a good fit. For creative or artistic courses, platforms like Skillshare or Teachable may have a larger following.

  • Consider Platform Features: Each platform offers different features for course creators. For example, platforms like Udemy and Skillshare handle marketing and customer acquisition, while platforms like Teachable or Thinkific give you full control over your content and pricing.

  • Check Payment and Pricing Models: Some platforms offer subscription-based pricing, while others charge per course. Depending on your revenue goals, choose platforms that align with your pricing strategy.

Best Practices:

• Start by testing your course on one additional platform and measure how it performs before expanding to others.

• Consider a mix of platforms that help you expand your reach in different ways: paid platforms (Udemy, Skillshare) for marketing support and independent platforms (Teachable, Thinkific) for more control.

2. Ensure Course Consistency Across Platforms

As you expand your course to different platforms, it’s important to maintain consistency in terms of course content, branding, and messaging. Students should have the same high-quality experience, regardless of the platform they choose.

• Actionable Steps:

  • Replicate the Core Experience: Ensure that the core content, such as video lessons, quizzes, and resources, remains consistent across platforms. If you offer a video course, ensure the quality and formatting are suitable for each platform.

  • Maintain Consistent Branding: Use the same branding (logo, course title, visuals) across all platforms to ensure your course looks recognizable and professional. This helps build trust and brand authority.

  • Align Marketing Messaging: While each platform may have its unique audience and promotional tools, keep your course’s core messaging consistent. The value propositions should resonate with your audience on every platform.

Best Practices:

• Tailor your course descriptions to suit the platform’s audience, but ensure that the core value and messaging remain the same.

• Use a brand style guide for visual consistency across all platforms.

3. Leverage Platform-Specific Marketing Features

Each platform offers different promotional tools and opportunities. By understanding and utilizing these features, you can effectively market your course to the right audience.

• Actionable Steps:

  • Udemy: Use Udemy’s affiliate program to partner with influencers or marketers to promote your course. Leverage Udemy’s marketing tools like discount codes and featured promotions to drive sales.

  • Teachable and Thinkific: Use these platforms to build your own branded website and integrate email marketing systems (e.g., MailChimp, ConvertKit). You can also use social media integrations and paid ads to drive traffic to your course.

  • Skillshare: Skillshare uses an internal algorithm to recommend courses to users based on their preferences. Make sure your course is optimized for search within the Skillshare platform by using relevant keywords in your course title and description.

Best Practices:

• Take advantage of any promotional campaigns or partnerships offered by the platform.

• Utilize platform-specific features such as coupons, early bird offers, or discounts to attract new students.

4. Set Clear Pricing and Payment Terms

When expanding to multiple platforms, you must carefully consider how to handle pricing and payments. Pricing inconsistencies across platforms can confuse potential students, so it’s important to set clear expectations.

• Actionable Steps:

  • Price Consistently: If you’re offering your course on multiple platforms, set a consistent price for your course across all platforms to avoid confusion. However, be aware that some platforms (like Udemy) may have pricing restrictions.

  • Sales and Promotions: Plan how you will handle promotions across platforms. For example, if you’re running a sale on your independent website (via Teachable or Thinkific), decide if you’ll also offer discounts on platforms like Udemy or Skillshare.

  • Payment Processing: Different platforms have different payment structures. Ensure that your revenue-sharing agreements with each platform are clear and understand how each platform pays you (e.g., monthly payouts, revenue cuts, etc.).

Best Practices:

• Regularly review your pricing strategy to ensure you remain competitive across platforms.

• Make it easy for students to understand how they can access your course and the value they’re getting at the price.

5. Monitor Performance and Optimize for Growth

Once your course is live across multiple platforms, you’ll need to monitor its performance to see which platforms are performing best and optimize accordingly.

• Actionable Steps:

  • Track Sales: Use analytics tools provided by each platform (e.g., Udemy’s instructor dashboard, Teachable’s revenue analytics) to monitor your sales, traffic, and student engagement. Identify which platforms generate the most revenue and where you need to invest more marketing efforts.

  • Student Feedback: Pay attention to student reviews and feedback on each platform. This feedback can help you make improvements to your course and identify which elements are most appreciated across platforms.

  • Optimize Content and Marketing: Based on the insights from your sales and student reviews, tweak your marketing strategies, pricing, and content to improve course performance.

Best Practices:

• Regularly update your course based on feedback and industry trends to keep it fresh and relevant.

• Experiment with different types of content or offers (e.g., bundle deals, upsells) to see what works best on each platform.

3. Conclusion

Expanding your co-produced digital course to multiple platforms is a powerful strategy for scaling your reach, increasing revenue, and building your brand. By selecting the right platforms, maintaining consistency, utilizing platform-specific marketing tools, and optimizing pricing, you can grow your course business and attract a wider audience.

Be sure to track performance across each platform and continually optimize your approach based on data and feedback. Expanding across multiple platforms doesn’t just open up new revenue opportunities; it helps establish your course as a trusted, visible resource for learners worldwide.

With the right strategy and a strong commitment to quality, you can scale your co-produced course successfully and build a thriving online education business.