Courses
What to look for in an online course platform
Eleven things to check before choosing a course platform, from payment and VAT to video costs and access to your students. Includes a checklist.
Everyone about to sell their first course faces the same question: where should it live? There are dozens of platforms. Their promises sound alike and the prices are often in dollars per month.
I have made that choice myself and then built a course environment, so I know what becomes important once you start using one. Here are eleven things I would check, ordered by how quickly they can cost you time or money. There is a checklist at the end so you can compare three platforms side by side.
1. How the payment is processed
This is the first thing I look at. Some platforms are the seller and pay you later; others let the payment go through your own account. That difference determines who the customer is, who pays the VAT and when you will receive your money.
For a Dutch entrepreneur, you want a payment via your own Mollie or Stripe account, with iDEAL included. Dutch customers pay with iDEAL and a platform that only offers credit cards will cost you sales.
2. Whether the prices are in euros and include VAT
US platforms charge in dollars, excluding VAT. You see €29 on the website and pay €38 on your statement, with a rate that varies per month. This makes your costs unpredictable and your administration more difficult.
Also ask if you will receive an invoice that your accountant can use, with a VAT number on it.
3. What the video costs are
Video is often the cost that surprises people. Some platforms charge for stored minutes and viewed minutes, so the bill grows as students watch more.
Check the video limits and what happens if you exceed them. Findori Links lists them by plan: Growth includes 600 stored minutes and 5,000 viewed minutes a month; Premium includes 3,000 and 15,000; Course Pro includes 5,000 and 25,000.
4. What percentage is deducted per sale
In addition to your subscription, many platforms charge a percentage per sale. The payment provider charges its own costs on top of this. Calculate it on your own revenue instead of on the lowest price in the price table.
For example, ten sales of a € 147 course bring in € 1,470. A 7.5% fee is about € 110, a 2.5% fee is € 36.75 and a 0% fee is nothing. The difference can soon outweigh the monthly subscription.
5. Whether your student needs to create an account
Every step between payment and first lesson costs your participants. Creating an account with a password that someone has to remember is one such step.
What works better is a personal access link by email, so that someone can start immediately. This is how I did it in Findori Links, because I saw too often that people were stuck on a login screen after payment.
6. Whether your lesson content is really protected
Ask if videos and downloads are behind a check or if they are public addresses that anyone can forward. For paid content you want the former.
7. Who your students can email
Some platforms have your participants’ email addresses in their system and you can only reach them within that system. If you stop, you will lose your list.
Make sure you can export your addresses and that your own terms and privacy policy apply. They are your customers.
8. Whether your sales page and your link page work together
Your course will be found through your social channels and they will end up at the link in your bio. If your course is on another platform, this is an intermediate step and you will not see which post generated the sale.
Is the course in the same environment as you link page, then it will be next to your free giveaway and your other products and you will see by post what it yielded.
9. Whether you can start for free
You won’t know if your topic will sell until you try it. A €99 per month platform is an expensive trial. See if you can start with a free or cheap package and only scale up when there is revenue.
10. What happens when you stop
Ask to get your videos, texts and participant data out. A platform that makes it hard to leave knows why.
11. What language it is in
Your participant will see the buttons, emails and payment page of the platform. If it is in English while you are selling to Dutch people, it feels like someone else’s environment. This means no sales on day one and a boost in confidence.
Checklist to compare three platforms
- Payment via my own Mollie or Stripe account, with iDEAL.
- Prices in euros including VAT, with a usable invoice.
- Video minutes saved and viewed per plan, plus additional usage costs.
- Percentage per sale, calculated on my own revenue.
- Student starts without an account and without a password.
- Video and downloads protected.
- I can export my participant addresses and email them myself.
- The course sales page works alongside my link page and other offers.
- I can start without a large monthly commitment.
- I can export my content and data if I leave.
- The environment is in Dutch.
You can read how Findori Links stands on these points online courses. Start for free and build your course when you have chosen the right plan.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate course platform if I already have a website?
For a free mini course, you can go a long way with pages on your own site. Once you deliver paid lessons, you want protected video, a payment that provides access and visibility into progress. You’d rather not build that yourself.
What does a course platform cost on average?
The well-known English platforms cost between €40 and €150 per month, in dollars and excluding VAT. At Findori Links, a publishing course starts at €10 per month, see prices.
Can I transfer my existing course?
Yes. You recreate the components and lessons and upload your videos and files. Your old environment will let you work until you switch the address in your bio.
How much video do I need for a course?
Four to six lessons of ten to fifteen minutes will take you around ninety minutes. That fits comfortably in the smallest plan, so start there.
Do I have to charge VAT on a course?
Usually yes, with its own rules for sales to consumers in other EU countries and sometimes an exemption for certain education. Put the price including VAT on your page and have your situation checked by your accountant.