This post is 90% advice and 10% gloating. Just being real
Coming into Udemy - especially on a subject that was being lead by a powerhouse instructor, I knew I couldn't just "throw" a course up.
Here is some advice:
1) Don't create Junk
Find the best course that you will be competing with and analyze everything about it. Make sure that whatever you like best about that course, that you work to create something even better. If you have cut corners for any reason, you have already failed yourself.2) Invest in your equipment.
Do NOT settle for lesser equipment to save money. Save money first then get the right equipment. You cannot go wrong with: Blue Yeti Mic, Logitech 920c HD Webcam, Screenflow (Mac)/Camtasia (PC). You've lived in the world long enough to know that presentation is everything.3) Just like Udemy does, do A/B testing and make immediate improvements.
If your students are complaining about something, fix it asap. Treat your course like a business and less like an personal appendage that keeps you emotionally bound to it. Treat it like a product. This will allow you to make the necessary changes with the least amount of pain when those bad reviews come in (and they will).
4) Learn everything you can about marketing.
Especially online marketing and growth hacking. I promise if you did this, you would never again ask the question, "How do I market my course". I knew nothing about marketing and now know a lot just by studying what others are doing.Closing comments
I know I probably sound like a d-bag here - but seriously aim to be the best. Don't produce something that is worse than what is already out there. I would not personally release any course if I didn't think it could be better than what is already out there.
Every customer asks themselves, "Why should I buy from you instead of the competition?" You need to give them that reason.
Links to the online courses being instructed by Mark are given below.
https://www.udemy.com/ios9-swift/
https://www.udemy.com/apple-tv/
https://www.udemy.com/react-flux/
Note:
Mark posted these thoughts in Udemy Studio group on Facebook. I thought this stuff is too good to be lost in social media noise and saved it as a note for myself.
Naeem.
