Ankur Nagpal is the founder of Fedora, an online course-hosting platform with more than 4000 instructors. From his unique vantage-point, he’s got some insight into what separates top-selling courses from the rest of the pack.
Fedora isn’t a marketplace like Udemy, but instead gives instructors the technology to host their content and sell it directly. That generally means you can offer a cleaner, more premium experience, and command higher prices.
Of course, there are a lot of things that have to happen before you get to that stage though, including deciding what to teach and finding an audience to sell it to. Ankur gives some innovative ideas on how to use free distribution platforms like YouTube and even Udemy to build that interested audience and drive them to your premium course.
We get into all that and more in this action-packed call.
And a big thanks to Andrew Guttormsen for the intro to Ankur.
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Learn:
- How to come up with ideas on what you can teach.
- The trap that many would-be instructors fall into.
- Ankur’s ideas on how to validate your market before you begin.
- How long your course needs to be.
- The concept of a “minimum viable course.”
- His favorite tools for recording and creating your content.
- Ankur’s suggestion for “outcome-based” pricing, and why he says “everyone prices too low.”
- Some cool marketing ideas on how to get eyeballs to your content and promote into your course.
- How to turn your course into a long-term digital asset for ongoing earnings.
- Ankur’s #1 tip for Side Hustle Nation.
Links:
- UseFedora.com/sidehustle
- MillionDollarInstructor.com
- Udemy | My Kindle Launch Course
- Scott Britton on The Side Hustle Show
- Blue yeti microphone
- Screenflow | Camtasia
Download the Free PDF "Highlight Reel" from this Episode
With all of my guest's top tips and resources included.
Enter your email to access it now:
Success! You just unlocked the highlight reel from this episode ... AND over 200 other subscriber-only bonuses. Check your email for details :)
(If it doesn't show up in 5-10 minutes, check spam/promotions.)
You'll also receive my best side hustle tips and weekly-ish newsletter. Opt-out anytime.
Infographic courtesy of Fedora (click to open full-size):
And as promised, my ridiculous ballet costume from last weekend:
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(coastal landscape photo credit)
Really enjoyed this episode Nick. I had never heard of Fedora prior to this. As I write this I am actually uploading my first course to give it a shot.
Nice! Be sure to circle back and let us know how it goes!
You bet Nick . . . hope to launch it in the next two weeks
So far Nick . . . I am a bit frustrated with the customer support from Fedora. I have reached out to them via Twitter, Facebook, email, their online support system about downgrading my plan (which is IMPOSSIBLE to do on your own with their system).
They have failed in getting back in touch with me . . . or in downgrading my plan. Feels a bit like they have my credit card info hostage.
With that said . . . setting up the course is fairly easy . . . but this might be a deal breaker.
Ahh sorry to hear it! I’ll send Ankur a note and let him know.
Hey Jon,
Sorry about that — our support point of contact was back home for his Mom’s birthday which made our response time a little bit slower than normal.
We’ve taken care of this for you — it’s also normally not our policy to require manual cancellation, it’s just a short-term experiment so we can learn more about why people cancel their account.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, you can find me at ankur at usefedora dot com
UPDATE***
Ankur and their customer service manager reached out to me personally and explained that the process was a bit slow this past week due to individuals travelling. While I still do not like the process . . . it appears that this is only a temporary method for following up with individuals that cancel their premium services.
ALSO . . . I did launch a mini course today. In the last 5 hours we have had about 70 sales . . . this was all via a very small soft launch as a side mention in a regular email blast.
Customer seem to be very happy with the course design and the ease of flow within Fedora. As a course creator. . . I find it very easy to manage and it takes a lot of stress out of designing, setting up membership and billing, etc . . . Overall . . . I def recommend Fedora. I think we will begin to post many more courses with the hopes of building out an entire school.
Wowzas! 70 sales already?? — crushing it!
Thanks Nick! We have a GREAT list . . . and this is really a mini course so we are selling it pretty cheap . . . just to test the waters. But I’m convinced . . . more courses already in the works