Online Courses vs. Membership Sites: Which Is Right For Me?

One of the most common questions I get from new clients is this: "Should I create an online course or a membership?”

When you start researching eLearning, it’s incredibly easy to get caught up in everyone’s ~proven methods~ for success. After all, eLearning is a massive industry that’s estimated to climb to $325 billion in the next five years. With that kind of revenue, it goes without saying that there are a good number of successful people in the mix.

The problem is, eLearning is by no means a get-rich-quick industry. Those success stories marketed across the Internet? The ones screaming at you from Facebook ads and following you around every YouTube video? Those creators are successful as a result of spending YEARS growing, launching, failing and trying again.

The ONLY guaranteed way to achieve eLearning success is to launch. Launch, learn and—you guessed it—launch again. Plain and simple.

My clients know this because in the consulting/strategy phase I ensure that everyone has reasonable expectations. Authors and experts who work with me know they’re going to have to pick one (validated) idea and stick to it.

That’s why the question always turns into “OK, so WTF do I launch?”

Here’s my (annoying) answer:

You decide.

It all depends on what YOU want your life and business to look like.

Before we get into why, let’s review what the major differences are between these two offers.

Online Courses vs. Membership Sites: What’s the difference?

In eLearning, there are two predominant ways to offer paid educational content: online courses and membership sites.

Online courses are time-sensitive. The content has a start and end date. The material contains clear learning objectives and is designed to create a measurable transformation—to bring the student from Point A to Point B.

Membership sites, on the other hand, are open-ended. Their doors may open and close intermittently (depending on your launch strategy), but financially, they rely on a recurring subscription with no end date in site. Memberships typically promise a few deliverables a month like videos, group coaching, guest webinars, etc.

 

With that said…

When you’re deciding whether to offer your content as a course or a membership, you should start with one question:

What do you want your life and business to look like?

Would you rather create content on a defined timeline (6 modules, 3 live calls, starts Jan. 1 and ends Jan. 31)…

…or create new content every month?

Would you rather work with new students each session…

or work with the same community over an extended period of time?

Would you rather bring in substantial revenue once or twice a year*…

or bring in continuous revenue each month?

(*Note: Some courses can be made evergreen, meaning enrollment can be open constantly using a tool like DeadlineFunnel. These courses still have a start and end date and don’t rely on a continuous subscription model like a membership.)

If you’d prefer to have a clear start and end date, new students each time and bring in larger sums of revenue once or twice a year, you’re probably suited for a traditional online course.

If you’re leaning more toward creating consistent content each month (which you might already be doing!), working with the same community for longer and having a consistent revenue stream month-to-month, you should consider creating a membership.

Whatever you choose, the key is to stay focused. Don’t let anxiety and comparison convince you that you have to do and be everything at once.

Pick one thing and do it WELL.

Launch several times.

Fail often.

Once you feel confident with one offer, you can start exploring what it might look like to add another.

Most importantly, remember that your job is to serve. The only reason anyone should enter the eLearning industry is because they feel like they can help.

The objective of strategic launching is not to milk your email list for every dollar they have, but to create a path of success for your people.

Your primary goal should be to create a ripple effect of lasting change and transformation. Anything less than that and you’ll have a hard time convincing anyone to buy anything—no matter what words you use to offer it.