Welcome back to Create and Sell Your Own Ecourses!
If you missed the kick off last week, you can check out the introduction to the series, Create and Sell Your Own Ecourses. (You’ll want to read it before diving into what you need to make it happen.)
This week is all about the tools and software you need to sell ecourses through your own website.
First, I want you to take a DEEP breath, because when you look at this list, you might be overwhelmed.
Instead of going straight to “well I’ll never be able to make this happen,” I want you to remember how excited you got when you thought about creating an online course. That enthusiasm will help you push through the overwhelm.
Everybody who decides to create and sell ecourses gets overwhelmed when they first think about what goes into creating it.
Before we get into the list (some of you are probably thinking, “alright already…get to the good stuff), there’s something else important to touch on.
From the comments last week, I know some of you are looking for shortcuts. Maybe you don’t want to invest a lot of money into creating your ecourse. Maybe you’re a little nervous about putting in a lot of time and some money and then it flopping.
Here’s the thing: if you’re starting out with a negative mindset, you’re not going to get very far.
You’ll get out of it what you put in. That’s the truth I’ve found with working with hundreds of creative entrepreneurs.
You probably can’t put together a course that people gush over and that makes you a good chunk of money with just your smartphone. You need some tools and software. You need to be willing to spend time on this. If you aren’t, then this probably isn’t the right time for you to create your first ecourse. (And, that’s okay, too!)
With that said, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to create an ecourse that your customers love.
Below I’m sharing the tools I use and some cheaper alternatives.
I want this be accessible if you have a limited budget, but keep in mind that what you can charge often correlates with the quality of product. Meaning that if you’re using your iphone to film the videos, you can’t charge as much as you could if you’re using a camera that gives you high-quality picture and sound.
You probably won’t need ALL of these tools. I don’t use all of them in the same course. It depends on what you’re offering within your course. For example, if you’re not hosting live calls, you don’t need a platform to host live calls.
Without further introduction (cause that was already pretty darn long), here’s the list of tools:
1. Computer
If you’re teaching an online course, you need a computer. I use a Macbook Pro (Mac girl for life!) and I love it, but you can do the same types of things on a PC. Use what you’ve got.
2. Website
If you want to host an ecourse, then you need a website to host it on.
What I Use:
I have a WordPress website and highly recommend using WordPress. The step-by-step tutorial video that I’m sharing next week is on creating an ecourse on WordPress website.
Cheaper Alternative:
If you want to teach an online course but don’t want to get into the technical bits of hosting it yourself, I suggest looking into other platforms such as Skillshare and Atly. Make sure you read the fine print because some platforms can remove your course at any time for any reason (without notice) and if that’s a main source of your income, you want to be prepared. Also, you give up control when you host your course on another platform and you have to share the profits. But, sometimes giving up some control and profits is worth it when you don’t have to do any of the technical set up or hosting.
3. Domain and Hosting
What I Use:
Instead of purchasing a new domain for each course, I install a subdomain onto my main domain: blacksburgbelle.com. If I can show you how to do this without showing any private information, I’m going to include it in next week’s video tutorial.
I use the program Fantastico (which I had to pay for separately but comes with some hosting packages) on my cPanel to install subdomains. I know that probably sounds confusing but it’s actually very easy. You’ll see next week! It’s a click of a button.
This is the cheaper alternative to buying another domain and paying for additional hosting for that domain. I do it mainly because it’s the easiest way for me to offer courses on my own website.
I buy my domains from Dynadot.
For hosting, I use Midphase and I pay $305.90 for hosting each month because I have my own dedicated server which means that my website loads much faster than it would if I was on a shared server. I DON’T recommend this for those of you starting out.
If you’re willing to invest in really good hosting, I suggest Synthesis. If you’re not ready for that, I suggest picking a hosting plan that’s less than $10 a month (such as Blue Host) and investing more in the future if necessary.
If you already have a self-hosted website, then you already have a domain and hosting. This is ONLY for those of you who don’t have a website yet.
4. Fantastico
I use Fantastico to easily install subdomains onto blacksburgbelle.com in order to host courses on their own site that is still connected to Blacksburg Belle.
Some hosting plans include Fantastico so check with your hosting provider before you invest in this.
Cheaper Alternative:
You could host your course on a password protected page on your website. If you pick this option, you can’t customize a website for your course because you’re using your main website. And, it’s not as secure, because someone could give out the link and password without you realizing it.
5. WishList Member
I use WishList Member for every course and membership program I sell through Blacksburg Belle. It’s user-friendly and secure. Next week, I’ll walk you through how I use WishList Member so you can see it for yourself.
Cheaper Alternative:
Same alternative as number four—using a password protected page on your website.
6. WordPress Theme
If you install a subdomain on your website, you have to set it up from scratch which means adding a theme and any plug-ins you want to use.
What I Use:
I use Canvas by WooThemes for everything including my website and subdomains. I love Canvas because I can easily customize my site with it.
Cheaper Alternative:
Free WordPress themes are always an option, but they often come with technical hiccups and aren’t easily (if at all) customizable.
7. Email Platform
In order to email your students (to give them course information, encourage them, update them on changes, etc), you need an email platform. Most online business owners already have an email platform that they use to email followers and subscribers. If you already use an email platform, you can use it for this purpose.
What I Use:
I’ve used AWeber for the past four years. Highly recommend.
Cheaper Alternative:
Within Wishlist Member, you can email your members, however, it’s very limited in what you can do. Simple emails…yes. Anything above very basic, you’ll want an email platform. I suggest using an email platform and if you don’t want to spend extra money, sign up with MailChimp because it’s free until you reach a certain number of subscribers.
8. Video camera
If your course (or sales page) includes videos (other than slides or screenshots), then you need a video camera to record those videos. I don’t recommend using your smartphone, because the quality is subpar. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on a video camera, but investing a couple hundred dollars will make a huge difference in your videos.
What I Use:
I use a Nikon Coolpix L620 which was about $250 when I bought it.
Cheaper Alternative:
Your smartphone, but again, I don’t recommend this. I’ve filmed videos with my iPhone and there’s a huge difference in the picture and sound quality when using a video camera. When I’m paying for something, I expect higher quality than smartphone videos.
9. Camera
If you’re using pictures in your course or on your sales page, you’ll need a camera. I suggest investing in a decent camera—not just for your course—but for your business. If you take product photos or photos for your blog, it’ll help you improve all of those areas.
What I Use:
A few years ago, I took the plunge and bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D90. It’s been a great camera for me.
Cheaper Alternative:
You can get some really nice photos with your smartphone or with a camera that isn’t a DSLR. You have to decide what’s worth investing in and isn’t (or what you can wait to invest in).
10. Video Editing Software
For the most part, you don’t need anything crazy when it comes to editing videos for your course. You probably don’t need special effects or advanced techniques.
What I Use:
My go-to video editing software is iMovie. After you get the hang of it, you can do a lot with it and it’s free with a Mac.
If you’re on a PC, I can’t really help you because I haven’t had a PC in years.
11. Studio Lights
If you’re filming videos and don’t have nice natural light (not too harsh—not too dark) or can’t film during the hours you get the best natural light in your home, getting studio lights will make your life so much easier.
What I Use:
In my last house, I had a sunroom with beautiful natural light so that’s what I used. When I moved, I realized that all the big trees surrounding my house meant that natural light for my videos wasn’t going to be an option anymore. I purchased this lighting package.
Cheaper Alternative:
Natural light.
12. Tripod
If you’re filming videos for your course, a tripod will make your life easier. It steadies the camera and makes it easier to get the height just right.
Cheapter Alternative:
For quite a while, I used a stack of books on stool as my “tripod.” It worked just fine. I upgraded when my husband found me a high-quality tripod at a flea market.
13. Screenflow
If you’re including videos in your course but you want to record slides while you talk through them or you want to record your computer screen, you’ll need screen recording software. I use Screenflow to record and edit those types of videos. It’s been a great program for me and it’s very user-friendly. You can download a free trial to see if you like it.
14. PowerPoint or Keynote
If you’re going to record slides, you need software to create those slides. I use Keynote because I’m on a Mac. If you’re on a PC, you’d probably use PowerPoint.
15. Illustrator
I use Adobe Illustrator to create visuals for my slides, sales pages and course design. I also use it to create worksheet pages.
One way to make your sales page look more customized is to create your own buy buttons instead of using your shopping cart’s default buy buttons. It can make a big difference. I design my buy buttons in Illustrator.
Cheaper Alternative:
Because Adobe offers the monthly plan, I think it’s totally worth it. For $50 a month you get access to so many programs that will up your business game. If you’re not ready for that kind of investment, you can create a lot of this stuff (but not all) with PicMonkey for free.
16. InDesign
I use InDesign to put together workbooks, multi-page worksheets and ebooks for my courses. I don’t know of a cheaper alternative for this one but it comes in the monthly bundle package through Adobe.
If your course doesn’t include workbooks, multi-page patterns or ebooks, then you probably don’t need this.
17. Photoshop
I use Photoshop to edit all of my photos. If you’re using photos within your course (example: to demonstrate the steps in your sewing tutorial), you definitely want to edit them. It makes a huge difference.
Cheaper Alternative:
Photoshop isn’t a need by any means. You can do enough with free photo editing software like PicMonkey if it’s not in the budget.
18. Photoshop Actions
I used to spend a ton of time editing my photos. Then, I found Photoshop actions. To me, they are well worth the investment, because they save me hours and hours and hours. Right now, I exclusively use Paint the Moon actions.
Cheaper Alternative:
Editing your photos manually. Or, Photoshop actions that don’t cost as much, but from my experience, you get what you pay for.
19. Video Hosting Platform
If you’re using videos (either kind), you need a place to host them.
What I Use:
Vimeo is my go-to for hosting videos. I prefer it over YouTube, because you’ve got more options to customize them, making your videos feel much more branded.
Cheaper Alternative:
20. Shopping Cart
You’ve got to have a shopping cart in order to collect money.
What I Use:
I’ve always used 1shoppingcart in conjunction with PayPal to accept credit cards and PayPal. 1shoppingcart works seamlessly with WishList Member, so when someone pays, they automatically get redirected to the course website to choose a username and password. I don’t have to send the course information to each customer manually.
Cheaper Alternative:
I’m not sure which cheaper shopping carts work with WishList Member seamlessly like 1shoppingcart but I’m sure that there are some that do. I’ve heard good things about SendOwl, which is cheaper, but I’m not sure how it works with WishList Member. That’s something you’d have to research.
21. Spreecast
If part of your course includes live calls (such as Q&A calls), then you need to pick a platform to host them.
What I Use:
In the beginning I used GotoWebinar, but I didn’t love it. I’m currently using Spreecast but I don’t love it either. There are pros and cons to every platform and each one seems to come with it’s own technical issues. I’m still looking for a platform that has amazing customer support and less technical hiccups, but the best option for me right now is Spreecast.
Cheaper Alternative:
If you have nine students or less, you could use Google hangouts for free. Unfortunately, at this time, it only allows 10 people to join a call so it doesn’t work for larger courses.
22. Webcam
If you’re going to host live calls, you’ll need a way for your students to see you (unless you’re only showing your screen/slides), so you’ll need a webcam.
What I Use:
I upgraded my webcam to the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920, because I wanted a clearer picture. It definitely gives me much better picture quality.
Cheaper Alternative:
For years, I used the webcam on my Macbook Pro and you could easily use the webcam that comes with your laptop (if applicable).
These are all the tools and software I use to create and sell my online courses. I hope it helps you figure out what to invest in to get started.
Remember that you don’t need all of this stuff. It really depends on what you’re offering within your ecourse. My advice is to set a budget, invest in stuff that’s going to make the biggest difference to the quality of your ecourse and pick cheaper alternatives for the other stuff.
Then, you can upgrade as you go.
Do NOT let this list completely overwhelm you. Take things one step at a time and enjoy the process!
Think of anything I didn’t include? Add it in the comments below.
This is a great list although I don’t understand a lot of it. Can you please define: dedicated server, hosting, domain, subdomain, DSLR? I can’t figure out what they mean from Google.
Sorry for all the questions, but this is really interesting and as a no- to low-techie and no income gal, I’m trying to wrap my head around this.
So mainly you need the product and a way to collect money for it and a way to deliver it, right? Let’s assume you have your FB page or other visibility and newsletter already established. If I can’t figure out how to have it hosted on Blogger which is where my website is, can I just have a sales page there, and a Paypal button, and then email it out or Dropbox it to people? Is there a way to allow only certain people to view a You Tube uploaded video or is it, like add their name as they purchase?
I didn’t understand the eCourse that’s not a video. Is that a single document or is it lessons that get sent out as documents every week or so?
Can the video tutorial next time also show a super low tech course, just a document or video for which there is no place it exists on the web but maybe gets sent out?
Thanks for helping. 🙂
Allison, if you don’t have your own website and don’t want to pay anything to set it up, maybe the self-hosted course option is not for you right now.
April mentioned platforms for hosting & selling courses that only require you to create content, and they do the rest. (Skillshare, Udemy etc)
You can even use Etsy for selling digital downloads.
Thanks Nela, except that means I still don’t know 1) what a self-hosted course option is/means and 2) what I can do instead of what I can’t do to develop an ecourse. I mean I do have a Macbook pro, a digital camera, iMovie, tripod, a Blogger site, FB, You Tube account, Pinterest, Mad Mimi account, and Open Office. No money for software subscriptions for now and no cell phone or tablet.. So my question would be, then what can I do with what I have? Maybe if I could be pointed to some examples of ecourses that don’t require more than what i have that would help. Thanks.
As a blogger user for years, I can answer the blogger question. Yes, I think you could host an ecourse on Blogger, if you create a new blog and then make it private so that only poeple added to the list can view it. So, each time they sort of need to sign in. But, that option is not as safe, because as far as I know, it only asks for the e-mail, so someone might distribute access without you knowing it to others who haven’t signed up.
Domain is the name of a website (www.blacksgurgbelle.com is April’s website domain) and there are many companies that sell domain names (such as GoDaddy, NameCheap and so on). Having a domain name doesn’t mean you have a website yet. It’s just the name. SO, right now on blogger, your domain is probably something like http://www.example.blogspot.com. If you’d like your site to be http://www.example.com, you’d have to buy that domain.
Subdomains are just other domains that are linked to the main domains. In a sense, the blogpost domain is a subdomain to blogspot.com. For example, April could have a http://www.course.blacksburgbelle.com subdomain.
Hosting means you pay for a company to host all your fails on their servers, which is to say they have digital space to store your images, videos, copy etc. Because, you know, all this data we are uploading, needs to stored someplace.
A DSLR is a type of fancier camera that photographers use, but they come in a variety of price points and qualities (just google “meaning of DSLR”).
I’ll let April hammer out the rest of your questions, but I do hope this helps you along a bit.
There are so many options when it comes to how to deliver the content and what format it should be, or even which membership plugin to use that you really do have to figure out what the best option for you is.
Hey Allison,
I totally understand feeling lost…a lot of this stuff makes more sense when you’re going through the motions and setting up your own website.
A self-hosted website means just that…that you pay for hosting in order to have a website. If you set up a WordPress site, then you have to buy a domain (my domain is blacksburgbelle.com) which is your URL, pay for hosting (in order to have your own website you have to pay for hosting: see companies I listed above), and download WordPress.
A subdomain is another domain within your main domain. Again, this makes more sense when you’re setting this stuff up.
A DSLR is a digital single-lens reflex camera…a super fancy camera.
From what I know, Blogger doesn’t have a way to set this stuff up and sell ecourses on your website. I could be wrong, but Blogger doesn’t have nearly as many options as WordPress…that’s why so many entrepreneurs make that transition…from Blogger to WordPress.
You can email out content as opposed to having it on a course website. You can’t charge nearly as much for something like that but it’s an option to get started. Another option is to forget a lot of this technical stuff and use a platform that’s already set up like Skillshare or Atly. It seems like every day there are more options popping up like this.
There is a way to make YouTube videos private. If you google “how to make YouTube videos private” you’ll get instructions on that.
Your ecourse can look like whatever you want it to look like…it could be videos, it could be a series of written material with ebooks, it could be emails with worksheets. It’s as limited as your imagination really! There are so many options.
Next week’s tutorial is going to be walking people through setting up an ecourse on their own website with WishList member. It’s what I’ve planned and what I think will be the most helpful for the majority of you guys.
But, I can walk you through something more simple. Let’s say you want to sell a series of three videos without hosting them on your own website through a course website. This is what I would do:
1. Pick a platform to host the videos. I prefer Vimeo (it looks more professional and branded) but you can also use YouTube.
2. Record your videos, edit them with iMovie, upload them to Vimeo or YouTube making them private or password protected.
3. Write your sales page on your blog, using PayPal as your shopping cart.
4. Set up a series of autoresponder emails through your email platform including: an introduction to the videos, an email introducing each video with the link and password, a final thank you email.
5. Set up an opt-in form to join that email list and put it on a private page.
6. Through PayPal, set it up so that once someone has bought your course, they automatically get sent to the opt-in form page to put in their name and email address.
7. As soon as someone pays, she starts to receive the email series.
That’s a more simple way to set something like that up. I hope that helps some!
Thanks for such a thorough response April. This really helped me understand better, especially the your walk-through of a simplified example!
I’ll chime in with a few alternatives…
Illustrator > Inkscape. Open source (ie. free), easy to use. I prefer using it over Illustrator even though I have the whole Adobe package.
For creating ebooks:
1. Adobe Acrobat – cheaper than InDesign and has all the features you need for creating fillable forms
2. Open Office Write – like MS Word only better, exports to PDF out of the box, with a good tutorial you’ll be able to create documents that look decent.
Video & photo camera – why not get a good camera that has both?
I use Sony NEX-5T, it’s not the cheapest camera granted (in the SLR range with price), but I’m really happy with the HD video quality, and the sound is pretty good for a photo camera.
There are other “mirrorless” cameras like that by Panasonic, Olympus & other brands, but I did my research specifically for video and chose this one.
SLRs are great, but nowadays the mirrorrless got so good that you can’t even notice the difference in image quality, for half the size & weight. In any case, I’m selling my Pentax SLR!
Hey Nela,
Thanks for adding some alternatives! I’ve heard that Inkscape is as difficult to use as Illustrator. Have you found that to be true?
And, yes…you can absolutely get a camera for both video and photos, but I like to have one that is known for great video and one that’s known for great photos. But, it’s definitely not necessary. And, who knows, maybe the next time I buy a DSLR, I’ll get one for photos and videos. 🙂
Thanks for adding to this!!! It’s really helpful.
Hmm I may be too biased to answer that since I’m a professional designer and know design tools like my own pocket… It’s hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a person who never used any :/
Inkscape interface takes a while to get used to. The good thing with Inkscape is that it doesn’t have as many features (which you never use anyway) as Illustrator so it loads faster, and in my opinion it’s just less clutter.
I don’t know what lenses they put on video cameras, for all I know they might be awesome, but I’m attracted to the possibility of using a nice portrait lens on DSLR or mirrorless cameras to shoot video with.
And hey, with another video able camera you could have multiple on you at the same time 😉
Glad to help! Looking forward to the rest of the series! 🙂
Thanks Nela! That definitely helps. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Oh, I also have a couple of alternatives, so I’ll also chime in (because there aren’t enough options yet, right? :D)
Video editing:
1. Windows has a built in video editor (I think it’s called Windows Movie Maker) and it has a lot of editing capabilities, so you can do a lot with that.
2. If you have an older Mac and don’t have iMovie installed, you could download VideoBlend, which is free and has basic editing options. I’m currently doing an ecourse and I’m editing all my videos with Videoblend.
Subdomains and domains:
I know that on Bluehost, you can host an indefinite number of domains and create subdomains on the spot (for free) under the same account. So, for my course, I only had to buy a new domain, no extra hosting fees.
Membership plugins:
I use S2Member and their free options, so I’m not paying extra for membership options and I’ve been very happy with the service so far (it also integrates with Paypal, so all payments are processed through Paypal9. There are tons of plugin available, so when I researched I found this site where you can compare them to find what has most of your required functions with the least bucks – http://wpscoop.com/comparisons/wordpress-membership-plugins-comparison/
Hope this helps someone along 🙂
Thanks for adding more alternatives, Hanna! The more, the better…I think.
This definitely helps!
I’m loving this series, April!
I’m in the midst of teaching my first long course (I had a 7 day challenge as a first try, and it was super fun), and I gotta say – this is a pretty good list.
I decided to create an online school for my students, because I’m a teacher by nature and plan on running a LOT of different courses. I also want my students to be able to access all of their courses from me in one spot, so I opted to create a second website and use Zippy Courses.
It’s pretty cool, and I dig the different things you can add to your course like quizzes and the like – but it is an investment at the beginning. I used my first pre-registration sale to buy it and then ran like mad to create the school before the course started 😉
I use the webcam on my macbook for EVERYTHING. I plan on getting a good video camera at some point, but don’t have one yet. The webcam isn’t perfect, but it’s worked for my talking-head videos so far. As soon as I get a good camera, I’ll look at doing some B-roll too.
I use mail chimp and just started their paid option, so that I can send automated workflows out to different lists, and that has helped a lot with both courses.
I look forward to your video next week! I am willing to bet that you’ll have some great ideas that I can implement right away 🙂
xo
K
Kris, I recently purchased Zippy Courses as well – after listening to a few podcasts, I opted to host another domain and have all my courses in one place and link to my blog. It ‘looks’ easy to set – up, almost like a post. I would love your feedback – going to dig in today ! Thanks, Rhonda
I just checked out Zippy courses and it looks similar to WishList Member. You can also put all of your courses on one website with WishList Member.
Getting a video camera makes such a huge difference as opposed to using a webcam. But, webcams work! That’s what I’m talking about…choosing what to invest in and when. Then, you can always upgrade. And, it seems like you invested in Zippy Courses and waited on a video camera. Very smart lady!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I know it helps others who are thinking about this stuff.
I’m thinking I need to check out Zippy Courses some more to see the differences between it and WishList Member for future reference!
Thirding Zippy Courses! I just finished setting up my first course with it, which is a free course, though of course I plan to create paid courses on it in the future. I’m really comfortable with WordPress so it was pretty straightforward – I installed it on a sub-domain. I also set up an automated Mailchimp workflow + a private Facebook group to help people stay on track as they work through it.
Hi Kris, I’m not familiar with Zippy Courses. Did you build this on a sub-domain? Or did you have to start another website altogether?
My husband has used wistia to host the videos for his online course. You can host them there for free up to a limit. We’re very happy with it.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of Wishlist Member next week – I find it very difficult to get my head around. I was actually thinking of looking for an alternative I find it so hard!
Hey Lucy!
Have you installed WishList member onto your website and tried playing around with it? Have you watched any of the video tutorials? It’s interesting to me that you find it hard, because I’m not a tech-savvy person and I found it pretty easy to navigate. Maybe it’s one of those things that some people find easier and some don’t.
It looks like Zippy Courses is an alternative to WishList Member. From what I can tell, they look similar.
Wow, this is such an awesome list, April! I love hosting online courses, and I agree that spending a little extra money for better equipment and software is worth it–and then you can charge more! I also recommend Ruzuku for membership sites, and I love how you can check off your progress as you go along and see where everyone else is in the course.
Thanks Sage! Thanks for adding another platform for membership sites! I’ve never been able to offer other options to people because I’ve never seen other options. Thanks for sharing this one!
Hi, all and thank you Belle for putting this list together and just in time when I need to record videos for a course I am working on with one of my clients! I will definitely check out Screenflow!
I just wanted to add another resource for design – anything from flyers to presentations, blog visuals and pretty pretty worksheets! It’s https://www.canva.com and it is the best design software I have seen that is not professional but it is super effective and can be free!
I recommend it for anyone who is not Adobe savvy or wants affordable yet outstanding design!
YES! I can’t believe I forgot about Canva. Thanks for adding that one.
Hi April, what great suggestions! I find I worry a lot about consistency which freezes me on making purchases and experimenting. Of the tools list, I’m most “scared” of purchasing a lighting kit and the Adobe anything. I really don’t know how to use those tools/programs and would love to learn via classes but know that would just be my own way of postponing productivity!
Hey Ellen! There’s really not much learning curve with the kind of lighting kit I’m talking about. You just get it and play with the lights until you get rid of the shadows/darkness. My lights only come with you two settings so they’re pretty easy to use.
As far as Adobe, you definitely have to learn how to use those programs because they’re intricate…they are not the type of program you can just open up and play with until you’ve got it. At least not for me. But, there are some great courses on CreativeLive (like Bonnie Christine’s course for Illustrator), Lynda.com and Atly to learn how to use those programs. Once you learn how to use one, the others become easier to navigate. It took me about two days to figure out InDesign, a week for Photoshop and a month for Illustrator. But, it’s worth it!
You can do it!
Hi April! I’m getting caught up on the first two posts in this series and they are great! I love this list. I like to have as many options as possible to choose from and pick the best one for me. Thanks to everyone who has added their options as well. I look forward to each week’s lessons – thanks for offering this! 🙂
Thanks Nalana! Having more options is always best. I’m glad you’re enjoying the series…I’m enjoying putting it together. 🙂
Thank you April for this in-depth, comprehensive guide! It’s super clear and straight-forward, which is pretty rare nowadays with tons of folks claiming to give you those three steps to do XYZ and it’s really a lame sales pitch. This is refreshing and very useful info, so THANK YOU again. 🙂
I wanted to an alternative to point 7 (e-mail platform). MailChimp has a free, no frills version called Tiny Letter (www.tinyletter.com). It allows users to have up to 5,000 contacts and is really easy to use. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles MailChimp has like analytics and list creation, but is absolutely perfect for some small biz owners, consultants and freelancers.
My mind is officially blown! I never knew I you could have my own dedicated server. This is exactly what I need, since I am hosting my course on my website. Thanks for all the tips April! You rock!
You’re so interesting! I don’t suppose I have read a single thing like this before.
So wonderful to find someone with a few unique thoughts on this issue.
Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is needed on the web, someone with some originality!
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto
a colleague who was conducting a little research on this.
And he actually ordered me breakfast due to the fact that I
discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending the time
to discuss this issue here on your site.
Admiring the time and energy you put into your site
and detailed information you provide. It’s great to come across
a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same unwanted
rehashed information. Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m
adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.