Online Course vs. Membership Site: Which one is best for you?

Sharing your knowledge and expertise as an online entrepreneur has never been easier with most people increasingly turning to the internet for learning. Online learning is convenient and affordable and allows learners to choose from a variety of topics all in the comfort of their homes.

Online Courses and Membership Sites are the most popular online platforms to monetize your expertise online. Both terms are used interchangeably by some people, but they are very different in terms of delivery and revenue generation.

Deciding which one to choose can be a challenging task.

In this blog post, we break down the key differences, benefits, and disadvantages of Online Courses and Membership Sites to help you pick the platform to share your valuable knowledge.

What are Online Courses?

Online courses are a method of teaching content in a one-to-many format. It allows you to create and share learning materials that enable your students to progress in their understanding of a particular topic.

Benefits of Online Courses

Results-Driven: They promise to solve one very particular problem. By focusing on a specific outcome, online courses offer a clear value proposition. You know exactly what skill or knowledge you'll gain by the end.
Structured Learning Path: Courses take you from point A to point B. They are typically structured in a way that facilitates organized and progressive learning. Courses are typically broken down into modules and lessons that tackle specific aspects of the main subject, ensuring a logical flow of information.
Well-defined Start and Endpoints: Unlike traditional education, online courses have clear start and end dates. This lets you plan your learning schedule effectively and know exactly how much time you'll need to invest.

Examples of Online Courses

What are Membership Sites?

Membership sites are online platforms where the members or subscribers pay a monthly fee for access to ongoing content. Content on a membership site is more varied, typically open-ended, and can be expanded upon. Subscribers may also gain access to a community and receive ongoing updates, with access tied to continued payment.

Benefits of Membership Sites

Continuous Content: Unlike an online course which is a one-and-done thing, one key feature of membership sites is the ongoing delivery of new content. Whether it’s a webinar, video, podcast, or an article, regular updates keep members engaged.
Community Interaction: Membership sites are mostly community-driven. It is safe to say people initially come in for the content but stay for the community.
Exclusive Benefits: By being a member means being offered benefits only available inside the membership including but not limited to, early access to new content, discounts to products or services, freebies, or even one-on-one support from the site’s creator.

Examples of Membership Sites

Now that we know what are Online Courses and Membership Sites, let’s discuss the Pros and Cons of using both online platforms.

Pros of Creating Online Courses

One-Time Creation: You create the content once and sell it repeatedly. With a course, there's no ongoing need to generate new material each month.
Upfront Payment: You get paid in full upfront for the course you provide.
Faster Results: Courses are typically designed with a clear end goal, so students can achieve results more quickly.

Cons of Creating Online Courses

No Recurring Income: As you’re being paid upfront for a single course, there is no recurring income.
More Work Upfront: If you’re selling a DIY course that’s not dripped, all the course materials must be accessible to the customers immediately upon purchase. As the course creator, you must have all content prepared in advance or create it all at once if you’re behind schedule.
Content Can Become Outdated: The information in your course may need to be updated periodically to stay relevant.

Pros of Creating Membership Sites

Easier to Start: As you don’t need loads of content to go before you can open the doors of your membership, it’s easier to start than creating an online course. You can begin with just one valuable offering upon purchase, such as a training session, templates, or documents that align with the membership's promised goals.
Recurring Income: Memberships offer a reliable source of monthly recurring revenue. Your members pay you each month to stay in the membership, providing you with a steady income without the need for ongoing sales efforts.
Flexibility on Content Creation: You have the flexibility to create content as you progress, adding one new piece per week or month, depending on your preference. You don't have to wait until you have a complete 8-week course recorded to start selling and assisting others.
Concept Testing: Before committing to a full, comprehensive course, you can do concept testing inside the membership. For instance, if you're considering teaching Instagram Marketing, you can start with a membership model where you introduce one topic each week or month. This allows you to gauge interest and refine your content gradually.

Cons of Creating Membership Sites

Ongoing work: Since members pay you monthly for new content, you're required to produce fresh content every week or month. As a business owner, this can become overwhelming at times.
Takes Time to Grow Income: Creating a membership model can be time-consuming in reaching your financial objectives, as subscribers typically pay a small amount each month. Membership fees commonly range from $7 to $99 per month, in contrast to the course model, where you can charge a one-time fee of $499 to $3000 for a single course.
Technical Aspects: Managing the technical aspects of membership sites can be challenging, particularly in handling regular additions and removals of members and content.

Now, onto the crucial question that you have: "Sneha, which option is the right fit for my business?"

The answer lies in aligning your choice with your business goals and personality type. Take a look into these:

Your Business Goals

Is your goal to have a recurring revenue business model? A membership site might be your ideal choice. Subscribers pay a little each month, so you keep earning regularly. Or,
Can you sustain a business model relying on quarterly income streams? Launching online courses once every quarter could align well with your strategy. You'll need to manage the earnings from each launch until the next one, but you can do multiple launches in a year.

Your Personality

Content Creation: Do you like making lots of content all at once, or do you prefer doing it bit by bit?
Your Involvement: How much do you want to interact with your audience? If you like being hands-on with your community, a membership site where you're actively involved might be great. But if you'd rather let people learn on their own, a course where you're less involved might suit you better.

If you're still uncertain about which option to choose, then let me give you my two cents on this:

I would start with an online course as my initial digital product and then transition to a membership site as a backend offer. This is commonly referred to as having a backend membership.

Within the membership, I can go deeper into the course content, offering more nuanced insights and providing more personalized support and guidance, as students need additional assistance to implement the course material effectively.

Additionally, in the membership, I can cover topics not addressed in the course, offering solutions to challenges that may arise during implementation.

The entry of my membership will be restricted to people who have my course, this ensures that all members will start on the same page.

I hope this article helps you in making your decision to choose between a course and a membership.

If you have decided to create either of the two online learning platforms and you require a sales page to promote your launch, be sure to check out our Kajabi Template Shop for Sales Page Templates made in Kajabi. We have templates designed to market online courses and membership sites. Our templates are fully customizable, easy to use, and designed to be high-converting.