Advantages of Online Courses vs Membership Sites

  Now that you understand the differences between the two models, let’s discuss the advantages of online courses over memberships.

Requires Less Commitment

Creating an online course requires much less commitment than creating a membership site. With online courses, you don’t need to commit to creating content on an ongoing basis.You can create your course, launch it, and then move on to other projects. On the other hand, membership sites require you to commit to creating new content and engaging your members regularly. This can be time-consuming and requires a lot of effort to maintain.

Easier to Create

It’s generally easier to create an online course than a membership program. Online courses have a fixed structure, so planning and creating content is relatively straightforward.A membership site, however, doesn’t have a structure like that. You need to constantly develop new content ideas and deliver them in different formats.Moreover, you need to build an active community to engage your members, which is more challenging.

More Revenue Upfront

With online courses, you can charge a premium price. Plus, you get paid upfront, so courses can generate much higher revenue for your business upfront.With membership sites, you have a lower price point since people will be paying on a recurring basis. Since the user payments are spread over a longer duration, it takes more time for a membership site business to become profitable.And you need to work on retaining existing members constantly, or you won’t make any money.

You Don’t Have to Be an Expert

You can create an online course even if you’re not an expert. You can always pick a specific topic in your niche that you’re good at and create an online course on the same. So, anyone can create an online course.However, a membership site requires you to cover multiple different topics in a niche, which won’t be possible unless you’re a ‘true’ expert.

More Result-Oriented

Online courses are more result-oriented as they give your students a clear path to achieve a specific goal.A membership site, on the other hand, is more open-ended. It’s up to the members how they want to use the resources and achieve their goals.This means that online courses tend to have higher completion rates, which leads to better results for your students.

Advantages of Membership Sites vs  Online Courses

Now, let’s discuss the advantage of building a membership site vs an online course.

Generates Recurring Income

Creating a membership site helps you build a stable, predictable revenue stream for your online business, while the revenue in the case of online courses is more sporadic.To make consistent income from online courses, you’ll have to create more courses or acquire new members.

Build a Loyal Community

A membership site is much more effective at creating loyal followers for your business, and believe me, there can be no bigger asset for your business than loyal fans.With a membership site, you have the opportunity to engage with your members regularly and build deeper relationships. On the other hand, online courses are generally a one-time purchase for most people, so it’s harder to turn them into lifelong fans of your business.

Flexible Content Creation

Membership sites are more flexible in terms of content creation. Unlike online courses, you can start your membership site with minimal content and add more content to it as you move forward. This is perfect for people who want to get started quickly without spending much time or money creating membership content upfront. Moreover, you can choose from various formats, such as online courses, standalone videos, blog posts, podcasts, live calls, etc.

More Affordable

Memberships are generally more affordable as your students don’t need to make a large upfront payment. This means that membership sites have a lower barrier to entry, making them more accessible to a wider range of people.With online courses, however, students need to make an upfront payment. This can deter some people, limiting your course’s reach.

Create More Impact

If done right, memberships can create a much greater impact on the lives of your members. This is because membership sites offer ongoing support and regular content, which helps your members achieve their goals consistently over time.

Who Should Create an Online Course vs a Membership Site?

While both models are very popular, they might not be suitable for everyone. The right choice for your business depends on your expertise, audience, level of commitment, and end goal.

An online course is a better option for you if:

• • You’re just getting started and don’t have much experience with content creation and online marketing.

 

• • You’re teaching a specific topic where it will be difficult to create content on an ongoing basis.

 

• • You’re more of a beginner/intermediate than an expert in your niche, making it difficult to cover a wide range of topics.

 

• • You want to start a side hustle instead of committing to it full-time.

 

• You don’t want to put effort into building an online community.

 

On the other hand, a membership site is a better option for you if:

• • You want to add a recurring revenue source to your online business.

 

• • You’re willing to commit to providing value to your members on an ongoing basis.

 

• • Your niche is broad enough to let you create an unlimited amount of content.

 

• • You’re willing to invest time and effort in building a strong membership community.

 

• You have prior experience in selling digital products or running an online business.

Both online courses and membership sites are great options for making money online. You just need to select the right model and then commit yourself to making it work for you and your students.However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t offer both types of digital products. For example, many creators offer a premium course as their front-end offer, and then they offer a membership site to their course students in the backend.And it makes sense because the two business models complement each other pretty well. But you should go this route only when you’ve prior experience selling digital products.

We hope this article helped you decide between membership site vs online course models. Which model do you think is better for your business and why? Let us know in the comments below!