This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Should my online course be live or on demand? Got a question from a listener today. I'm excited to answer because I know we have a lot of listeners out there making courses, creating products for sale, and they're trying to decide what's the best method, like what's the best platform? What's the best teaching style? And what's the best medium for it?
And should it be, you know, specifically here, should it be something that people go through together as a cohort? That is a typical live experience. Or is it a course on demand where people can access at any time? And there is no shared experience like what happens in the form of a cohort. So we're gonna hear from Sarah.
She's a graphic designer from Austin, ready to take the leap into the world of online education and just trying to figure out what's best. And for this question in particular, there are some really clear pros and cons. So it's almost like you have two paths, you know, that diverge in a wood here in the online course world. And you can also do kind of a hybrid model. So I'll talk about all three of those.
It is an important decision to make. It's gonna shape your experience as the instructor and creator, as well as the experience for the learners. So let's kind of sketch it out a little bit. Should my online course be live or on demand? Thanks to our sponsor here, 30-Second Message for them, and then the question and my answer.
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Greetings, I'm Sarah from Austin, Texas, a graphic designer with a focus on digital branding. I've been inspired to start my own online course on advanced graphic design techniques. However, I'm struggling to decide between a live course format, which allows real-time interaction, and an on-demand format, which allows flexibility for students. What are the advantages and challenges of each? And how can I determine the best approach for my audience and teaching style?
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Okay, let's paint the picture of both options here. As I said, some really clear pros and cons. And just to clarify, the live course, maybe it can be purchased at any time, or maybe it's sold a few times a year for a live format. Hey, it's gonna be up in May. It's gonna be up in September or whatever.
But there are specific times that people gather, typically online, to meet for this course. There can also be on-demand content that they can access at any point, but there are times in which the whole class meets together. So pros are engagement. Like live interaction can be super engaging. Like you get immediate feedback, you answer questions on the spot, you're building a community vibe, people can share with one another and such.
So that is really desirable for a lot of students. And it also kind of keeps both you and the students on a schedule, which can be motivating. It can create accountability. Overall, I think there's much more accountability with a live course than with something that's on-demand. So those are some pros.
Cons, well, scheduling, you've got time zones, you got people in Australia and people in the UK and in North America who are all signed up. That's tricky, you gotta figure it out. You also need to have a stable internet connection and a good tech setup. You gotta think through troubleshooting, what if something goes wrong? And perhaps most important of all of that is you have to kind of plan your life around the course.
So you can't just make the course and then it's done. You have to create everything in advance for the course, and then you have to teach the course according to a set schedule. As I said, it's greater accountability for students, but it's definitely more work for you as an instructor. On-demand courses, pros. Well, students can learn at their own pace, anytime, anywhere, that's great.
They're not limited by time zones or schedules. What are the cons? Well, conversely, it can be harder to keep students motivated without real-time interaction. And also students really want that real-time interaction. That is seen as something that's desirable.
They want to actually hear from the instructor, they wanna be able to ask questions, or at least they like the ability to, even if they don't always show up or ask questions. They like knowing that they have the option. You also need to have all your content ready to go from the start. If you teach a cohort-based course over six weeks or whatever, you can kind of prepare one week at a time and adjust as you go. Then you can kind of do a little bit of both.
And what I mean by the hybrid model is, most of the content is available on demand, but you're also having one or two or maybe three live sessions for Q&A or group critique or anything to bring community together. And I think that's actually really smart because then you're avoiding the detailed structure and the weight, the burden that it places on you as a creator to show up week after week after week. You're just kind of doing one or two big sessions, which is good. You're getting that accountability, you're getting that engagement and community, but most of the content is available on demand. So really just depends on you.
Like I said, that hybrid model can be nice, but it's also possible to have a completely live format and a completely on demand format. Lots of examples in the Side Hustle School Archives of people who've done each of them. So really just think through what's best for you and do that. But I hope whatever you choose, you will take action and move forward. That is by far the most important thing.
All right, that's it for today. Listeners, sidehustleschool.com. You know, there's detailed notes for every episode, resources, other stuff there. And of course, much more to come. New episode every day.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
