If you want to make money online at Curious.com, you are in luck! As instructors in all things Internet Marketing related at Curious as well as other online learning websites, we’ve found their platform, which provides online learning videos, surprisingly refreshing. Most articles about e-learning options are from third party bloggers with very little (if any) experience using Curious as either student or tutor. We have both an insider’s view (instructors) as well as being familiar enough with other online learning websites to speak with authority on the subject. It is with that authority we can say that Curious.com is not only a great way to earn extra income but with the right course(s), anyone can earn a fulltime income.
Having been disappointed with both Udemy.com as well as Skillshare.com (Curious competitors) we ‘dipped our toes’ into the Curious waters with much apprehension. This isn’t to suggest either Udemy or Skillshare don’t have value but both are guilty of ‘instructor abuse’. This is no small statement coming from one of their top instructors (by number of courses and enrollment) as well as other Udemy instructors. With Skillshare, we tested the waters over a year ago and shortly afterward, they implemented a new earning structure which made this already marginal opportunity a non-starter. They now offer every course, onsite, for a $9.95 per month subscription agreement and with hundreds of instructors (if not more), it, in our opinions, is no longer worth the time nor effort.
In fairness to our readers as well as online students, it is necessary to mention that Curious is a ‘grass roots’ opportunity to start an Internet business and only those who were invited to participate in their ‘beta testing’ environment (in 2012) currently enjoy significant earnings. However, for instructors who sign up and offer quality courses over the next few years, it is more than likely a fulltime income will result. Unlike competitors, Curious demands instructors spend quality time developing courses according to student need and not instructor business models. For instance, our courses on Udemy.com can be uploaded and published in about 45 minutes depending on total number of videos in any given course. With Curious, publishing the same course can take up to 3 hours. Although this may seem daunting, that time is well spent and their teacher support team is second to none.
So what type of course should you produce in order to earn extra income? We’d suggest starting with a subject you are familiar with but by all means, learn new skills and translate that education into curriculum! With availability of online learning opportunities, locating a topic which is both interesting and profitable has never been easier.
Here are tools you’ll need to begin course production;
1. Laptop or desktop computer: it has been said, recently, that both desktop and laptop devices are declining in sales in favor of mobile options such as tablets and smartphones. There are essentially two types of people – sellers and buyers. Sellers produce e-learning courses on desktop and laptop devices while buyers view them (though not exclusively) on mobile devices. Although there are hybrid devices which bring features of both personal computers and mobile devices together, they just don’t have the tools or speed, in our opinions, to be seriously considered for e-curriculum production, upload and management.
2. High Speed Internet connection: to produce video tutorials on a regular basis, certain DSL providers don’t provide the speed, sometime known as bandwidth (hello Century Link), and when this lack is coupled with lower-end desktop and laptop processor speeds, efficiency is lost. Anything less than an ‘i5’ computer processor speed; the task of producing multimedia content becomes much more difficult. There are quite a few tasks requiring completion and the faster they can be accomplished, the better.
3. Video tutorial subject: it is best to rely on skills you already have, to begin with anyway, and build expertise from there. At just $25 per month for unlimited training videos, the crème de le crème of online learning websites, located at Lynda.com, may be worth paying a subscription fee. Watch videos of interest and reproduce what you’ve learned step-by-step!
4. Video tutorial software: there are tons of options but for beginners, we’d recommend staying away from popular options such as Camtasia as well as BB Soft video tutorial software. Both are over complicated and worse, get a bit tricky when trying to render high quality video tutorials. Our recommendation, for those just starting out, is a screen casting suite called Screen-cast-omatic. If there is a more user friendly, cost effective screen casting software on the market, we haven’t come across it.
5. Tutorial hosting website: we’ve mentioned top online learning sites previously so there is no need to rehash. However, consider launch of your own video tutorial website. It is as simple as having the tools on this list as well as setting up a secure member’s area website. For WordPress (the top content management), the S2members plugin is the best option available. Don’t be intimidated by thoughts of needing to produce tons of e-learning content either. Search Youtube and Vimeo and when you find videos of interest by third party instructors, grab the embed code, put them in your member’s area and charge a subscription (or one-time) fee for access.
Top e-learning websites already have traffic, instructors and students which makes earning quick income much easier than starting your own website from scratch. This doesn’t mean, however, you shouldn’t launch your own online learning empire. Although Udemy no longer practices instructor partnerships as was true its earlier days, Curious.com does and even encourages instructors to use its platform to build their own brand! At Curious.com, you are allowed to market your own website once having become an approved instructor.
This assists your company with gaining easy website traffic as well as ‘getting your feet wet’ in the e-learning industry. It has never been easier to start your own money making online business so hurry and begin the process!
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