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Onlinecoursehost.com

A Review

By Reinhold LautnerPublished 5 months ago 13 min read
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OnlineCourseHost represents an under-the-radar top contender vying for attention in the booming market for online course platforms. As the category surpasses $250 billion in current value on an immense growth trajectory according to leading analysts, the solution stands out through combining hosting robustness with extreme flexibility to customize learning experiences, balanced with excellence across vital course marketing and analytics tools instructors need to maximize profits.

If you are looking for a viable platform alternative beyond the most hyped giants like Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi, OnlineCourseHost warrants your attention.

Below we dive into what makes OnlineCourseHost a compelling course platform solution that may align perfectly with certain instructor needs and business models — especially those focused on maximizing high-ticket premium course sales over high student volumes.

Overview of OnlineCourseHost’s Key Course, Marketing, and Monetization Strengths

OnlineCourseHost positions itself as an excellent jack-of-all-trades platform purpose-built to meet a full spectrum of instructor requirements ranging from core course creation to crushing course marketing plus maximizing flexible monetization opportunities.

Let’s explore the OnlineCourseHost competitive edge across these core platform capability domains essential for instructor success.

Comprehensive Course Creation Suite

The course builder toolkit includes a full-featured lesson creation interface enabling a variety of content structures from text to documents, presentations, multimedia, quizzes, coding environments, and digital downloads plus associated monetization gates and automation triggers.

Core authoring highlights include:

**Built-in Editor** — User-friendly WYSIWYG editor for adding text, images, video embeds, code blocks, etc, within course pages. Also supports importing Word documents.

**Presentations** — Create slide decks including interactive content like videos, quizzes and PDFs to structure lessons. Embed pre-recorded audio voice-over files.

**Q&A Forums** — Enable students to post questions and answers into shared discussion forums viewable by the entire cohort. Instructors can moderate responses.

**Assignments & Projects** — Create and distribute individual or group assignments for students to complete and submit. Batch download to provide feedback.

**Quizzes & Surveys** — Build interactive graded quizzes or non-graded surveys as formative assessments or exit tickets. Supports multiple question types and randomized parameters to prevent cheating.

**Automated Grading** — Quizzes auto-grade students and log scores, providing instructors with student performance analytics to inform instructional adjustments.

**Files & Downloads** — Distribute resource files like PDFs, Word docs, audio files, spreadsheets, ZIP packages etc. Gate access and releases on a schedule or in exchange for payment.

**Prerequisites & Program Links** — Chain lessons in a specific sequence, requiring prerequisites to enforce dependence on foundations before accessing more advanced lessons.

**Follow Along Coding Environments** — Embed coding workspaces students use to actively follow along lesson demonstrations with instantaneous feedback on their work.

**Mastery Routes** — Personalize learning paths to redirect students to remedial or accelerated content based on quiz performance.

**Certificates & Badges** — Automate certificates and digital badges as completion milestones, credentials, or micro-credentials students can share publicly.

These creation tools cater to courses ranging from purely video-focused to extremely interactive via lessons, assessments, discussions, hands-on activities, and peer collaboration.

The sheer variety accommodates many subject matters and learning modalities — not just static lectures transcribed to video as some competing platforms more rigidly emphasize.

Complete Customization and Branding

Instructors receive 100% ownership and creative liberty customizing their presence. Features include:

**White Label** — Remove OnlineCourseHost branding entirely for private label course experiences fully controlled by the instructor including domain mapping.

**Themes** — Choose professionally designed themes then customize colors, fonts, layouts, and components tocodify instructor or program branding throughout the student portal.

**Reorder Pages** — Reposition and organize key pages like sales funnel stages however desired without restrictive procedural workflows.

**Pop-Ups, Alerts & Triggers** — Set custom pop-ups, confirmation messages, alerts, and triggered behaviors like opening links in new tabs.

**Dynamic Media** — Program elements like featured hero images, testimonials, or notifications to update dynamically based on criteria like enrollment status, lesson progress or sales.

This creative liberty in customization & sequencing empowers instructors to shape student learning journeys matching personal philosophies rather than conforming to rigid predefined platform norms. Such flexibility proves invaluable aligning environments with carefully nurtured niche brands and exclusivity prestige communicated by top programs.

For instructors playing the long game, cultivating intense yet intimate student communities, customization takes priority over mere template selection. OnlineCourseHost grants the tools to codify and reinforce the desired culture through tailoring touchpoints purchasers continually encounter in their student lifecycle.

Comprehensive Sales & Marketing Arsenal

Successfully selling courses hinges not solely on good content but also leveraging diverse monetization models and marketing tactics working cohesively as an automated sales engine.

OnlineCourseHost packs an exceptionally thorough toolset empowering instructors to reduce their marketing workload by automating effective sales funnels with tailored touchpoints optimized to convert and retain customers.

Capabilities include:

**Domain & SSL** — Map a custom domain and activate security certificates to reinforce brand authority.

**Landing Pages** — Design custom landing pages for specific promotions whether affiliate partnerships, webinars, or holiday sales using built-in templates.

**Discount Automation**- Schedule countdown timers for spontaneous sales or expiring coupons to incentivize instant purchases.

**Drip Campaigns**- Design automated email nurture streams providing lesson teasers, offering support, celebrating milestones, or pitching additional courses upon enrollment, lesson, and course completion.

**Affiliate Portal** — Recruit industry influencers or past students to promote courses in exchange for revenue sharing commissions, with affiliate-specific landing pages, promo tools, and performance analytics.

**Webinar Integration** — Directly schedule and integrate live webinars promoting programs for lead generation. Automate post-webinar follow-up email campaigns to capitalize on interest.

**Blogging** — Draft compelling blog posts natively to inform potential students, establish expertise, promote brand philosophy, or tease course benefits search engines index driving organic traffic.

**SEO Optimizations** — Course pages dynamically integrate meta data like descriptive page titles, tags, and schema markup to improve visibility across search and social channels.

This robust, natively integrated toolset removes the hodgepodge of bolted-on external tools required just to perform essential sales, marketing, and analytics functions. Everything operates seamlessly under one roof instead of a clumsy array of disjointed apps duct-taped together by the instructor scrambling to manage it all.

With a streamlined stack enabling instructors to schedule discounts strategically, monitor affiliate conversions, analyze email campaign performance, and draft blog posts without ever leaving their course portal, OnlineCourseHost empowers placing sales on autopilot.

Flexible Course Access & Pricing Models

Instructors can customize course monetization and access logic in multiple combinations to align with their niche value proposition, whether on a volume tiered-access or premium exclusivity model.

Options include:

**One-Time Payments** — Students pay a single fee for lifetime course access.

**Subscriptions** — Students pay a recurring fee either per month or per year for ongoing access to course content. Instructors set pricing minimums.

**Installment Plans** — Students pay the full course price broken into scheduled installments over weeks or months. Charge all installments upfront or on deadline without structure refunds.

**Memberships** — Students purchase access to an ongoing subscription plan encompassing either all instructor courses or a tiered content package at higher price points granting access to premium modules. Can combine with installment plans.

**Course Bundles** — Create bundled packages combining multiple courses as a high-ticket offer at a discounted rate over individually purchasing them separately.

**Bulk Coupons**- Issue discount codes or percentage-off coupons tailored specifically to bulk purchases for gifting multiple course seats priced lower together than individually at volume.

**Content Drips** — Schedule lesson unlocks on a timed release cadence through the course instead of granting full upfront access.

**Free Previews** — Offer free access to selected lessons as a teaser unlocking the full experience only upon paid enrollment.

Such flexibility mixing and matching models plus differential pricing tiers enable instructors to architect enrollment plans and access gates customized around tailored value perceptions whether pitching to online course first-timers or high-end connoisseurs.

Packaging options balance affordability with prestige exclusivity simply through intelligently bundling, positioning or scheduling content and associated purchase touchpoints. This empowers crafting student experiences protecting niche instructor brand equity.

Pros of Choosing OnlineCourseHost.com

**Exceptional Customization** — OnlineCourseHost grants impressive control tailoring themes, domains, layouts, lesson flows, touchpoints, integrations, and triggers unmatched among competitors dependent on templated wizard solutions incapable of matching such expansive flexibility. So for instructors unwilling to compromise established brands, student journeys, or sales processes, it delivers.

**Top Notch Creation Tools** — The course authoring toolset enabling multimedia lessons, interactive coding, quizzes, discussion forums, and diverse file distribution covers all the basics (unlike extremely simple no-frills competitors) yet avoids needless complexity better platforms left by the wayside due to overengineering (no shade LMS!). It hits the ideal middle ground empowering instructors to incorporate engaging learning activities without overwhelming those just needing simple video hosting.

**Marketing Automation Power** — From email nurture streams to affiliate management to SEO optimizations, OnlineCourseHost packs a formidable array of marketing tools instructors leverage streamlining promotion and sales conversions aligned to proven best practices — eliminating the hodgepodge of disjointed apps competitors force instructors to juggle.

**Flexible Monetization** — Between bundled subscription plans combining content drips, drip content scheduling, tiered membership packages granting access to more premium course modules, and strategic affiliate partnerships, OnlineCourseHost unlocks immense possibilities for instructors to tailor pricing models and access plans aligned with their specific value proposition and niche student audience. Such versatility proves invaluable monetizing premium education programs.

**Developer DNA** — OnlineCourseHost originates from a web development agency building sites for universities and higher education institutions. It leverages that technical DNA throughout the platform — extensibility powering the customization flexibility, UX informing simplicity balancing robust functionality, and enterprise-grade scalability and security applying web best practices. Compared to designers-turned-entrepreneurs behind competitors, OnlineCourseHost’s engineering pedigree shines.

For instructors wanting greater control, flexible monetization, marketing automation, and customization balancing ease-of-use over one-size-fits-all simplicity or needless complexity, OnlineCourseHost warrants your consideration.

Cons to Weigh When Evaluating OnlineCourseHost.com

Of course while the platform clearly brings immense strengths to the table, it still pays to balance pros against limitations depending on the specific instructional context and business model.

**Nascent Brand Recognition** — Industry heavyweight names like Teachable or Thinkific boast far greater awareness and third-party integrations given their more established reputations and wider adoption. So, some students may hesitate to purchase from less recognizable platforms or struggle to find compatible apps. But for serious courses, the brand takes a backseat to actual course and instructor prestige.

**Primarily Web Experience** — Mobile responsiveness lags dedicated mobile apps competitors like Teachable leverage to enable learning on the go. But with mobile web browsers reaching maturation, deviations diminish significantly. And most instructors prefer students learn complex material seated with dedicated focus, not casually on phones killing time.

**Analytics Reporting** — While covering tracking sales and student progress well, the built-in analytics pale compared to sophisticated LMS dashboarding capabilities more easily exposing actionable performance insights. But third-party analytics tools help compensate somewhat for serious number crunchers.

**Steeper Learning Curve** — The expanded set of marketing, monetization and customization tools imposes a steeper ramp up over extremely simplified competitors. But for invested instructors already leveraging external apps providing functionality OnlineCourseHost natively bakes in, consolidation actually simplifies the landscape.

**Video Host Reliance** — Unlike all-inclusive video platforms like Teachable, OnlineCourseHost currently relies on embedding externally hosted video files whether from YouTube, Vimeo, Loom or other providers. But with bandwidth costs ever dropping, reliance on external services imposes minimal risk especially given tools enabling dedication video course platforms still struggle matching elsewhere.

So while limitations exist mostly around ancillary capabilities unnecessary for many niche course models, OnlineCourseHost still goes toe-to-toe with top competitors on core authoring, selling, accessibility, support, and customization where it matters most to serious instructors.

Breaking Down OnlineCourseHost’s Pricing and Potential ROI

Evaluating any platform also requires scrutinizing what instructors get across pricing tiers relative to tangible business impact and potential return on investment.

Let’s examine OnlineCourseHost’s plans balancing features against affordability for setting instructor expectations on value received.

Subscription Plans Summary

**Online Course Host Pricing**

|Plan|**Lite**|**Basic** |**Pro**|**Max**|

|Price|$99/mo|$199/mo|$399/mo|$999/mo

|Storage|50GB|100GB|500GB|2TB

|Bandwidth|100k/mo |500k/mo |2M/mo|10M/mo

|Products|25|100|500 |1000

|Email Automations|-|5000/mo|15000/mo|100000/mo

|Affiliates |2|5|25|100

|Support|Email |Email |Email + Chat|Email + Chat + Phone

**Minimum Contract Term**: Monthly

**Transaction Fees**: 0%

**Key Considerations**

The Pro plan unlocks the full power of OnlineCourseHost’s blended strengths granting excess storage, bandwidth, products, affiliates, and email automations to manage a successful online education business at scale.

Max accounts for enterprise-grade volume across extensive digital education empires — but unnecessary beyond multi-six figure instructional income levels.

Most solo instructors fit comfortably within Basic accessing ample creation tools, marketing automation, and affiliates for optimizing a solid mid-five figure business at maximum 20% the price point of competitors as a fair exchange given its more bachelor focus on excellence exclusively for online course experiences over content and community bloat.

Compared to rivals, OnlineCourseHost specializes specifically on the online course subset of educational technology. So unlike kitchen sink communities like Kajabi trying to be all things to all people, it purposefully excludes extraneous features beyond its online course niche.

This spartan focus dictates its pricing aligning affordability with its position as an ideal mid-point solution balancing the extremes of either siloed course platforms lacking creator focus or bloated communities misaligning specialized needs.

Calculating Potential ROI

Determining potential ROI requires analyzing expected profit in relation to costs. With quality courses priced reasonably, instructor salary goals met, and student experience maximized, most individuals or small teams should profit comfortably off OnlineCourseHost’s Basic or Pro plans.

Some back-of-napkin math assuming:

- 1 premium $500 course selling just 10 subscriptions a month

- $199 Basic plan

- 0% transaction fees

Returns ~$4,410 in profit the first year after subscription costs.

Scale up to 3 niche premium courses in a bundle package, move to the Pro plan unlocking more power user features and email automation capabilities, and profit potential compounded month over month clearly outweighs costs — exceeding 5 figures rapidly.

While subjective depending on courses and business model, for committed instructors playing the long game cultivating a personal brand, OnlineCourseHost clearly warrants consideration if seeking optimal profit retention while benefiting from its specialized strengths.

Key Takeaways — Who Should Strongly Consider OnlineCourseHost

- **Niche focused experts** playing the long game cultivating devoted student cohorts through premium specialized education worth premium pricing

- **Marketing automators** wanting to streamline promotions leveraging built-in automation instead of disjointed external apps

- **Customization fanatics** unwilling to compromise established brands or processes conforming to rigid templated platforms

- **Subscription monetizers** capitalizing on maximized customer lifetime value through memberships and recurring payments

- **Bundled course sellers** packaging modules targeting high ticket bulk offers

- **Affiliate marketers** recruiting partners promoting to wider audiences for commission splits

For these specific use cases, OnlineCourseHost delivers an ideal blend of power, flexibility, and affordability.

If a personalized brand experience, flexible access plans, automated funnels, and maximized profit retention take priority over sheer user volume or mobility, OnlineCourseHost balances niche course selling essentials without needless complexity or compromising customization so many competitors notoriously lock down.

If you liked my article, please follow me on Medium and go to onlinecoursehost.com via my affiliate link, where I will get a small commission with no cost to you.

You can also join the affiliate program I have on this platform, which pays 2500 US for one client.

This article was partly written by AI!

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