The rise in digitization and internet penetration has fueled the demand for online learning. Research states that the worldwide eLearning market is projected to reach $374.3 Billion by 2026, progressing at a CAGR of 14.6%.
So, if you are planning to start an eLearning marketplace, this is the right time. For insights on how to build an eLearning marketplace, read the blog.
Table of Contents
- What is eLearning – Its Advantages
- Getting Started: Building an eLearning Marketplace
- Conducting Market Research and Competitive Analysis
- Choosing The Type of eLearning Marketplace
- Choosing The Right Features
- Choosing a Tech Stack
- Development
- Testing
- Launch and Support
- Marketing and Promotion
- Possible Revenue Generation Methods
- Conclusion
What is eLearning – its Advantages
eLearning is the delivery of education through online channels. Contrary to traditional learning, eLearning allows learners to have an organized learning experience irrespective of the location, curriculum, and more.
Advantages of eLearning
Accessibility
This is one of the most significant advantages of eLearning. Learners from all over the world can access the same educational content as there are no geographical boundaries for eLearning.
Flexibility
Another advantage of eLearning is flexibility, i.e. learners can learn at any given time, as per their availability. In other words, the virtual connection allows students to take classes that would be hard to accommodate due to a hectic schedule.
Supports Individual Learning Styles
eLearning supports a variety of learning styles and makes it an ideal choice for students. In other words, some students might be visual learners, while others might prefer learning through audio. Likewise, some students might be solo learners and some might thrive in a group setting. Hence, an eLearning marketplace can be personalized in many ways to meet the end user’s needs.
Cost-efficiency
eLearning cuts down all the expenses associated with the commute, infrastructure, textbooks, and more. Further, online courses and classes are priced cost-effectively too as there are no printing costs. The learning material is available for easy download.
Sustainability
With eLearning, the learning material printing costs are eliminated (as mentioned above), and carbon emission is reduced significantly as learners and tutors do not have to commute. Sure, the power usage adds up, but the footprint is lesser when compared to traditional learning.
Getting Started: Building an eLearning Marketplace
Building a distinct eLearning marketplace requires significant time, effort, and planning. Discussed below are the steps toward building an eLearning marketplace.
Conducting Market Research and Competitive Analysis
An initial diagnosis can provide an understanding of the target audience, their expectations and preferences, and the competitive landscape. Further, the information gathered can also help in developing a powerful marketing strategy.
Choosing the Type of eLearning Marketplace
After conducting market research and competitive analysis, it is time for you to choose the type of eLearning marketplace. Broadly, eLearning can either be synchronous or asynchronous. Below, we discuss both standard models in detail.
Synchronous
Synchronous eLearning is a meeting in which the teacher and the students communicate with each other in real-time. It is very much like a traditional learning system but here video conferencing is the medium of communication.
Asynchronous
In asynchronous eLearning, tutors do not communicate with students in real-time. Further, the tutor provides learners with assignments or questionnaires, which the latter need to submit at the specified time in the future. This model supports self-paced learning.
In addition to these, some eLearning marketplaces are hybrid in nature as they incorporate both synchronous and asynchronous models.
Choosing the Right Features
The selection of features is of utmost importance as they can define the success of an eLearning marketplace. Highlighted below are the most important features – divided into 4 categories.
Admin
- User Management
- Commission Management
- Settings Management
- Scheduled Bookings Management
Teacher
- Sign up and Profiles
- Booking Calendar
- Course Creation
- Price Management (Session and Courses)
Students
- Sign up and Profiles
- Feedback and Ratings
- Booking and Checkout
- Lesson Rescheduling
- Cancellation
Other Important Features
- User Authentication
- Filtering System
- Video Conferencing (One-on-One and Group Video Calls)
- Multiple Payment Methods
- Multilingual Support
- Document Uploading
Choosing a Tech Stack
To build the eLearning marketplace, choosing a tech stack is important. Depending on your requirements, developers can choose a tech stack for front-end and back-end development. Below mentioned are the possible programming languages, frameworks, and more, to build an eLearning marketplace.
- Backend – Java, Python, PHP, .Net, Ruby on Rails
- Frontend – Javascript, CSS3, Bootstrap, HTML 5, Angular JSS
- Database – MySQL, MongoDB, Apache CouchDB, MSSQL
Development
Setting up an eLearning marketplace can be a huge undertaking. Once the technology stack is determined, the development phase can be initiated. Mainly there are two approaches. One is a custom software development and the other is opting for a pre-built solution.
Custom Software Development
Developing an eLearning platform under custom development allows you to incorporate tailored requirements. It will take a longer time to custom-build a platform (depending on the features and functionality) and the cost of development would be higher.
Pre-Made Solutions
As time is of the essence and competition is cut-throat, you can opt for pre-made solutions like Yo!Coach and Yo!Coach Plus. Built by industry experts, they provide a faster way to enter the growing eLearning market, that too without spending a lot of money.
Below we talk about Yo!Coach and Yo!Coach Plus in detail.
Yo!Coach
Is a white-label, fully customizable synchronous eLearning software that allows entrepreneurs to launch a tutoring and consultation marketplace with ease. Tutors can register on the platform built using Yo!Coach to deliver one-to-one or group online sessions in real-time to learners. The software is GDPR compliant, offers 1 year of free technical support, and is equipped with an array of exemplary features, such as:
- User Management
- Commission Management
- Order Management
- Booking Scheduling
- Multipayment
- Multilingual
- And more
Yo!Coach Plus, on the other hand, is an eLearning software, designed for entrepreneurs who are looking to launch a platform that supports both synchronous and asynchronous learning (like Udemy or Coursera). It incorporates all synchronous learning features that are in Yo!Coach. In addition, it incorporates:
- A facility to provide certificates to learners for skill authentication
- Add pre-recorded course-based videos for selling
Testing
Once the development is complete, the testing phase starts. This entails the evaluation of the eLearning marketplace created, i.e. the testing team assesses if the eLearning platform built meets the initial requirements.
Launch and Support
After testing, the platform can be deployed in the production environment. To make the process of production flawless, the platform needs to be tested post-deployment as now it is functioning under real circumstances. Furthermore, improving the software post-deployment is crucial. While this can be an ongoing process, providing support when unpleasant and unforeseen performance issues emerge is crucial.
Marketing and Promotion
Marketing allows you to connect with your target audience and helps in acquiring loyal users who will become advocates for your eLearning marketplace. Further, social media marketing and advertising tools can also be used. These consist of paid campaigns like advertisements, PPC, subscriptions, and more. Certain marketing tools can also be used to track consumer behaviour and increase conversions.
Possible Revenue Generation Methods
Eventually, all you need from your eLearning marketplace is steady income that can lead to profitable growth. Hence, for a higher ROI, it is pivotal to use a mix of earning strategies. Discussed below are a few ways in this regard.
- Paid Courses – One of the most popular revenue generation methods where students purchase a course and the admin earns by charging a commission on every purchase.
- Subscription – An eLearning marketplace can offer monthly/yearly subscription plans and charge a fee from learners to access the courses, consultation from experts, and certain features on the platform.
- Paid Certificates – An eLearning marketplace can offer free courses and charge students if they want course completion certificates.
- Premium – Learners can be charged to upgrade to a premium account on the eLearning marketplace.
- Affiliate Model – Affiliate links can be added to the material available for learning on the platform, while a fee can be charged for their promotion.
- Donations – While the eLearning marketplace offers learning material and courses for free, but can choose to receive donations and funding. For example, Google donated $2 Million to Khan Academy for developing new content and translating it into multiple languages.
- Corporate eLearning – eLearning marketplaces have a potential customer base as corporations require to train their employees and they phase out classroom training in favor of eLearning systems. So an eLearning marketplace can provide relevant tools and learning materials to them in return for a huge fee.
Conclusion
eLearning has started to replace the traditional brick-and-mortar paradigm. It has opened learning pathways for every layer of society across borders. Hence, launching an eLearning marketplace is the way forward as it has a lot of potentials to grow in the coming years.
