Unbelievable value... if you have a course or two, get this.
Let's get the cons out of the way first. I completely agree with JockBrocas in his con list. It's the exact same for me. I have one company but it offers training in a couple of verticals, and Heights Platform can't currently handle this. It wouldn't make sense to put all 20 Excel courses here along with Marketing, Programming, and other courses.
First, because Height's doesn't use the traditional model where you can buy access to classes one-by-one or pay a fee to get access to the whole thing. Can you sell one-by-one? Yes. Can you sell access to the overall program and offer upgrades? Yes. But can you run a school where people can either buy piecemeal what they want or subscribe to the whole thing? No.
Heights is for someone focused on one field, discipline, or topic. It's for the masterclass operator, or the [INSERT FIELD HERE] guy or gal (if that makes sense). It's not for a school. So, yes, many Sumolings can probably leave Teachable, Thinkific, Invanto, and others for Heights Platform... if you run a whole school or academy, or if you target disparate verticals... you can't.
So why 5 tacos‽
Because, if you are running a couple of classes or a masterclass style program, this platform is amazing with a LTD. Bryan and his team are amazing, first of all, and they've built a tool they truly believe in. Not just "believe will make money" but they believe in the social good that will come from making this product. Bryan and I have had some lengthy emails about the future of online education and training, what distinguishes schools from programs, and even how emerging technologies are continuing to shape the field.
We've had these conversations while they've been overwhelmed with thousands of new Sumoling customers, and yet they haven't missed a beat.
Am I super sad that the one killer app I'm looking for to avoid Thinkific or Teachable for running an entire school or academy isn't to be found in Heights Platform? Yeah... really bummed. But, honestly, I know if Bryan and his team could snap their fingers and make that work overnight while still holding to their own values on education, they would. I won't hold my breath waiting for it to happen, but in the mean time, I am able to deploy this tool for another properly or for my trainings created for and offered to specific corporate clients (thanks to the Heights team for adding in student roles to make this possible!).
If you have a couple of online classes, have a masterclass, or need to get people around you or your brand regarding one deeply entrenched vertical, you can't pass on this software.
As for me, I'll get a couple of codes and put Heights Platform in a support role in my overall stack with CoAssemble for internal training within my team, Udemy/Skillshare/etc. for marketplace sales of high-volume low-margin courses, and another solution to run my own online school with multiple verticals.
Bryan_HeightsPlatform
May 9, 2024Hey Chase,
I really appreciate the review!
You are absolutely right that our focus is definitely leaning towards individual creators who want to build the most powerful and results-driven learning program to monetize their content, rather than the type of creators who are building marketplace/school type programs which offer a content on a massive variety of topics at a less involved level.
Course creators who build programs that deeply focus on one field or discipline can (in general) provide much more value to their students, and as a result charge much more for their program.
Our program concept and the tools we provide creators aims to offer an experience that helps students become deeply involved and engaged in the subject being taught. We believe this structure provides both the best chance of success to students, and the best chance of success to creators.
Now, that is not to say that the the type of creators selling a massive variety of topics in an academy or school style are doing something wrong. The problem is that there is more work needed to help to ensure this business model can provide value on a similar level in order to compete. Generally courses sold under this business model are sold at much lower prices, and because of the variety of courses, sometimes these types of school/academy course businesses can be harder to market.
Creators like you have found success in this, and we do have creators on our platform now following this model. A few of our creators have gotten up to around 50 courses, all in completely different subjects. You are definitely right though, that creators like this are stretching the limits of how our platform is currently designed.
You are also absolutely right that if we could snap our fingers and provide better support for "school" or "academy" creators with courses in many subjects, while maintaining our beliefs on what provides the most valuable student experience we would!
The con you mention about not being able to run a school that allows for the same courses to be purchased both individually and as a group subscription is something that we will be making possible in the near future with our upcoming "bundles" feature. This feature will allow you to take any combination of your content (courses, discussion boards, projects, digital products), and offer access to it in a bundle package that you can sell at a one-time or subscription fee. You'll be able to sell bundles independently of paid enrollment plans and individually sold courses and digital products.
Once this feature launches, creators should be able to sell their content in pretty much any combination that they can imagine.
This bundles feature will be a huge step in the direction of providing better support for creators who sell courses on a variety of subjects like yourself.
Thank you again!