#2820 - Failure Friday: The Downside of DIY Platforms
Sep 20, 2024
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This week features a tech-savvy course creator who shares their experience trying to build a DIY platform to save costs. They faced unexpected technical challenges, leading to a realization about the drawbacks of DIY solutions. The discussion highlights the importance of prioritizing content creation over handling all the technical aspects themselves. By considering a turnkey service, they could have enhanced productivity and focused on what truly matters: delivering value to their students.
Building a custom platform for online courses can lead to unexpected challenges and distract from essential tasks like content creation.
Switching to established course hosting services can streamline operations, allowing creators to focus on refining content and enhancing audience engagement.
Deep dives
The Challenges of DIY Platforms
Creating a custom platform for an online course can lead to unforeseen complications, as illustrated by the experience of a course creator named Brian. Eager to save costs and gain flexibility, he initially set out to build his own platform, investing considerable time and effort into coding. However, as launch day approached, he encountered numerous technical issues, forcing him to divert his focus away from course content and marketing. The struggle to troubleshoot his DIY solution ultimately delayed his launch and taught him the importance of relying on specialized services instead of trying to do everything himself.
The Value of Specialized Tools
After deciding to switch from his DIY platform to a service like Thinkific, Brian discovered the efficiency and effectiveness of using established tools for course hosting. The transition was quick and allowed him to concentrate on refining his content and preparing for his course launch. Through this experience, Brian learned that investing in reliable platforms can save significant time and reduce stress, ultimately benefiting both the course creator and the audience. His key takeaway emphasizes that sometimes outsourcing certain tasks to experts is more advantageous than attempting to handle every aspect of a project independently.
In this week’s “Failure Friday” segment, we hear from a tech-savvy course creator who tried to save money by building their own platform—and why using a turnkey service might have been the better choice.
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