Everyone has some kind of expertise. Have you ever thought of sharing that knowledge in the form of a course, using video lessons and worksheets? Creating digital courses and products is always a good idea, because it’s something that can be done once, and you will get the sales over and over again. There are a lot of platforms out there to create courses, but very few of them are affordable. I’ll share with you in this post why I chose Systeme.io, the pros and cons, as well as exactly how I set up a course on that platform.
Video:
Systeme.io: The Pros: It’s Free to Affordable
I’ll be really honest here and say that the reason I went for Systeme.io is that you can set up a course on the platform completely for free. There are some limitations (limited number of funnels, tags etc.) but you can actually do it. Teachable – I could only upload 10 videos for free. I ran into some payment gateway issues with Thinkific that I didn’t manage to resolve. But I could do my whole course on Systeme.io and set up payments with Paystack.
Systeme.io: The Con: Don’t use their domain name
The only thing you really need to be aware of, with Systeme.io, is that you’ll have to get a domain to link to your funnel that’s advertising your course. If you have a domain name already ready to link, that’s fine, but if it’s new you’ll have to wait 60 days for transfer. The reason why the domain is so important is that they are having problems on Facebook/ Instagram. So in order to advertise you’ll need to put out your own domain rather than theirs e.g. mycourse.systeme.io is going to get flagged, so you need mycourse.com or mycourse.co.za (with your own name, of course!). Get a domain at Domains.co.za.
This is particularly relevant for when you are setting up those affiliate links. Your affiliates must use your domain name, copied, and not the systeme.io link. I did a video about that here for my summit.
Systeme.io: Still the best value.
Despite this, I still think Systeme.io is such good value. You get everything in one place. Sales funnels and landing pages are all part of the package. You don’t have to shell out $49 a month for a deadline funnel, it’s included. You can do your emails from there too. You can create affiliate links in this system for people to promote your course and get commission. Heck, they even allow you to do blog there (although in my opinion, WordPress is way better). So, there really is a lot you can do.
I’ve used Systeme.io not only for my course, but I ran a whole summit there too. But by then I needed to upgrade, I needed more funnels! I’m on the basic first plan for $228 a year or $27 a month. But there’s no reason you can’t start up for free, because you definitely can create a course on here for free.
Comparisons:
Teachable is at least $39 a month (yes free, but only 10 videos and 10 students)
Podia $33 a month (free plan will only let you have a draft course)
Kajabi $55 a month (no free plan)
Thinkific $36 a month (no more free plan, it looks like to me)
You can read a more in depth comparison of Thinkific vs Teachable vs Systeme.io here.
Step One: Define Your Goals
What is the transformation your students can expect after taking your course? For my course, for example, they will be able to make a WordPress blog from scratch.
Who is your target audience? And where do they hang out? Try and narrow down the kind of people who would be interested in your course, so that you can tailor it for them. You can even create a survey so that you can know exactly what to include in your course. I used a survey for my summit and kept going back to it as I was inviting speakers.
Once you’ve got a goal and someone to sell it to, you can break the structure of your course into parts. For my course I had four main parts subdivided further. I then presented it in a visual way with the four books. At each stage you look at a problem your audience is having, the solution and the tools to achieve it.
Step Two: Set up your account on Systeme.io
Signing up on Systeme.io
You can start by setting up an account here. You’ll fill in your details and get an email with further instructions.
Navigating the dashboard
On the main dashboard, you’ll see different headings. There are different dashboards, by the way. The main one (which you’ll work from to design your course, funnels and emails), an affiliate one and a student one. The student one is where any courses that you’ve bought through systeme.io will show up. Register yourself as a student on your own course and it will show up here as well. There’s also a systeme.io marketplace where you can list your course.
The funnels tab is where you will set up funnels to collect leads and make sales. The emails one is for where you can set up automatic campaigns or send out a newsletter. The automations tab is where you’ll set up triggers e.g. if someone subscribes on this funnel page => they will get this tag => and that email.
You’ll see there is a blogs tab as well. You could set up a blog here as well. However I think WordPress has much more capability.
The products tab is where you will set up your course. You’ll see you can do physical products too, if you wanted. You can also set up coupons.
Settings is also important for setting up your preferences.
Course creation process
Now that you have a good idea of what you’re doing your course about, the next thing is to create content.
Content should consist of two parts:
- Video of you demonstrating how to do something. I use ScreenPal (also called ScreenCast) This was you can share your screen with a video of yourself talking, and move that video around. I’ve landed up using this software to do lots of other videos as well, and even for my teaching job when I have to prove that I was online. It’s really useful. You could use other software as well.
- Written content. You could do written instructions but the content that will really help people are planners and checklists. Graphs and comparisons.
You can also do audio (useful for when people prefer to listen, I did that for my speakers for my summit), and you can even do a quiz for sections as well.
Systeme.io has a great content creation set up process where you can load the videos onto their server or use a link as well if you wanted (you could use YouTube unlisted, or Vimeo). You can also include images and bullet point lists.
The main thing to bear in mind when you’re doing this is your structure. Divide your content into sections that will become your modules, and individual lectures within each module.
Set up your domains and subdomain
Before you get start on your course, I highly recommend starting the process of getting a domain that you can use. But you can do the subdomain immediately. To set up your subdomain so long go to “Settings” (that’s under your profile image) and then click on “Custom domains.” This is also where you will put your domains which you will use for Systeme.io. To link a domain, see this post. But basically, you add the domain, typing it in with www in front of it. So I would put www.simplestepsbloggingsummit.com. Press save and then another pop up comes up with the CName records. These are the ones you will give to whoever has your domain or who you bought the domain from. You can get a domain from Domains.co.za. Contact them and ask them to point the domain to systeme.io. You may have to wait 60 days for it to go over, if it’s new, so get it done asap.
Adding modules and lectures
On the “Products” menu click on “Courses.” Click on “Add a new course.”
A tab will pop up. You will give your course a name.
Under “Domain” you will need to select which domain you will link to your course. You can use the “systeme.io” subdomain for now. Later on you can link your domain. You will then also put the url pathway for your course. So, maybe make your sales page the root domain and have the course something like “/course.” Press “Save.”
The course will now appear on your list of courses.
Scroll over the three dots on the side of your course to get to “Settings.” Here you will be able to fill in the instructor name, language and description. You can also choose your theme colour and font. You can upload photos of a picture of yourself, your logo and the course cover. You can select a funnel that is linked to your course, so if anyone finds your course by search they will be redirected to the sales page. There’s also a place for code at the bottom, which is useful for tracking.
You’ll see that you have to activate your course (the grey arrow next to it – you must click on it to make it blue) and you have to do that for each lecture too. Otherwise they can’t get access. You can also delay access by a certain number of days for each lecture by clicking on the settings of each lecture and adding a number to the “delay” section.
So, it’s pretty easy to create modules and lectures. You just “add module” and from there you will click on “add lecture.”
Each lecture has its own template that you can choose.
The cool thing about Systeme.io, though, is that you can create blocks which you can use as “master blocks” or just “blocks.” This is really useful for when you are doing a summit and you are doing pages of speakers over and over again or your footer that has certain links.
Try and keep it simple though, with your video, words, lists and downloads.
There are two ways that people can get access to your course: they must either buy it (through your sales funnel) or you add them manually. To add them manually, click on your course, click on “add student.” You can then fill in their name and email. You can also choose how much access to give them, e.g. full access to everything or partial access to certain modules.
If you want to drip access, you also have the option to send them a drip access email so that they can get a notification about the next part being available. You can do this on the three dots for each lecture.
Making a quiz
If you like you can add a quiz at each module, you can. Click on the three dots of the module. Then there will be a pop up to confirm this. You create a question. Save it. The question will show up on the quiz. Click on “add an answer.” You then type your multiple choice answers. For the correct answer, select the box that says “Correct answer.” Correct answers appear green. You have to activate the quiz for it to be visible and you have to click “complete” on the module for it to show up. They must pass the quiz to move on but they can retake the quiz. You also have the option to delete or edit the quiz.
Managing and Updating Your Course
Monitoring student progress
You can monitor student progress under “students” on your course. It will show how far they are and also their last day of access.
Collecting feedback
It’s a good idea to get feedback from your students. Get them to write a review or fill in a google form or survey. You can use this for testimonials and also for constructive feedback on where you can edit and improve.
Updating course content
Some courses will be evergreen, which means you can “set and forget.” But, for most of us, as we learn and grow, and technology improves, there will always be something to update and improve on, and add. It’s also a selling point of your course if you can tell your students that they will get the updates, no matter when they buy.
Selling your course – Creating the Sales funnel
This is a whole other topic and will be covered in another blog post. But for now, at least, you have the content ready to go.
FAQ
1. How do I sign up for a Systeme.io account?
To sign up for a Systeme.io account:
- Visit Systeme.io’s website.
- Click on the “Get Started for Free” button.
- Fill in your email address in the sign-up form and click “Get Started.”
- You will receive an email with further instructions to complete your account setup. Follow the prompts to set up your password and confirm your details.
2. Can I set up free courses on Systeme.io?
Yes, you can set up free courses using Systeme.io. When creating a course, you have the option to choose between making it free or paid. This is especially useful if you want to offer a lead magnet, introductory course, or free preview to your audience.
3. What types of content can I include in a Systeme.io course?
In a Systeme.io course, you can include a variety of content such as:
- Videos (upload videos directly or embed from platforms like YouTube or Vimeo).
- Text lessons.
- Downloadable PDFs or documents.
- Quizzes to assess learning.
- Audio files.
- Images to complement lessons.
4. How do I price my course effectively?
- Know your audience: Understand what your target audience is willing to pay and what competitors are charging.
- Start with free or low-cost options: Offer a free version or a lower-cost introductory course to build trust and gauge interest.
- Consider value-based pricing: Price based on the perceived value and outcomes that your course provides. If your course offers high value or solves a specific problem, you can charge more.
- Test pricing: You can experiment with different price points (low, medium, high) and adjust based on student response and conversion rates.
5. How can I track the progress of my students?
Systeme.io allows you to track student progress by:
- Viewing completion rates for each course module.
- Checking student activity (e.g., lessons viewed, quizzes completed).
- Accessing student engagement data to analyze how your course is being consumed and which parts may need improvement.
Conclusion
There’s no excuse now to finally go ahead and make your online course on Systeme.io. It’s free to do a course, and when you want to expand, affordable. Digital courses are growing in demand and it’s up to you to take advantage of this trend.
Related post: Read part 2 here: How to sell your course with a Sales Funnel.
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