A Practical Guide to Selling Courses and Memberships
Selling access to educational content or ongoing membership rather than one-off products.
Marcus Adeyemi
What is at stake
Recurring access products need account management, renewal disclosure and content that stays current.
The playbook
- Explain what access includes and for how long
- Disclose renewal terms clearly
- Caption and structure course content accessibly
- Keep material updated
- Make cancellation straightforward
Where it goes wrong
Avoid:
- Unclear renewal terms
- Content that stops being updated
- Inaccessible video and documents
- Cancellation that requires phone calls where prohibited
The numbers behind it
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Access control | content must be restricted to paying members |
| Renewals | automatic renewals carry disclosure obligations |
| Accessibility | course content has accessibility expectations |
| Retention | ongoing value determines renewal rates |
Getting outside help
When to hand it over: Bring in help when launching recurring access products.
Where this comes from
- Federal Trade Commission — Negative option rule
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative — Making Audio and Video Media Accessible
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
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Where to go next
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