Comparison charts are great when it comes to “checking off features.” But how do you decide which features you really need? And how do you even begin to decide on which plan to go with in the first place? Three easy steps:

• Check out this point by point summary of each plan.
• Ask yourself the questions in each section.
• Call us if you get stuck between two plans, or if you find anything else to be confusing.

Plan #1: FREE FOREVER

How can I determine that Free Forever is the best plan for me?

Free Forever is generally the best plan for a teacher/entrepreneur who’s brand new to the concept of online learning but definitely knows he or she wants to give it a try. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you decide.

Do you:

• Know what course (or courses) you want to offer?
• Not want to be tied into any kind of contract or commitment whatsoever?
• Not want any upfront investment whatsoever?
• Not need a lot of fancy features?

If the answer to all of those questions is “yes” then Free Forever may be your best option. It offers a trouble-free, reliable, no-stress platform that leaves you free to focus on developing your courses. You can spend your time writing your courses and brainstorming new ideas while Free Forever runs the technical end for you.

Possibly the best part of Free Forever is that, if you try your hand at online teaching only to find out it just isn’t working out—for whatever reason—you can cancel the plan and walk away.

• Tip: If Free Forever is “close but not close enough” let us know right away. We might have an easy solution—like changing your course format or adjusting your prices—that will solve the problem. We can also help you decide if the YesCourse online format is still a good idea, but you just need to move up a notch and choose a different plan.

How can I decide that Free Forever is not for me?

If, after comparing the chart listing the functions available for each plan, if you feel you need even one feature that Free Forever can’t provide, then give serious thought to moving up to Zero Investment.

In particular pay careful attention to the student validity periods. If you want to provide longer access periods then you need to look at one of our paid plans.

What does Free Forever cost?

• Nothing: Zip, zero, nada. No monthly fee. No fee per student. We do all the work. You do what you love—and keep all your earnings!

Free Forever Perks:

• $0 Capital Investment: With Free Forever, there are no upfront charges.
• $0 Risk: You keep all proceeds. With Free Forever, you’ll never pay YesCourse anything—ever.
• You set the fee: You can give away a course for free as a way to attract students in the future. Or you can charge anything you wish based on what you think your course is worth.
• Unlimited content format: You can package and distribute your course materials any way you want to—PDF, video, Mp3 (audio only), Excel spreadsheets, Word documents—whatever best delivers your material.

Free Forever Drawbacks:

• Limited features: The options you’ll get with the Free Forever plan are limited, so take the time to carefully study the comparison chart. Again, if you need even one feature that the Zero Investment plan offers, then Free Forever will not work for you.

What you need:

• Stripe or PayPal: You need a way for your students to pay you, but don’t need both Stripe and PayPal—just one or the other.
• Content: You need to know what you want to teach.
• Target students: You need to know who will want to learn what you have to offer.

Helpful Hint: If you’re not exactly sure who your target students are, we have the perfect course that will help. Just click here.

What you don’t need:

• You don’t need any written courses—yet. You just need material “in your head” to teach that you know other people will want to learn.

PLAN #2: ZERO INVESTMENT

How can I determine that Zero Investment is the best plan for me?

Zero Investment is for the teacher/entrepreneur who is serious about online teaching. It’s not for someone who just wants to “test the waters.”

You already have a profitable offline teaching business, and you know that online learning is the way to go to broaden your student base and make your academy even better.

You’ll still need to answer some questions, but they’ll be of a different nature than someone brand new to the business.

Ask Yourself:

• Am I serious about creating an online training business that actually works?
• Do I really, truly want my online academy to stand out from the crowd?
• As I grow my academy, do I want to build a team that will help me manage and sell my courses?

If the answer to the above questions is yes, then you definitely need the features offered by the most successful online academies.

You’ll also need a team that includes additional trainers, assistants to help set up your courses and affiliates to sell your courses. You may also want to drip feed courses, conduct exams, and provide certificates.

Important Note:These features are not available in Free Forever.

Possibly the best part of Zero Investment is that, if you try your hand at online teaching only to find out it just isn’t working out—for whatever reason—you can cancel the plan and walk away.

Tip: Same as with all our plans, if Zero Investment is very close to what you want—or if you enroll in Zero Investment but are having some issues getting the results you want—let us know right away.

How can I decide that Zero Investment is not for me?

The one teacher/entrepreneur who should not enroll in Zero Investment is one who already has an established academy with myriad students. With the way the YesCourse platform is structured, the only way to efficiently handle a significant number of existing students and grow an academy even more is with our Zero Commission plan.

If you need to provide indefinite access to your courses then the Zero Investment plan is not for you.

What does Zero Investment cost?

$0 per month: There’s no monthly fee, and there’s no cost to set up your online academy.

19% per student: You do pay YesCourse a small commission but only when your students pay you. Payment of the commission gives your student one year of access.

Zero Investment Perks:

• Student incentive features: With Zero investment you can also include such things as online exams and certificates of completion.
• Add affiliates: Let others do the marketing for you while you stick to teaching.
• Add other trainers/teachers:Add other trainers/teachers: Zero Investment won’t force you to fly solo. It lets you expand your staff by adding as many additional teachers and trainers you need to grow your academy.
• Add technical assistants & other specialists: Whatever staff you need to make your academy successful, with Zero Investment there are zero limitations.
• Zero Risk: You pay YesCourse only when you sell a course, and after paying the commission, you keep all remaining proceeds.

Zero Investment still includes all of the perks of Free Forever

• $0 Capital Investment
• Unlimited content format
• You set the fee
• Unlimited content format

Zero Investment Drawbacks:

• Less flexibility in registration: You can’t add any students on your own. Every single student will have to go through the YesCourse registration process before they can access the courses in your academy.
• Commission charged per student: You’ll have to pay a commission for every student who enrolls.
• Payment limited to YesCourse platform: All fees must be paid via the YesCourse platform (e.g., Stripe or PayPal).

Note: If you need help with planning or marketing, just Click Here.

What you don’t need:

• Investment capital: You’ll only pay YesCourse a commission when your students pay you, and that’s on a per-course basis. You pay nothing up front and with Zero Investment, there are no ongoing fees.

Bottom Line:

Just as with Free Forever, if after careful study of the comparison chart, you need even one minor option that’s only available with Zero Commission, then the Zero Investment may not be the best plan for you. If that’s the case, give us a call, and we can help you decide.

PLAN #3: ZERO COMMISSION

Zero Commission is the most flexible of all the YesCourse plans because it offers complete control over every aspect of your academy. It’s the perfect plan for you if any of these situations apply:

• You have an established training business with students to whom you now want to offer online access.
• You want to accept payment in any form—cash, check, online (PayPal, Stripe, etc.).
• You want to be able to add students manually and/or in bulk.
• You want to teach as many students as you wish without the hassle of paying a commission—you prefer one small monthly fee that covers everything.
• You as the teacher/entrepreneur want a platform that offers serious assistance in helping you to expand your teaching model to include blended courses (e.g., the option to offer some classes requiring in-classroom attendance as well as online work).
• You have a traditional academy in a building, and you now want to add blended courses to your teaching options.

Who Zero Commission is not for:

• If you can’t afford the small monthly fee
• If you’re very good at what you do, and your academy is growing, but you’re “not quite there yet.”

Tip: We're here for you!

It can be a tricky decision to decide between Zero Investment and Zero Commission, but we can help. We know the questions to ask to help you make the best decision possible. We are on your side—the side of a successful teaching academy. We want you to be successful and to grow your student base, and we will not push you into Zero Commission unless it’s absolutely right for you.

What does Zero Commission cost?

• $0 per student: With Zero Commission, there is no per-student fee and no per-course fee.
• $97 monthly fee: This $97 flat fee covers it all. You do not have to give us a headcount—ever. You also don’t have to report to us any of your earnings outside of the YesCourse platform.

Zero Commission Perks:

• Low Capital Investment: All you pay is the monthly fee. $97 gets you up, running, and maintains your academy for as long as you pay the monthly.
• Zero Pay per Head: You will not need to pay a fee every time you add a new student (and with a successful academy, you’ll be adding a lot of new students on a regular basis—you don’t need the hassle of keeping a head count).
• Low Risk: If Zero Commission doesn’t quite work out the way you planned, call us and we’ll help you downgrade to Zero Investment—no worries.
• Ultimate Payment Flexibility: With Zero Commission, you can accept payment in any manner you choose in addition to—or instead of—PayPal or Stripe. You can accept cash, checks, or any other form of payment you wish.

There’s only one drawback with Zero Commission:

• Fixed overhead: The monthly fee is an ongoing expense, so if you don’t feel comfortable paying a little something every single month, then choose a different plan.

Important Note: While you’re free to change plans at any time, should you choose to drop out of Zero Commission, at the end of that current month, all of your students will lose complete access to your academy, unless a commission per student is paid

What you need:

• Stripe or PayPal: If you don’t already have one or the other.

What you don’t need:

• No exclusive payment via YesCourse: You can collect monies outside the YesCourse platform if you wish. Your monthly fee simply covers the students and courses you sell via Zero Commission. Anything you sell or teach outside the YesCOurse platform is yours to control 100%.