Teachable is a solid course platform when it comes to creating an asynchronous course–pre-recorded, that is–and building a landing page to sell it.
But when it comes to modern course platforms, Teachable is still missing a lot of features. With limited options for live streaming and cohort courses, no real community options, and limited apps (iOS only), a lot of Teachable users are looking for something more robust.
If you’re in that boat, this guide is for you. In this article, we'll walk you through how to migrate from Teachable… and give you some ideas for where to go.
If you want more support in building your online courses and community, come join OUR Mighty Community for free and meet other new and established community owners! We’d love to meet you. Join for free!
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Reasons to migrate from Teachable
We talked about this in the intro, but here are some of the limitations Teachable users bump up against:
- Limited options for live courses
- Limited community options
- Limited app access
- A pretty clunky LMS
- Limited live events
Bottom line, a lot of the people who start on Teachable outgrow it. They are running their course on Teachable, running a community on Facebook, running events with Zoom, and trying desperately to hold it all together with email.
Modern course platforms offer all this and more in one place.
How to migrate from Teachable
1. Figure out your needs
We talked about the limitations above. If you're planning to migrate from Teachable, make a list of what your non-negotiables are.
- What are the limitations you're seeing?
- What do you want to offer but can't?
Start creating a wish list for your new platform. Don't forget, you can get your current students engaged in the process too. Offering a poll or survey, especially with a gift card attached, can get you some valuable feedback about what's working and what's not.
If you want to, you can include a question about whether or not people are likely to follow you if you migrate to a new platform. But if you're noticing the limitations of Teachable, trust your gut. A new platform will give you opportunities to grow in new ways.
2. Choose your platform
The next step is deciding where to move to. This means finding an online course platform that lets you do everything you've dreamed of doing.
Here are some of the features you can look for:
- The option to teach live courses and/or live stream
- Flexibility to customize it to reflect your brand
Fantastic apps for every device
Here are some options to choose instead of Teachable:
- Mighty - We’ve got a solid course platform that works great for pre-recorded or cohort courses. Plus a best-in-class community platform built-in, with live events, live streaming, member profiles, discussion forums, chat and messaging, and a fantastic app for EVERY device. Start Your Free Trial
- Thinkific - For creators who like the static nature of Teachable for a pre-recorded course, Thinkific offers a good replacement. It has a great LMS with some good course marketing features but is limited for live courses, communities, and events.
- Kajabi - Kajabi is another good choice for a totally asynchronous course. It’s got a solid LMS with a really good marketing platform attached to it – build landing pages, integrate email, and up and down-sell. Like Thinkific, Kajabi is limited when it comes to live events and cohort courses. It’s also the most expensive option on this list.
3. Transfer content
Once you've set up your account with the new platform, you can figure out what you want to transfer to the new space and what to leave behind.
A lot of people who migrate an online course or community choose to upload an existing pre-recorded course or digital downloads. If you simply bring in the resources from your current Teachable account, it’s a quick and easy way to populate your new platform.
You could also choose to add more goodies, which might coincide with what we'll talk about below–getting your current members excited about moving.
4. Invite your members
Invite your current members!
If people have paid for a Teachable course already, sending them a link to register on a new platform should be easy. Make sure they know that they'll get easier access and extra value from moving.
5. Host a launch event
When it comes to migrating from Teachable, the nuts and bolts of a new platform are pretty simple. You don't need to sweat that too much.
What's more important is to get people excited and build momentum for your new space. And what better way than to host a launch event?
Hosting some sort of launch event in the new space brings people together, and gives them a reason to register and log on. It helps make a more natural transition than if you simply emailed to say – "the course is now live on a new platform."
You got the new platform to get over the limitations of Teachable. So get creative about using it!
Here are some ideas for a launch event:
- A special speaker series
- Teaching some or all of the course live
- Bonus lessons or discussions
- Informal events like networking sessions or game nights
Make sure to communicate the extra goodies your members will get from the new space. Here are some neat options:
- Office hours
- Weekly Q&A's
- Opportunities for project feedback (from you and other members)
- A chance to meet like-minded people
- Built-in accountability
6. Close your Teachable account
This is an important step, so we need to say it. If you want to encourage people to move to your new platform, you need to actually close your Teachable account.
If you keep it open forever, people don't have much incentive to move. And DEFINITELY don't keep cross-posting between Teachable and your new platform. If you want your migration to be a success, you need to pull the plug at some point.
Give your students a grace period. Give them some time to migrate. But set a deadline, and stick to it.
7. Keep in touch with lost members
If you find that you lose members in migration, and it is possible, don't stress about it too much. This is normal. They may have got the value they wanted from your course on Teachable and are willing to disconnect now.
But do keep in touch with them. Let them know what's going on in your new space via email, and keep giving them opportunities to connect.
8. Start growing!
Chances are, one of the reasons for leaving Teachable was to access more growth. So get ready to grow your student base!
You can create marketing materials around your move, offer tickets or memberships to launch events, or offer sales to get new members in the door.
Don't be afraid to reuse your old material to your advantage, especially as a selling point. For example, you might choose to teach a completely new course live. But you may offer your old course as a "bonus." Totally cool.
Find ways to grow your course community and lean into it!
Ready to start?
If you are ready to get started and migrate from Teachable, come give Mighty a try!
Mighty Networks is a cultural software platform that lets you bring together courses with community, content, and commerce. And our flexible spaces mean things like live events, live streaming, discussions, messaging, member profiles, and more, are built right in.
We have fantastic apps for every device, or you can even get your own white-label app if you're interested. Sell membership in 135 different currencies or even with token-gating.
You can try it free for 14 days, no credit card required!
