As an independent educator you're going to end up wearing a lot of hats. Development, marketing, support, on top of the work that goes into actually producing the content.

All of it is essential though if your goal is to actually reach people and help teach them something that's relevant to their goals.

A part of that is finding out what to actually teach. It can sometimes be a challenge finding something that is interesting to you but also relevant to the audience that you've grown.

Jorge Vergara has found that it's very effective to ask your audience what they're working on and some of the problems they've been struggling with. Asking directly if they'd like a course on X subject might get you enthusiasm but it doesn't actually tell you what they need.

The development side of things is huge too if you aren't outsourcing the platform. It can be very difficult to balance working on it with actually producing content, especially if you have a full-time job.

There's more value to working on your platform than just setting up a place where learners can watch your videos. You have opportunities to work with and gain practical expertise on technology that you are wanting to teach. You also get full control of the learning experience.

In the end, It really is up to you to weigh the trade-offs and decide what will work best for your needs.

Links

• Twitter - Jorge Vergara
• Website - Jorge Vergara
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