Personal Plan is going (more) global

Over a year ago, we introduced Personal Plan, a broad subscription of professional skills content for individual learners. We piloted this offering in four English-speaking countries, running tests and conducting research to better understand how a consumer subscription fits into the Udemy marketplace. 

 

We’ve gathered encouraging results that suggest Personal Plan is a strong complement to course purchases, serving career-motivated learners who need more than a few courses to meet their goals. So, we’re excited to announce that we plan to introduce Personal Plan to new countries and languages over the coming months.

 

What is Personal Plan?

 

Personal Plan is a subscription to Udemy’s top content in professional skills such as management, IT, and data science. The content included is roughly equivalent to the Udemy Business collection. 

 

In countries that primarily speak English, Personal Plan only includes English content. For countries where another language is commonly spoken, Personal Plan will include local language content as well as English. For example, Brazilian subscribers will have access to Portuguese and English content through Personal Plan, with course recommendations tailored to each subscriber’s language preference.

 

Where is Personal Plan expanding? 

 

Tenured instructors may recall that we initially announced our intent to expand globally last September. We postponed our initial plans in order to focus on testing and strengthening our approach in English-speaking markets. We’re now confident in our ability to position Personal Plan alongside our traditional course purchase model, and eager to bring this new offering to new markets.

 

We plan to start by expanding to the Brazilian market with Portuguese content in the next few weeks. Later in the year, our goal is to introduce Spanish and German content next, with others to follow. We also plan to begin to offer Personal Plan in India with the existing English collection. 

 

How do instructors earn revenue from Personal Plan? 

 

Learners pay a recurring subscription cost to access Personal Plan, with prices tailored to each market. Instructors are paid monthly based on learner engagement via the same model as Udemy Business (25% of net monthly revenue, proportional to your share of consumption). Personal Plan and Udemy Business earnings are calculated as separate pools.

 

You’ll see revenue from Personal Plan appear approximately 30 days after the conclusion of the prior month, just before payout. For example, if you had consumption from learners in Personal Plan in August, you would see “Individual Subscription” revenue appear in your revenue report in the first week of October. Currently, Personal Plan earnings are reported as a lump sum and are not broken out by course.

 

Instructors can also earn money when bringing in a learner who becomes a monthly subscriber. If someone comes to Udemy through your coupon or referral link but ultimately subscribes instead of purchasing, you’ll earn 50% of the net revenue from their first monthly subscription fee. This payment is in addition to any consumption-based revenue created by their learning. So, if a learner you referred pays $30 USD for their subscription, you’d receive up to $15 USD as a Subscriber Signup Payment, plus any revenue generated by their consumption of your courses.

 

What have we learned about subscribers so far?

 

Over the last year, we’ve sought to understand what subscribers need and how they compare to purchasers. We’ve found that subscribers tend to be very career-focused and committed to their learning. They learn more frequently and for longer durations than purchasers, and they particularly value practical exercises like quizzes and projects. 

 

We’ve used this information to continuously improve the way we market Personal Plan. Over the last year, we’ve improved the way we present Personal Plan to potential learners, the onboarding we deliver when they begin their subscription, and the guidance and encouragement we provide throughout their subscription. We’ve also gotten more sophisticated in determining when to prioritize the option to subscribe vs. purchase, since these offerings may be right for different audiences at different times. Overall, these improvements have helped us strengthen the economic health of the Udemy marketplace across both purchases and subscriptions.

 

As we continue to learn more about this audience and what they need, we’ll keep sharing out with instructors who participate or aspire, so you can choose to cater your content to this more goal-driven, career-motivated audience.

 

How can I learn more?

 

If you’re curious to learn more about Personal Plan, we’ve compiled an FAQ based on instructor questions to date. If your question isn’t answered there, you can write to Instructor Support or share it in the Instructor Community.

 

Thank you for continuing to improve the lives of learners around the world by teaching on Udemy.