How Does Lynda.com Have So Many Paid Subscribers If Information Wants To Be Free? – With Lynda Weinman
on Oct 6, 2009 - 7:00 AM PSTThe web is full of free how-to articles and videos. So why do hundreds of thousands of new subscribers happily sign up every year to pay Lynda.com a monthly fee to learn software like Excel and Photoshop? And, more importantly, what can YOU learn from Lynda.com’s business about creating content that people want to pay for?
I invited the company’s co-founder, Lynda Weinman, to answer those questions, and to tell you the story of how she and her husband launched and built their business.
The FULL program
About Lynda Weinman
Lynda Weinman is the co-founder of Lynda.com, a provider of educational materials, including Hands-On Training™ instructional books, the Online Training Library®, CD- and DVD-based video training, and events for creative designers, instructors, students, and hobbyists.
Why customers are happy to pay
Lynda started when there wasn’t much competition.
A lot of Lynda’s early traction came from teaching software that students couldn’t learn elsewhere. Her early classes were done offline about programs that were so new that students were willing to fly to her class from across the country.
Lynda had a reputation before starting her business.
Before there was Lynda the company, there was Lynda the author. She wrote the very first industry book on Web design, Designing Web Graphics, in 1995. Each of her books included an incentive for readers to go to Lynda.com, where she built an audience that became her company’s first customers.
Marketing happened organically, through word of mouth.
Lynda said many times in the interview that marketing isn’t her forte, teaching is. So until recently, she focused heavily on class quality, and let the marketing happen mostly through word of mouth.
The offline competition is more expensive and less convenient.
Lynda doesn’t see her competition as the free videos on sites like YouTube. For her customers, the real alternative is expensive, offline classes at local schools. Compared to them, Lynda.com offers a reasonably-priced and more convenient option.
Lessons are taught by leaders at the tops of their fields.
For professional subjects, students want to know that they’re learning from credible teachers, something they can’t always be sure of with free content online.
Students can learn on their own time and repeat lessons.
In a traditional setting, students can’t repeat a class over and over until they get what they need. By using the Lynda.com videos, they’re free to move through each lesson at their own pace.
Lynda offers lots of free samples.
Free may not be the company’s business model, but it is one of Lynda.com’s best marketing strategies. Students can sample classes and get a feel for the quality of the teachers and materials before
Full program includes
- You’ll hear the biography of Lynda.com.
- You’ll learn many tips that you can use to build your subscription-based business.
- You’ll see how Lynda.com develops its classes.
Suggested comments
- How was the audio & video quality? (I’m always worried about that?)
- Did you pick up on any business lessons that I didn’t include in the text above?
- Have you taken a class on Lynda.com? What do you think of them?
Thanks to Mixergy viewer (and friend) Matt Alexander of WP Switch for helping with the editing of this video and writing the first draft of this post.
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October 6th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I love the internet! It's a winner-take-all system! And I intend on winning somewhere, just as lynda.com has won in their niche.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Hey Andrew. Thank you for the mention! These interviews help so many entrepreneurs and through them you have motivated thousands into taking action. As a Lynda.com user this interview really makes me happy to be a student. Lynda has worked very hard to ensure that you get the most out of every lesson and I don't know where I would be without them.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Great article! It is definitely true that word of mouth is awesome marketing.
October 6th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Paid Subscriptions or Free Web based content. Do you want to pay for structured learning material or do you want some crappy tutorial for free ! Both will probably give you the same result in the end but it all has to do with the journey to get the result.
Its all about the Teacher!
October 6th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Hello Andrew, although the video buffered completely I couldn't “see” the entire video properly because it got stuck for me in the beginning (on pc-firefox-3.5.3), the audio is fine.
Lynda, like Donald Trump have focused effectively on two critical aspects: Focus and Quality. But what's more important than those? Desire. For me, the fact that we don't live forever is the #1 desire-generator to work hard today-not tomorrow, to build something meaningful, a legacy, just like you mentioned in your video-bio.
Best regards and keep up the good interviews.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Great interview, Andrew! It really goes against what everyone else is saying how things must be free on the Internet. Lynda proves that it doesn't have to be!
The audio was perfect, but the video didn't show up for Safari 3.2.1 on my Mac. Just wanted to let you know.
October 7th, 2009 at 12:52 am
Wow, this is very helpful. I know Lynda.com for sometime and it is very very nice to see that Andrew you are interviewing the companies I know of and admire. Thanks Andrew so much for your great work!!!
October 7th, 2009 at 2:51 am
I would be interested to know how she protects Lynda.com from being copied without permission.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:36 am
Video freezes, audio is good.
So it's “radio-time” today ;)
October 7th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Andrew, you continue to amaze me with the caliber of people that you bring onto the Mixergy.com site to inspire all of us! Thank you for being so passionate! I really enjoyed your interview with Lynda and will listen to it more than once – for sure. She interviews artists and features them on her site so I have had a chance to see her interact with people before and she is consistently a class act. Her company is a tremendous asset for those of us in education. I teach Multimedia Design Technology at a technical school in Southwest Florida and enjoy using my premium account and couldn't do my job without it. Software Technology continues to grow at a pace that is too hard to keep up so I depend on Lynda.com's services to partner with me to provide a solution for a definite need in my design program. Thanks again and keep the excellent interviews coming! Great job!!!
October 7th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Darn you Andrew for getting all these great people interviewed. Now I have to link to you more than I already do on my blog!
Nice work my friend.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Isnt that the truth
October 7th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I agree with Bulkish on a couple of points.
1. The video displayed clunky
2. Her company is very focused
The passion for her company speaks for itself. The other point to note is her commitment to authenticity. She has not and appears will not “sell out” to water-down her product in hopes of mass appeal because she has stayed true to her core.
The great take-away from me for this story is that she was naive enough to build a business for the consumer and remains close to the consumer.
Kudos, Lynda.com!
October 7th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
This interview was very welcoming. Great as usual. I am on a path of setting up a site similar to lynda.com for a niche market. I've been struggling of how to launch it; paid subscription or free with ads/sponsors. Most interviews and blogs I've read so far point to the direction of paid recurring subscription from day one.
One question I wish that was discussed further was the profit sharing with the authors/trainers. What would be a fair compensation? I'm assuming there are different compensation plans according to a trainer's qualification and topic being taught. Any insight would be appreciated, especially from Lynda. ;-)
October 7th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
[...] courses. Suggested to me by Sean and Colin on the LocationRebel forum. There’s also a great interview on Mixergy.com with Lynda Weinman, the founder of the site. I’ll probably use Lynda to beef up my HTML / CSS [...]
October 8th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Hey Andrew,
Great interview, the video was not working before (glad to see you fixed it). The things that stand out to me the most were the three F's and only selling quality. Having quality control over all aspects of her business seemed to be a focal point. I love her logo.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Great interview yet again! Thanks, Andrew. What an inspirational entrepreneur Lynda is! Very passionate, articulate, hardworking, and honest. This certainly puts Lynda.com in a new light for me. I will think of it first if I have such a need. Lynda is an outstanding spokesperson for her company.
October 9th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
This was a great interview. I've been a member of Lynda.com for a few years and have learned several softwares using her service. I have a few questions:
How did she come up with the $25 price point? (the perceived value at this price is HUGE)
Why not $39.95 or $49.95? Like you said in the interview, actually taking the class costs even more than $100.
Was this price point targeted at college students at first?
And just for curiosity's sake did her husband draw that image of her? :)
October 9th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
I'm getting married this week, so I'm taking time away from email.
If you need to reach me, please email me after Monday, Oct 19th.
–Andrew
October 10th, 2009 at 10:04 am
What a coincidence. I just joined Lynda.com (for the second time) to learn my video editing software. Then I found she had a class on learning the Mac. And a class on Garageband. Then I come here to find you interviewed her!
Her site is an incredible value for $25 per month, and I've thought of somehow fashioning a health teaching site after her.
I am wondering why the video is blurry. And what's that dark band on the bottom? It looks like you're both sitting at a highly polished grand piano.
Congratulations on getting married, Andrew. I hope you both find happiness to last a lifetime!
October 10th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I'm getting married this week, so I'm taking time away from email.
If you need to reach me, please email me after Monday, Oct 19th.
–Andrew
October 11th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Congrats :-)
October 15th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Nice interview
October 16th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
a really great interview :) and thank you so much i really wanted to about her I am a Graphics Designer and a Photographer and i must say..i had learned alot from here, stuff that you never get in school its like straight-forward thing :) which is cool
i call them my Teachers :)
October 18th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
[...] Check out this interview with one of my heroes, Lynda Weinman, the Co-Founder of Lynda.com. She talks about the history of Lynda.com and the tiny humble beginnings of a massive empire of awesomeness. [...]
October 19th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I listened to your interview with Lynda Weinman yesterday and was disappointed. That's why I didn't comment right away. I wanted to give it some time before I said anything. I'm glad I did because I have a better appreciation for what Lynda had to say after sleeping on her thoughts.
Like just about everyone you have interviewed, Lynda comes from a place of passion. I don't think Lynda's passion comes out the same way as Maria Sipka's does. Lynda is a bit more reserved and isn't as emotional about her passion. But it's still there, it's still real, and it still drives her.
I didn't connect with Lynda the way I have with many of your other guests, but what she has to say is still very valuable. Thanks for interviewing her for us.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Really stretches your mind to achieve further with what you're doing. If she can get that many PAID customers where there is a massive amount of FREE tutorials, videos, etc., just imagine what you can do in other markets!
October 20th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
At the end of the day, people are willing to pay for their problems to be solved. Period.
And most of the time, paid services are just better. Think about it. They cannot produce something half-assed or they lose customers, and they have the resources to make “awesome” happen.
Free is good. Not free is sustainable good.
Good job to Lynda.
October 25th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Hi Andrew,
Another solid interview from an internet vet and successful businesswoman. It was inspirational to hear her story and I learned a lot. Thank you!!
Just a thought: since I am interested in subscription based businesses, I realize in watching this video that some of the benefits of text based transcripts of the video interview include the ability to:
1) skim the content / find the content that I am particularly interested in
2) re-view the content w/o needing to find the particular area of interest within the video
Thank you for these interviews – keep up the great work. When are you going to start charging for this premium content?? I hope there is a grandfather clause for some of us regulars :)
-Corey
November 17th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Wow!!! what a GREAT site! just found it via twitter! Keep up the great interviews Andrew. This site is exactly what i was looking for ;-)
December 16th, 2009 at 8:37 am
[...] 4-Hour Workweek), Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Matt Mullenweg (WordPress), James Hong (Hot or Not) and Lynda Weinman (lynda.com) among many others.I had a chance to video Skype with Andrew last week to talk about his [...]
February 24th, 2010 at 1:50 am
I have to say I have been a bit disappointed with Lynda. A lot of their tutorials are out of date, or don't teach users the proper way to do things. Their HTML course is terrible. I've also had problems viewing videos as they wont load. If anyone has another site they can recommend I would love to hear it! I would like a site that goes for more deeper than just the easy and basic way to do things.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Very inspirational story emphasizing the benefits of word of mouth promo. She's of the best in online education and they are walking their talk by innovating their website constantly and providing great material. I have used their site when there are titles of interest to me.
March 17th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
The price of classes are far higher than she specifies. Its more like $400 for a class and $100 for a book. Lynda is well worth it.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
As of 4/2010 Lynda.com does NOT teach HTML, it has it on its list, but they only teach XHTML. This is some what frustrating because I signed up for the HTML.
April 14th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
As of 4/2010 Lynda.com does NOT teach HTML, it has it on its list, but they only teach XHTML. This is some what frustrating because I signed up for the HTML.
May 19th, 2010 at 2:01 am
[...] tiene pasión por la enseñanza, y vio en Internet la posibilidad de darle al alumno una clase personalizada. El medio le da la posibilidad al [...]
May 19th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
[...] tiene pasión por la enseñanza, y vio en Internet la posibilidad de darle al alumno una clase personalizada. El medio le da la posibilidad al [...]