The Market Your Message Show
The Market Your Message Show
Ch. 11: Choose Your Website Hosting Platform
Finding the Ideal Website Hosting Platform for Digital Entrepreneurs: Kajabi, Ghost, and Systeme
For more books in this series, go to: PlatformGrowthBooks.com
In this episode of the Market Your Message Show, host Jonathan Milligan, author of the Your Message Matters book series, delves into Chapter 11 of 'Launch Your Platform.' The focus is on choosing the right website hosting platform, discussing the pros and cons of WordPress, Kajabi, Ghost, and Systeme. Jonathan shares his personal experience with transitioning to Kajabi and provides a detailed comparison of these platforms to help digital entrepreneurs select the best fit for their needs and budget. Key considerations include flexibility, integration, simplicity, cost, and scalability for different types of content creators.
00:00 Introduction to the Market Your Message Show
00:44 Choosing Your Website Hosting Platform
01:49 Exploring Top Online Platforms
04:26 Deep Dive into Kajabi
05:42 Understanding Ghost
06:49 System: The Affordable Alternative
07:50 Finding the Right Fit
08:54 Day 11 Exercise and Key Takeaways
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Hello and welcome to the Market Your Message show. I'm your host, Jonathan Milligan, an author of the Your Message Matters book series. We are currently going through book number two in the series called Launch Your Platform, a 21 day launch plan to build your personal brand and share your story online as a writer, coach or speaker. And as a special thanks to you, my podcast listeners, I'm releasing the audio book. One chapter at a time. If you'd like to grab any of the books in the series, just go to platformgrowthbooks. com. Okay. Let's jump in to today's reading.
Chapter 11. Day 11. Choose your website hosting platform. My growing online business and needed a website that could keep up. But in 2014, I didn't serve more customers. Instead, I wasted hours trying to make my outdated WordPress site work by duck taping platforms and plugins into it. My business had evolved and I desperately needed a better solution. I knew there had to be a better way. A platform built specifically for people like me, earning money, sharing knowledge online. I was thrilled when I discovered Kajabi. One of the first end to end solutions for online course creators and coaches. I migrated my whole business over that very week. Fast forward to today and I'm still on Kajabi. I can serve more clients, produce content faster and even enjoy weekends again, now that I'm not patching things, 24 7. But Kajabi, isn't the only player out there anymore. In this chapter, we'll explore today's top online platforms to find the right fit for different types of digital entrepreneurs. Whether you're a coach, author, speaker, or something else, we'll help you find what suits you. I'll compare strengths and weaknesses to help you choose what's best for your goals and budget. The right foundation means you can stress less about logistics and deliver more value to those you serve. Day 11. Choose your website hosting platform. WordPress powers over 60 million websites. It's undoubtedly the most used content management system. The open source software is free. Easy to use and has a wealth of plugins and themes. So what's not to love. While WordPress offers extreme flexibility. That can also be its downfall. The plethora of options means you must become a website developer to customize and optimize your site. And patching security vulnerabilities is an ongoing chore. Worst of all WordPress sites tend to slow down as they grow. Leading to poor page, a loading speeds. For simple blogs. WordPress is perfect, but creators wanting more control over design user experience and monetization need a platform made for selling online courses, memberships, and services. The three best paid website platforms for online creators. After testing the top website builders aimed at online course creators and coaches. Three options. Stand out. Kajabi is the premier all-in-one platform for digital entrepreneurs. Kajabi offers elegant themes, marketing automation, and integrated payment processing. It lets you brand your site your way while handling the technical stuff behind the scenes. Ghost is a content management system focused on simplicity and speed. Ghost provides a streamlined backend interface. And minimalist themes designed for publishing. So stem is a budget friendly, alternative to Kajabi. It combines an online course builder, email marketing and responsive website themes. While the pricing varies widely from$99 to$399 per month. Each platform suits different needs. Let's explore the key differences. Kajabi the all-in-one solution for creatives. Kajabi is the undisputed leader for delivering premium online courses, communities and services. The robust platform is packed with features, creators need to monetize their knowledge. With Kajabi, you can choose from dozens of sleek, professional themes and fully customize colors, fonts, and layouts. Build elegant sales funnels with landing pages, automated email sequences, and affiliate marketing. Offer courses, memberships, downloads, and services all in one place. Promote your brand with sophisticated email and social media marketing tools. Manage your business and track sales in a centralized dashboard. Expand your platform over time without the headaches of integrating multiple tools. The main downside of Kajabi is the high, monthly price to get started. But when you factor in the monthly cost of all the other tools you would need to replace Kajabi, the convenience and customization, make it well worth the premium fee. Ghost. The better alternative to WordPress. Ghost offers a streamlined alternative focused entirely on publishing. Beautiful content quickly. It also has some basic email marketing and paid membership options built in. Ghost is ideal for people who want to keep things low tech and simple. With ghost, you can choose a simple distraction-free theme to showcase your writing. Write and publish posts easily from a clean, intuitive interface. Focus on high quality content without worrying about design or monetization. Collect emails and send email newsletters to your list. Create paid memberships and deliver exclusive content. Avoid overwhelming options and technical challenges. Ghost won't work for e-commerce sites. It pairs nicely with Gumroad for creators offering similar digital products. Keep it simple by combining ghost. For your blog with Gumroad for secure payments for your products and services. System the all in one little brother. Stem spelled S Y S T E M E. Bills itself as the affordable alternative to Kajabi. It provides powerful online course creation and marketing features for bootstrapping entrepreneurs. It doesn't come with a steep price tag. With system, you can. Pick from basic, but modern web page designs and themes. Build online courses with video hosting quizzes and discussion forums. Set up email sequences, affiliate programs, and automatic webinars. Avoid paying extra fees for bandwidth members or transactions. Get started with a limited but free account. Serious course creators may outgrow system's capabilities quickly, but it's a great entry level platform for getting started. With less financial risk. Finding the right fit. Choosing a website platform is an important business decision. It impacts your brand audience experience and ability to generate revenue. Consider both your current needs and future goals. If you want simple and affordable. Uh, ghost with Gumroad makes a great pairing. Focus on writing without the hassle of monetizing your site. If you desire an all-in-one powerhouse. Kajabi delivers the tools serious creators need. It helps them build a profitable online business. The premium price reflects the quality and depth of its features. If you're on a tight budget system, lets you dip your toe into online courses in communities without draining your bank account. See if your business takes off before upgrading. No platform does everything perfectly. However, understanding the strengths and limitations of these three options will set you up for longterm success online. Day 11 exercise. Choose your website platform. Take some time to reflect on your current business needs and future goals. Make a list of the core features you need to achieve your vision. Then compare the platforms based on must haves versus nice to haves. Choosing technology that fits your business today is the smartest decision as you launch your platform online. It should also be able to scale up over time. Day 11 key takeaways. WordPress can become slow techie and restrictive as your site grows. Kajabi offers comprehensive business tools for established creators. Ghost provides a streamlined blog for publishing content without the clutter. So stem is an affordable starting place for new entrepreneurs. Evaluate your budget needs and goals before choosing. Adding Gumroad lets you sell simply on any platform.