Podia Review: All-in-one Platform for Coaches?

In this Podia review, we look at specifically how coaches and trainers can use the platform to sell digital products, host online courses, webinars and more importantly, build a community around it.

The best part about Podia is that all of it can be managed in one place. They are great for beginners as they have a free plan and is constantly gaining popularity. We will also look at the features in more detail and identify how you as a coach or a trainer can benefit from them. Finally, we will discuss the pricing plans and how you can get started with Podia.

Who is Podia for?

Podia is aimed at making it easier for creators to monetize their content and expertise without needing to use multiple services or manage complex technical setups. It offers specific functionalities that can facilitate one-on-one coaching sessions, group coaching programs, and the ability to create and sell self-study courses.

This makes it a useful tool for professionals in the coaching and training industry looking to expand their online presence and offer their services to a broader audience.

How can Podia help coaches and trainers?

The rise of online coaching and training platforms has been a significant trend in personal and professional development, offering various benefits that traditional in-person coaching can’t match.

The accessibility and flexibility provided by these platforms allow learners to learn and grow at their own pace and on their own schedule, which is particularly important for those with busy lifestyles or in remote locations.

For coaches and trainers, the online model offers a broader reach, enabling you to connect with clients across the globe. As the market for these services continues to expand, it will be vital for coaching professionals to leverage the latest digital tools and platforms to stay competitive.

The online coaching platform is going through revolutionary growth and adapting to the evolving technological landscape has become ever so important.

Coaches can enhance their offerings, making coaching more interactive, personalized, and impactful for their clients. And this is where Podia comes in with its platform.

Take the case of Asha Downes, who used Podia to leverage her growing online presence to offer personalized mentorship and workshops. She tailored her offerings to meet the unique needs of her audience. Her business, Naturally High Hair, blends self-love and scientific insight, helping women nurture and grow their natural hair.

Features of Podia that can benefit coaches

Podia’s all-in-one platform approach makes it easier for coaches and trainers to manage their online presence, sales, and client interactions in a streamlined manner, focusing more on coaching and less on administrative tasks.

How to use Podia to help with monetization

• Integrated Coaching Tools: Coaches can connect their favorite scheduling platforms like Calendly, Acuity, YouCanBookMe, and SavvyCal to Podia, enabling easy booking and payment for sessions. Coaches can offer one-on-one sessions, group sessions, or a mix of both, and even bundle coaching with other offers like courses, webinars, and community access.
• Digital Product Sales: Podia allows the sale of various digital products like eBooks, PDFs, video files, and more. Coaches can use these to sell their own content without any limits on the number of products, customers, or earnings. This feature includes options for lead magnets, coupons, upsells, and bundles to enhance marketing and sales.
• Community Building: The platform supports creating and offering paid online communities where coaches can engage with their clients and audience in a structured and organized manner. It offers functionalities like posts, comments, likes, and moderation controls.
• Online Course Builder: Coaches can create and sell online courses using Podia’s course builder. This tool allows for the inclusion of various multimedia elements such as videos, PDFs, quizzes, and text. It also supports drip courses, where content is released over time and the bundling of courses with other products​​.
• Webinars and Workshops: Coaches can host interactive webinars and workshops, integrating multimedia content to make sessions more engaging. This feature supports participant interaction through polls, surveys, and live discussions.

Engagement and Marketing Features of Podia

• Website Building: Podia offers an easy-to-use website builder. Users can create custom websites to showcase their coaching services, digital products, and online courses. This feature includes customizable templates and design options to create a professional online presence without needing advanced technical skills​​.
• Sales Pages and Landing Pages: The platform provides tools to create compelling sales and landing pages. These pages are essential for marketing, as they can be used to promote courses, coaching sessions, webinars, and other digital products. Podia offers customizable templates and design options to create effective landing pages that convert visitors into customers. These pages can be integrated with the user’s overall website and digital marketing strategy, providing a seamless experience for potential clients​​.
• Upselling and Bundling Courses: Podia enables users to create upsell opportunities, which can significantly increase the average order value. Coaches and trainers can offer relevant upsells to customers who purchase their courses or other digital products. Additionally, users have the option to bundle various products together. This could include combining different courses, webinars, and digital downloads to create comprehensive packages that offer more value to clients.
• Email Marketing: Podia’s integrated email marketing system lets coaches create and manage email campaigns directly from the platform. This feature supports customizable email templates, automated email sequences, and audience segmentation to target specific groups effectively.
• Affiliate Management: The platform includes an affiliate marketing feature, enabling coaches to collaborate with affiliates who can promote their products and services. This feature helps in expanding the reach of the coach’s offerings and driving sales through affiliate marketing efforts​​.
• Built-in Live Chat: Podia includes a live chat feature, enabling real-time communication with clients and community members. This tool can be used for customer support, sales inquiries, and engaging with logged-in customers, enhancing the overall customer experience​​.

Additional features of Podia

• Payment and Checkout Processing: Podia handles payment processing with various payment methods, including Stripe, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. It offers instant payouts, with no transaction fees on paid plans.
• Integrations with Third-Party Platforms: Podia supports integrations with a wide range of third-party tools and platforms, such as Zapier, ConvertKit, MailChimp, Google Analytics, Zoom, and more. This allows for a seamless integration of various business tools and services into the Podia platform​​.

Podia Pricing: How much does it cost?

One of the most attractive things about Podia is that it includes a free plan. It’s great for beginners who are just getting started.

Additionally, Podia offers various paid pricing tiers for its platform namely Starter, Mover, and Shaker. All plans have options for email and team add-ons. The ideal plan for beginners might be the Free or Starter, depending on their need for a custom domain and lower transaction fees. Let’s look it in more detail.

Free plan

• This plan includes basic features like a full website, community access, and a few product options. It’s designed to give you a taste of the platform with basic features.
• Provides limited access to publishing a product, and basic support. You cannot publish any courses on this plan.
• It has limited customization options, no access to advanced marketing tools, and comparatively higher transaction fees at 10%.
• Ideal for: beginners who are just starting out and want to test the platform before committing financially.

Starter plan

• Pricing: $9/month or $4/month paid annually.
• The Starter plan often introduces more features than the Free tier, such as reduced transaction fees (8%), ability to connect to a custom domain, and live chat support.
• This plan might still have some limitations in terms of the number of products you can sell and you cannot publish or sell any courses in this plan.
• Ideal for: beginners who are ready to commit to the platform and need more features than the Free plan offers, but are still working with a limited budget.

Mover plan

• Pricing: $39/month or $33/month paid annually.
• The Mover plan is likely a mid-tier offering with a balance of features and cost. Users might get access to unlimited products, enhanced support, and more customization options. It also has lower transaction fees (5%) compared to the Starter plan.
• It removes limitations in terms of the number of products, communities and coaching sessions that you want to offer. You can also offer product bundles which is ideal if you want to offer great value to your community.
• Ideal for: coaches/trainers who have validated their business model and want to sell courses, product bundles without any restrictions.

Shaker plan

• Pricing: $39/month or $33/month paid annually.
• The Shaker plan gives you full access to all of Podia’s features.
• Comparison: It offers the most comprehensive set of tools with no transaction fees and allows you to add and manage affiliates.
• Ideal for: Established businesses that require full functionality for scaling, and want to convert your customers into advocates of your products/coaching/community (through recruiting affiliates).

Limitations of Podia

Though we’ve seen how Podia can benefit coaches and trainers like you, it’s also important to be mindful of some of its limitations:

• Limited customization. Podia is not a dedicated website builder, and compared to platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, Podia isn’t very flexible and doesn’t give you as much control over your store. You may find the customization options for course pages and websites somewhat restricted compared to other platforms.
• Lacks advanced features. There are other advanced features that you might find lacking in Podia such as support for live events, email automation workflows, advanced email personalization/segmentation, student grading, etc.
• Limitations in course player: Although the course player is user-friendly, it does an average job in terms of course creation and delivery, implying that it may not meet the needs of all users.
• No mobile app. Podia doesn’t have a mobile app like some of its competitors, so it’s harder to manage your store on the go.

Podia alternatives

Some good alternatives to Podia that offer various features for online course creators, memberships, and digital product sales include:

1. Kajabi: A comprehensive platform that provides robust marketing tools, advanced automation, and a wide range of features suitable for professional course creators and entrepreneurs.
2. Teachable: Popular for its user-friendly interface and powerful course creation tools, Teachable is a strong choice for instructors looking for a platform that balances ease of use with functionality.
3. Thinkific: Known for its customization options and strong support for course creators, Thinkific allows for a high degree of course personalization and a rich learning experience for students.
4. Mighty Networks: Ideal for creators who want to build a community around their brand, Mighty Networks offers community features alongside course creation and sales capabilities.
5. Gumroad: A simple platform for selling digital products, memberships, and courses, Gumroad is a good option for creators who want an easy setup process.
6. LearnDash: A WordPress LMS plugin that’s ideal if you want to manage your courses directly from your WordPress website, offering a high level of control and customization.

Is Podia worth it?

The Podia platform is highly regarded as an excellent e-commerce solution for selling digital products, especially for online coaches, course creators, and influencers.

It started as an online course platform and has evolved into a versatile all-in-one solution, offering a range of sales, marketing, and commerce tools.

Its user-friendly interface allows for quick setup, even for beginners. However, it lacks advanced customization and features found in dedicated tools, particularly in email marketing and course creation.

Podia is ideal for those seeking a simple, integrated platform for digital products, but may not suit large businesses needing more advanced functionality.

For selling physical products, other platforms like Shopify are recommended.

Podia’s Free plan offers a good starting point for those interested in exploring its features.