Are you struggling to get your business off the ground?
Maybe you’re putting in the time but not seeing the results you would like?
Or you have big aspirations but you’re a solopreneur and don’t have a team to run ideas by?
What if you could get help launching your business and developing your personal platform?
Would that help you alleviate some of the stress you experience and propel you towards achieving your goals?
For the past few months, I’ve been using Platform University to help to build my platform.
In this article I wanted to provide a review of Platform University to help you decide it it’s right for you and your business.
What is Platform University?
Platform University is an online community from Michael Hyatt, author of the New York Times best-seller, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World.
Instead of using Facebook Groups to answer questions and connect with their audience, Platform University takes a different route and goes much deeper. It is a structured online community you can go to for help on many different topics business owners often have questions about.
These include topics such as branding, finding a mentor, general business advice, and so on.
Areas inside Platform University:
- Members forum
- Master Classes
- Member Makeover
- Backstage Pass
- Live Q&A Calls
- And much more
If you’ve tried other online communities before and felt they were underwhelming, let’s put Platform University to the test to see if it earns a passing grade.
A Review of Platform University
Having been a member of Platform University since the beginning of 2015, I’m still learning new things about it everyday.
I put together a list of some of the pros and cons I found in using Platform University. I hope they help answer questions you might have.
Pros and Cons of Platform University
Pros
Layout
Often when you join an online community it can be difficult knowing where to start.
Platform University helps you out by sending a well-crafted welcome email. Once you’re signed in, they provide instructional videos to help you learn about the layout of the site and about each area.
Think of it like orientation when you first attend a new school except you can get started in just a few minutes rather than weeks!
Active Forums
One area where Platform University really shines is their members forum area.
You can search the forum to find other threads about a specific topic or you can post your own.
When I first joined, I wanted to see how active the community was so I asked about how to go about finding a mentor. Within a few minutes of posting my question, I had a few people respond with sound advice.
Most of the forums that I’ve used outside of Platform University often fail in this area. I’m proud to report that Platform U exceeds these expectations.
Member Makeovers
One of the coolest areas of Platform University is the Member Makeovers area.
As a member of Platform University, you can submit your site to have it reviewed.
Once a month, Michael Hyatt and his team choose one platform to review. They look at your website along with your branding and online presence and offer recommendations on areas you may want to make adjustments to.
If your platform isn’t selected, no worries. They also provide a recording and transcript which you can download and use on your own platform to apply some of the tips and best practices they have recommended.
Member Makeovers reminded me of an episode of HGTV’s Fixer Upper except they showed you how to improve your website.
I’m looking forward to submitting my site for Member Makeovers to see what type of feedback they provide.
Cost
One thing that sets Platform University apart is its costs. They charge $30 per month and there is no contract. You also get 30 days to test out Platform University to see if it’s right for you.
That works out to $360 per year and you can cancel at any time.
This gives you access to the members forum, the ability to submit your site to be reviewed and also access to Master Classes (more on those below) and downloadable eBooks.
If you just use the members forum in Platform University just for help, you’ve basically paid for your membership and everything else is just gravy.
While these are some of the pros to using Platform University, there are a few areas I hope they work on updating. I’ve listed a few of the cons to Platform University.
Cons
Master Classes
Platform University offers a number of Master Classes. These are video interviews with respective leaders in their field – think of them like lectures.
You can watch the video, download the MP3 or the transcript – great!
While I found this content a little useful, I felt a lot of the information being shared was already covered on that person’s website or in their book.
I would love to see a broader list of guests in the Master Classes.
Bonuses
Having read Michael’s blog for a few years now, I expected the bonuses section in Platform University to be more fleshed out.
When I first got started with Platform University, the last entry in this section was from 2013 – which in blogging years seems more like decades ago.
Fortunately, they have recently started to add more eBooks and video downloads to the bonuses section. Hopefully this was just a hiccup and they will update it regularly throughout 2015.
Overall, these are minor items that I think can be fixed very easily.
Wrap-up
I really hope you found this review of Platform University helpful.
In my opinion, Platform University is a valuable tool for business owners who are serious about building their platform and growing their business.
If I could assign a grade, they would earn an A-.
They offer many different tools to help you overcome the obstacles that are holding you back.
Like anything you spend money on, you get out of it what you put into it.
My recommendation is to start small and try and use it a little each day to help you build your platform. This way you don’t overwhelm yourself and you start to get the full value out of it.
If you have other questions that were not answered in my review of Platform University, feel free to leave a comment below or share your questions on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and I’ll help answer them.