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Mighty Networks Review
Choosing the right platform for your online course or community is a significant decision. Once you’ve built your business on a platform, migrating can be challenging and time-consuming. After testing various platforms like Teachable and Kartra, I took a deep dive into Mighty Networks, one of the most popular tools for creating online communities. While it excels in many ways, it also has notable limitations, especially for course creators.
In this detailed review, I’ll provide insights into Mighty Networks’ strengths, weaknesses, and features to help you decide whether it’s the right choice for your business.
Quick Verdict: Is Mighty Networks Worth It?
Mighty Networks stands out as an exceptional platform for building and growing online communities. With its extensive community features like live streaming, event hosting, and interactive member profiles, it’s a tool designed for fostering engagement and connection. For community-based creators, it’s a game-changer.
However, it’s not ideal as a standalone online course platform. Course creation feels like an afterthought, with limited functionality and missing features like video hosting and quizzes. If your primary focus is on offering robust, standalone courses, you’ll find Mighty Networks lacking in comparison to platforms like Kajabi or Thinkific.
In short:
- Great for: Entrepreneurs who prioritize community engagement and want to offer courses as a secondary feature.
- Not great for: Course creators seeking advanced features like built-in analytics, seamless video hosting, or comprehensive progress tracking.
Via Mighty Networks
Who Is Mighty Networks For and Not For?
Who It’s Perfect For
- Entrepreneurs building a community around their expertise: If your goal is to create a thriving space for students or followers to interact, Mighty Networks is ideal.
- Influencers: Social media creators looking for a platform to consolidate their followers into a more interactive space will find Mighty Networks invaluable.
- Brands: Companies aiming to white-label their community on a custom-branded app will appreciate the platform’s flexibility.
- Organizations upgrading from basic tools: Teams currently using WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook groups will find this a more professional and feature-rich alternative.
Who Should Avoid It
- Course-first creators: If you want to build a premium, standalone course with advanced features like quizzes, certifications, or video hosting, look elsewhere.
- Entrepreneurs with no existing audience: Mighty Networks is built around engagement and community, so it’s not the best option if you lack a following.
- High-ticket course sellers: For creators offering expensive, complex courses, the lack of analytics and progress tracking is a significant drawback.
Mighty Networks Overview
What Is Mighty Networks?
Mighty Networks is a community-driven platform designed to bring your audience, content, and memberships together in one place. Think of it as a blend between a social media network and a learning management system (LMS). It offers tools for hosting interactive communities, creating courses, and managing memberships, all within a single ecosystem.
The standout feature? Its ability to foster engagement. Unlike traditional platforms that simply host content, Mighty Networks encourages interaction through features like live events, direct messaging, and gamified activities.
Key Features of Mighty Networks
1. Personalized Activity Feeds
Mighty Networks provides each member with their own personalized activity feed, akin to Facebook’s timeline, which serves as a central hub for community interaction. The feed is designed to showcase an array of content such as events, posts, and updates relevant to the member’s interests and interactions within the community. This personalization ensures that members are constantly informed about activities that matter to them, facilitating easier engagement and participation. Members can like, comment, and share their thoughts on various content, which not only helps in fostering discussions but also creates a sense of belonging. By allowing members to tailor their feeds, Mighty Networks empowers individuals to invest their time in discussions and events that resonate with their personal interests and goals.
2. Live Streaming and Events
One standout feature of Mighty Networks is the ability for creators to host live streams directly within the platform. This capability allows for real-time interactions, making it an invaluable resource for community engagement. Whether hosting a webinar, leading a group discussion, or organizing a virtual concert, live streaming adds a dynamic and personal touch to community interactions. Live events can help members feel more connected to each other and the content creator, as real-time communication opens the door for immediate questions, feedback, and discussion. This interactive format not only enhances the learning and sharing experience but also encourages members to participate actively, further fostering a sense of community.
3. Member Connections
Mighty Networks offers a suite of features designed to foster deeper connections among members. Each member can create a detailed profile that highlights their interests, skills, and goals, enabling others to discover shared passions and backgrounds. The “Members near you” functionality allows users to connect with those in close proximity, promoting local meetups and enhancing real-world interactions. Additionally, the platform categorizes members based on shared interests or specific goals, helping facilitate connections among like-minded individuals. By making it easier for members to connect and interact on a personal level, Mighty Networks nurtures community-building, encouraging collaboration, networking, and the sharing of ideas.
4. Flexible Content Options
Mighty Networks prides itself on providing creators with a diverse array of content-sharing options. Unlike traditional social media platforms that may limit or control the content types available, Mighty Networks empowers creators to post videos, articles, polls, GIFs, images, and more. This flexibility allows for richer storytelling and diverse methods of engagement, making content more appealing to various audience preferences. Whether it’s an in-depth article discussing key industry trends, a quick poll to gauge member opinions, or a video tutorial, the varied content options keep the audience engaged and invested. Creators can structure their content in ways that best connect with their community, making the overall experience more enjoyable and informative.
5. Gamification
Mighty Networks incorporates elements of gamification to stimulate participation and enhance user engagement within the community. Features such as top member badges and leaderboards are designed to recognize and reward active participation. By providing tangible rewards for contributions, members are motivated to engage more frequently, fostering a vibrant and active community. This gamified approach encourages healthy competition, drives participation in discussions, events, and content creation, and ultimately enhances the overall community experience. Members who feel recognized for their efforts are more likely to continue participating, leading to a more dynamic and thriving environment for everyone involved.
6. Ease of Use
Mighty Networks has undergone significant improvements, transforming it from a platform that was not particularly user-friendly and challenging to navigate. The recent redesign has streamlined the structure and process for building online communities, making it much more straightforward to understand its functionality and navigate through the website.
Now, users can enjoy a clean and intuitive interface. On the left side of the screen, there’s a list of your spaces, with a convenient option to create a new space located at the bottom.
To generate content within a specific space, simply click on that space in the sidebar. This will reveal various options for creating posts, as well as managing events, courses, and additional features.
7. Community Organization
When you create an account on Mighty Networks, it automatically establishes a community, often referred to as a network, for you.
From there, you just need to take a few additional steps, including organizing the layout, adjusting some settings, and incorporating your branding, before you can begin inviting members.
The fundamental component of a Mighty Network is known as Spaces. These can be likened to distinct rooms within your network, and each Space can feature:
- A feed where you and your members can initiate discussion posts
- A chat section for group discussions
- An events area to create and showcase events for members
- An online course offering structured course materials
- A member directory that lists all participants in the space
- A page dedicated to providing information about the space.
8. Content and Posts
Creating engaging content is a vital responsibility for any community builder, and Mighty Networks offers a variety of tools to help with this.
First, you can produce both Quick Posts and Articles. Quick Posts function similarly to status updates, while Articles resemble traditional blog posts. In addition to text, you can incorporate images, GIFs, videos, and files into your content.
Moreover, Mighty Networks features an integrated AI assistant known as Mighty Co-Host, which can assist you in refining and enhancing your written content. When it comes to publishing, you have the option to release posts immediately or schedule them for later. Regardless of when they go live, you can notify your members through email or push notifications about new content.
You can also engage your community by creating polls and questions, with the platform supporting four different types of polls:
- Question
- Multiple Choice
- Hot Cold
- Percentage
Online Course Creation
Mighty Networks allows you to create three main types of courses. However, its course-building tools lack the depth found in competitors like Kajabi or Teachable.
1. Cohort-Based Courses
A typical cohort-based course may span several weeks, such as a 6-week program. Each week usually includes a live session, where the course facilitator can engage with participants in real-time, answer questions, and facilitate discussions. This structure allows for dynamic learning experiences where students can share insights, collaborate, and support each other’s progress.
The live components of cohort-based courses promote interaction, making them more personal and engaging compared to self-paced models. The facilitator can use various methods, like breakout groups, polls, and Q&A sessions, to ensure that all participants are involved and getting the most out of the experience.
2. Community Courses
In a Community Course, such as a “30-day fitness challenge,” participants are encouraged to share progress updates, tips, and experiences with each other. This format creates a vibrant community where learners can celebrate milestones and provide support to one another.
Peer-to-peer learning is a significant aspect of Community Courses. Participants can learn not only from the course content but also from their fellow learners’ insights, feedback, and encouragement. This interactive element can deepen understanding and increase retention of the material.
3. Content-Based Courses
With Content-Based Courses, creators can upload various types of content, such as videos, articles, and downloadable resources. While this allows for a variety of teaching materials, the platform lacks built-in video hosting capabilities, which can pose challenges in terms of performance and accessibility. Unlike platforms such as Kajabi or Teachable, Mighty Networks does not provide advanced enrichment tools, such as quizzes, progress tracking, or automated assessments. This can limit the ability of course creators to evaluate student understanding or tailor the learning experience based on individual progress.
Other Features
Marketing and Landing Pages
Mighty Networks offers a user-friendly approach to setting up landing pages for creators looking to promote their courses or communities. The primary advantage of using the platform lies in its ease of use; users can quickly create landing pages without requiring extensive technical or design skills. This accessibility allows course creators, community builders, and entrepreneurs to get their offerings online swiftly and effectively.
However, while the simplicity of Mighty Networks’ landing pages is appealing, the design options are relatively minimal. Creators seeking to craft visually striking and highly polished pages may find the platform lacking in customization features. Unlike more robust website builders that offer an array of design templates and tools, Mighty Networks provides a limited selection of layouts and styles.
Pricing and Payments
Mighty Networks supports a variety of pricing models, making it a flexible option for creators. It allows for subscriptions—ideal for ongoing services or content—one-time payments for singular courses or products, and bundled pricing for offering multiple products or services together at a discounted rate. This diversity in pricing options empowers creators to experiment with different revenue strategies that can cater to various audience segments.
However, a notable limitation is the restriction to preset price ranges. These tiered pricing structures can be frustrating for creators who wish to implement specific pricing strategies that don’t align with the provided options.
Analytics
Analytics tools on Mighty Networks are a strong feature, particularly available for those who invest in higher-tier plans. The platform provides valuable insights into member behavior, engagement rates, and retention metrics. This data is crucial for creators who aim to refine their offerings and enhance the overall user experience within their community or courses.
With detailed analytics, creators can understand which content resonates most with their audience, track participation trends over time, and identify potential drop-off points where members may lose interest. These insights enable informed decision-making regarding content development, marketing strategies, and community engagement initiatives. For instance, if certain topics generate higher engagement, a creator might choose to produce more content in that area or adapt their offerings based on user feedback.
Mighty Networks Pricing: Is It Worth the Investment?
Mighty Networks offers three pricing plans:
- Community Plan ($33/month): Ideal for beginners, this plan provides basic community-building tools but does not include courses.
- Business Plan ($99/month): Adds course creation and advanced analytics, making it suitable for entrepreneurs scaling their businesses.
- Mighty Pro (Custom Pricing): A premium option for enterprise clients requiring custom apps and advanced features.
Compared to platforms like Kajabi, Mighty Networks is more affordable while still offering robust community features. However, the lack of video hosting and advanced course tools may require additional investments in third-party services.
Conclusion: Should You Choose Mighty Networks?
Mighty Networks is an outstanding choice for creators prioritizing community engagement. Its wide range of interactive features, coupled with an affordable price point, makes it ideal for entrepreneurs looking to grow their audience.
However, it falls short as a standalone course platform. The limited course features and reliance on third-party tools for essentials like video hosting mean it’s not suitable for creators focused solely on online education.
The Bottom Line
- Get Mighty Networks if you’re building a community-first business and plan to offer courses as an additional feature.
- Skip Mighty Networks if your focus is on building advanced, high-ticket courses with rich functionality.
FAQs
Can I try Mighty Networks before committing?
Yes, Mighty Networks offers a free trial period for users to explore its features before purchasing a subscription. Additionally, there’s a free plan available, though it comes with limited functionality. This allows you to test the platform’s basic capabilities, such as community-building tools, before investing in paid features like course creation or advanced analytics.
Is Mighty Networks suitable for large communities?
Absolutely. Mighty Networks is designed to scale, accommodating both small groups and large communities with thousands of members. With features like segmentation, member categories, and advanced analytics, you can effectively manage and engage a diverse audience. However, for very large-scale communities, the Mighty Pro plan is often recommended as it includes custom app capabilities and enterprise-level support.
Does Mighty Networks allow custom branding?
Yes, branding is a key feature of Mighty Networks. You can personalize your community with your logo, custom colors, and domain name. On the Mighty Pro plan, you can take it further by creating a fully white-labeled app available in app stores under your brand name, enhancing your business’s professional image.
How does Mighty Networks handle video hosting?
Mighty Networks does not include native video hosting. Instead, users must upload videos to external platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia and embed them into their courses or community spaces. While this adds a step, it allows for flexibility in video quality and hosting options. However, it might not be ideal for creators who prefer an all-in-one solution.
Can I sell memberships and courses together?
Yes, Mighty Networks supports flexible monetization options. You can sell standalone memberships, individual courses, or bundled packages that combine access to both. For instance, you could create a community with multiple tiers and offer premium members exclusive access to your courses and additional resources.
Does Mighty Networks integrate with other tools?
Mighty Networks offers limited integrations compared to platforms like Kajabi or Thinkific. Currently, it supports Zapier for connecting with third-party apps, which enables basic automation tasks like adding new members to email lists or triggering workflows. However, the lack of built-in integrations for major marketing or CRM tools might be a drawback for some users.
How do I engage members in my Mighty Networks community?
Engaging members is straightforward, thanks to interactive features such as polls, live streams, direct messaging, and member groups. To boost participation, you can:
Host live Q&A sessions.
Create challenges or gamified activities.
Post discussion prompts or surveys.
Highlight top contributors with badges or shoutouts. These tools encourage interaction and keep members active in your community.
Is there an affiliate program for promoting Mighty Networks?
Yes, Mighty Networks offers an affiliate program for creators who want to earn by referring others to the platform. Affiliates receive a commission for each new customer who signs up through their unique link. This is an excellent option for creators who actively recommend tools to their audience.
How does Mighty Networks handle member privacy and data?
Mighty Networks takes member privacy seriously. Community owners retain control of their member data, and the platform complies with GDPR regulations. Members can adjust their privacy settings, such as hiding their profiles from others or limiting notifications. As the host, you also have the ability to moderate content and set rules for acceptable behavior.
Can I create a mobile app for my Mighty Networks community?
Yes, with the Mighty Pro plan, you can develop a custom mobile app for your community. This app is fully branded and available on the Apple App Store and Google Play, giving your members a seamless and professional experience. However, this feature is only available at a custom pricing level, making it more suitable for established businesses.
Are there transaction fees on Mighty Networks?
Mighty Networks does not charge transaction fees on its end. However, the payment processor (Stripe) may charge a standard processing fee, typically around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. This makes the platform relatively affordable for managing memberships and course sales compared to competitors that impose additional platform fees.
