Photo of OptinMonster University review

A review of OptinMonster University as a digital marketing resource

Hi, I’m Polina! Formerly, I worked as a senior digital marketing manager and now I am a marketing mentor at Pathrise. I help job-seekers prepare for their future in digital marketing. Check out my review of OptinMonster University.

What does OptinMonster University do?

OptinMonster University offers online courses, guides, and video lessons to help people launch a career in digital marketing. Students go through the program at their own pace. Courses consist of recorded video lessons, guides, and downloadable resources. They are all presented step-by-step so students can put their new skills to use.

Photo of OptinMonster University

Their website currently hosts courses that each only take about 1 hour to complete. Courses cover a range of marketing topics such as email marketing fundamentals, lead management, conversion strategies, website building with WordPress, targeted traffic, blogging, and welcome emails. Among the 12 courses are also special introductory guide courses. These are for publishers, non-profits, small businesses, SaaS companies, and eCommerce stores to help them learn the ropes of the platform and put their learning to use.           

Photo of review of OptinMonster University

Many  resources are available beyond their courses, including 39+ free downloadable guides and 30+ free videos to help people become a digital marketer. Guides usually consist of short e-books, checklists, quickstart instructions, and infographics. Free videos only last about 5 minutes each. However, they cover a wide variety of topics such as marketing data strategies, marketing analytics, monetization, e-commerce, email marketing, list growth, targeting, and product features. Case studies supplement the recorded lecture videos with more practical examples to help students apply their new marketing skills to the real world.

Who is OptinMonster University for?

People looking to launch a new career in digital marketing with little to no experience could benefit from OptinMonster University. The program is especially helpful for people who prefer learning via video lessons, e-books, checklists, and downloadable guides. Since courses are totally remote and only take 1 hour to complete, they may be extra beneficial for people with full-time jobs or other full-time commitments.

What does OptinMonster University cost? How much work is involved?

The program comes free with a paid subscription to OptinMonster, which ranges from $9 to $49 per month depending on the level. 

Since the program comes with a subscription to OptinMonster’s marketing tools, no formal admissions process is necessary. Most courses, guides, and video lessons are for complete beginners.

Ratings and reviews

Since OptinMonster is a marketing tool, OptinMonster University does not have many online reviews. However, their full platform holds a 9.2/10 rating on Trust Radius. One user appreciated that “they have OptinMonster University to learn how to use the platform better and learn strategies for digital marketing in general”. The user also liked that learners “get access to an inner circle Facebook group of other users.”

A review by Learning Revolution was impressed by the comprehensive curriculum, commenting that it “teaches all aspects of creating sales funnels and conducting email marketing campaigns.” A review on Offsprout’s blog also described the learning resource as “a great resource to help marketers looking to get the most out of their list building software.” Overall, OptinMonster University has been very well received, but many users seem to use it to learn about OptinMonster’s platform rather than teach themselves marketing from scratch.

Alternatives to OptinMonster University 

If you choose not to use OptinMonster University, there are a number of alternative bootcamps and resources that can help you launch a career in digital marketing.

  • Aspiring digital marketers looking for affordable self-paced courses can check out Udemy. Their platform hosts 100,000+ video courses in digital marketing. Students only pay around $10 per class and get lifetime access to their course. 
  • Students on a budget can also look into SEMRush Academy, QuickSprout, and Facebook Blueprint. These resources all offer free online digital marketing courses.
  • Another online platform with self-paced learning is Udacity. They host both free and paid courses on a variety of tech subjects, including digital marketing. Students in Udacity’s nanodegree programs work 1-on-1 with mentors while getting hands-on practice. Learn more about Udacity in our review.
  • The online bootcamp GrowthX Academy offers courses for people who are interested in digital marketing, business development, product management, and UX design. 
  • Other learning resources with digital marketing tracks include Pluralsight, Bootcamp Digital, Digital Creative Institute, and InternStreet.
More alternatives
  • People seeking affordable self-paced courses can check out edX. This huge online learning platform hosts both free and paid courses in topics such as marketing. Their courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Read more about edX in our review.
  • Another platform with university courses, Coursera teaches a huge variety of tech topics, including digital marketing. They often collaborate with universities and top tech companies like Google when designing their curriculum.
  • The tech bootcamp Tradecraft offers courses in growth marketing, sales, product design, and more. Their 12-week program is designed to help people land a job at a high-growth startup, emphasizing practical entry-level skills.
  • Another tech bootcamp with digital marketing tracks is Noble Desktop. This instructor-led program has live classes and lots of opportunities for portfolio building with in-demand marketing tools.
  • One of the most popular bootcamps with a digital marketing track is General Assembly. Their program is hands-on and project-based, ensuring students graduating with polished portfolios to help them get a job. Find out if General Assembly is right for your career goals in our review.

How does OptinMonster University compare to Pathrise?

OptinMonster University is an online resource that helps people start a career in digital marketing. tThe program teaches users about marketing fundamentals, but it does not offer job support. Pathrise is a full service organization that helps students through all phases of the job search.

While OptinMonster University does come with a Facebook group and staff willing to answer questions, their program is entirely self-directed with no career services. Pathrise fellows get unlimited 1-on-1 mentoring sessions to optimize their resumes and LinkedIn profiles, build their portfolios, prepare for technical and behavioral interviews, negotiate salaries, and much more. Our experienced mentors have already helped 1,000+ students and professionals land great jobs. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows pay nothing until they land a tech job.

Like OptinMonster University, our program is also flexible, with only 2-4 hours of sessions per week and fellows can schedule 1-on-1s as needed. Since OptinMonster University is a low-commitment resource that comes free with useful marketing software, it can be used at the same time as Pathrise to sharpen marketing skills during the job search. Extra practice with free video courses, guides, and articles can help job seekers keep up with marketing trends and ace interviews.

Pathrise is a career accelerator that optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentoring. Fellows in our program can see their interview scores double and their response rates triple, landing jobs in just 3-5 months on average. If you are interested in working with any of our mentors to land your dream job, join Pathrise. 

Apply today.

Pathrise logo
Alex MacPherson

Hi I'm Alex! Since graduating from UC Berkeley in 2019, I have worked on the growth team for Pathrise helping job seekers hone their skills to land their dream role through curated content on interview prep, resume building and more.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *