Do you have content you teach repeatedly that you could create an online course for?
Adding a digital product to your business offering is an excellent way to leverage your time. You will reap the benefits of your efforts over and over while giving yourself time to concentrate on other projects. Courses can range from short courses that can be created and launched quickly to longer, in-depth training experiences. Offering a course that people find helpful and valuable while building a relationship with your group is key to have customers return for your next course.
What makes a good online course experience?
#1 – Have a clearly defined goal you are helping them reach
- What is the point of your course?
- What action can people take once they have completed the course?
Whether it is learning how to optimize a video or advanced pottery techniques, your course taker should walk away feeling like they received exceptional value out of the course. It is important to design your course to be outcome-oriented and streamlined so they can easily complete it and get to their goal quickly. Offering value in your course means the course taker walks away with a skill they can immediately apply to their work, hobby, life, etc.
Examples of outcome-oriented online courses
- 5 Ways to increase the traffic to your website in 1 hour a week
- How to create custom tumblers to sell online
- Improve your relationships with 5 communication skills
- 10 steps to optimize your YouTube channel for growth and discoverability
In each of these courses there is a clear goal that includes what you will learn and its benefit. Each of these could easily be created by people who have the experience and knowledge to share about these topics.
#2 – Assume they are a true beginner
Don’t assume the people taking your course know anything about your subject. Include the basics in your course.
- Define any terminology you use as they may not be familiar with it.
- Use media to show examples. This includes video, graphics, slideshows, etc. and other media to help clarify your points or steps.
As an example, let’s say you are teaching someone to navigate through YouTube’s video settings. If you are telling people to click on specific things, either show them exactly where that button or tab is through a video or a screenshot with an arrow pointing on the place to click. It might be obvious to you because you are familiar with the layout of the edit mode in YouTube, but your course takers may not be. It might be tempting to quickly click through settings in a video. Try to do these types of tutorials slowly so they can see what you are clicking on to get to the next screen.
#3 – Break down each course or lesson into bite-size, digestible transfers of knowledge.
You don’t want to give your course takers information overload. More is not better. You want them to be excited about learning. When they are frustrated or overwhelmed, chances are they will not finish your course. You want them to finish and feel like they got great value from the knowledge you are sharing.
If you have longer courses, break them into actionable pieces. If at the end of each chapter, your course taker can apply what they learned immediately, they can see results quickly. They are also more likely to move on to the next chapter.
#4 – Offer opportunities for engagement
Building a course shouldn’t be completely a “create-it and forget-it” task. What kind of experience are you delivering without offering some interaction? People learn more when engagement is a component of your teaching.
Offering students a place to engage with you and other course takers can really improve their experience and success. Take some time to invest in them, and you will build a loyal following that is more likely to participate in your next course.
Convene offers multiple ways to engage with members taking your course
- Discussion boards offer a place for people to ask questions. You can also start a discussion topic to encourage participation. If you have assignments with each chapter, this can be a place for users to report on their projects. If you are running a weekly mastermind, have them come report in weekly based on the topic you discussed.
You will need to be active inside your course discussion board for the best experience. Since you no longer must teach your course over and over again, you now have that time to engage and grow a loyal fanbase that will take your next course.
The discussion board is an opportunity for your students to engage and connect with each other so they don’t feel like they are taking the course alone. As a results, you will find students help answer questions as well. This helps build a sense of community and support among the people taking a course.
- Announcements is a feature that only you, the group leader, can use. It is a quick way to send information to everyone enrolled in your course. The course takers will receive it in their dashboard, via email, etc. based on how they have set up their notifications.
- The blogging area is available to use to share additional resources or updated material from time to time. If can be just a video or a helpful tip you want to share, but it will add value to the course.
Ready to build your online course?
It is easy to get started on Convene. First you will decide which community you want to build your group in. There is also the option to create your very own community. For example, if you want to teach one or two yoga at home courses, you could create your group inside either the Wellness or Fitness community. Then you will need to purchase a Premier membership for that community which allows you to create premier groups with paid access.
Because our communities are centered around topics like parenting, fitness, or small business, you have an advantage of existing members that may be interested in what you are offering.
Can’t find a community that is a good fit? Contact us and we can help find a solution that works best for your unique situation.