how to create an engaging online course that sells

by Fritz Anderson 6 min read

How to Create an Online Course That Actually Sells (& Gets Results)

  1. Find Your Winning Course Idea. Start with the big picture. What will your course be about? ...
  2. Discover The Achievable Result. Remember what I said about getting your student results? ...
  3. Conduct Market Research For Your Course. Once you have a pretty good idea of your topic and the result students can get from your course, it’s time to ...
  4. Outline Your Course Content. You have a winning topic idea, know your course concept is profitable, and know what results your target audience wants – awesome!
  5. Choose A Course Hosting Platform. A course platform is where you will actually be hosting your course content. ...
  6. Create & Develop Course Content. Using your completed course outline, it’s time to get started and actually create the content. ...
  7. Use a Beta Group For Your Online Course. Once your course content is created, uploaded, and ready to go – it’s time to do a trial run. ...
  8. Market, Launch & SELL! Your Online Course. You have a successful course. Now it’s time to launch it to the world, and impact lives. ...

How To Create Engaging Online Courses
  1. Keep The Learning Modules Short. The attention span of learners is much shorter than most learning modules. ...
  2. Use, But Don't Overuse, Video. I've tried creating engaging content with audio over a presentation created in PowerPoint or Keynote. ...
  3. Keep It Simple. ...
  4. Create Interactive Elements.
Apr 20, 2017

Full Answer

How can I create engaging online course content?

Nov 18, 2020 · How to Create an Online Course That Actually Sells (& Gets Results) #1 – Find Your Winning Course Idea. Start with the big picture. What will your course be about? Maybe you have a general... #2 – Discover The Achievable Result. Remember what I said about getting your student results? That is the ...

How to create an online course for free?

Jun 25, 2019 · Fortunately, Reuven’s first secret helps clear things up on that front: If you want to make creating engaging courses simple, keep things on the slim side. Secret #1. Keep your courses short and focused. Reuven’s first tip is to break up your course content length into smaller, more digestible chunks and keep it short and focused.

How to create a best-selling online course?

How To Create Courses That Sell Online. You can utilize several video sales letter structures, which I’ll cover in a future post. The primary issue with video sales letters is that your item can sound too excellent to be true. That’s where the next part comes in. 3. Client Reviews in 2019 and beyond … Clients are hesitant.

How to succeed in the e-learning industry?

How to Create Engaging Sales Copy for Your Online Course. You can create great, helpful online course content, but if you can't sell it you've wasted your time and hard work. Here are a few tips for getting your value proposition across to prospective customers. When we created our first online course in 2010, we were about as nervous and ...

How do I create an online best selling course?

Let's recap the nine essential steps for selling your online course:Choose a subject that sells. ... Create your online course. ... Choose where to host and sell your course. ... Decide how much you will charge. ... Increase the value (and price) of your course. ... Seed launch your online course. ... Market and sell your online course.More items...

How do I create an online Engage course?

Here are some moves you can make to keep students engaged through differentiated instruction:Include more videos in your courses. ... Make your presentations more dynamic. ... Level up your presentation with a voiceover. ... Make your lessons interactive. ... Keep an eye out for what works for others.Nov 17, 2020

How do you design a course to sell?

Share this articlePick the perfect course topic.Ensure your course idea has high market demand.Create Magnetic and Compelling Learning Outcomes.Select and Gather your Course Content.Structure Your Modules and Course Plan.Determine the most engaging and effective delivery methods for each lesson.More items...•Sep 1, 2021

Is it profitable to sell courses online?

Create and sell online courses Today, more and more people willingly and actively approach the internet to create courses and make money. Creating and selling online courses is a lucrative business trend that has seen a steady rise over the past few years. You can create a course on almost any topic.Nov 3, 2021

How do you design an engaging course?

5 Easy Steps for Creating an Engaging Online CourseBe Prepared. It is best to have the online course created before the start of the semester, so the course is not being designed while students are simultaneously progressing through the course. ... Be Concise. ... Be Innovative. ... Be Unique. ... Be Available.Jun 14, 2017

What are five design tips to improve online courses?

5 Tips for Engaging Online Course DesignDevelop Course and Module Learning Goals and Objectives. ... Use Multiple Media for Learning Materials. ... Choose Appropriate Learning Tasks. ... Humanize the Technology. ... Include Multiple Learning Assessments.

Do online courses sell well?

Creating and selling online courses is a booming market internationally. The eLearning market is expected to exceed $325Billion by 2025, with a yearly growth of 5% (Global Market Insights)! Becoming an online instructor means you could be earning from a few hundred dollars per year to a six-figure income.Feb 8, 2022

How can I promote my online course?

5 Coolest Strategies to Promote Your Online CoursePublish a course promotion video on YouTube. YouTube is the second largest search engine, with 30 million people visiting it every day. ... Build an email list. ... Start a podcast. ... Publish a book on Amazon. ... Host a live webinar.

How much do online course creators make?

You can make anywhere from $500 to $50,000 and more by teaching online courses. To determine how much money you can make from online courses, all you need to know are the size of your audience, how well you can convert those people into buyers, and the price of your program.Jun 9, 2021

Which online platform is best?

What Are the Best Online Learning Platforms?Udemy. Udemy is one of the best online course platform marketplaces with over 24 million students, 35,000 instructors, and unbelievable 80,000+ courses. ... Shaw Academy. ... Skillshare. ... LinkedIn Learning. ... Treehouse.Feb 5, 2022

What online courses are in demand?

Top Trending Online CoursesData Science. ... Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. ... Big Data. ... Business Intelligence. ... Cloud Computing. ... Project Management. ... Software Development. ... Full-stack development.More items...•Jan 1, 2021

How much can you make creating a course?

Your skepticism is probably firmly rooted in the fact that the amount people have earned from creating online courses varies widely. Your course could literally earn anywhere from nothing to upwards of $50K a month.Aug 19, 2021

How to create an online course

Creating an online course is easier than you think. Pick a ready-to-use course, edit it based on your needs, and share it. Or choose a template fro...

How to design an online course

ProProfs offers plenty of appealing course templates for you to choose from. Pick a course template that resonates with your brand. Pick a theme an...

How long does it take to create a course?

Depending on your training topic and whether you use a ready-made course or template, it takes just minutes to create a beautiful course. Keep the...

How to embed a course on a website

It’s easy to embed a course on any website with ProProfs. Just copy the embed code of your course, set your preferred resolution, and paste the cod...

Why engagement is the only thing that matters for online course students

When it comes to selling online courses that aren’t engaging -- which happens a lot -- the results are “bad for everyone,” according to Reuven.

About the author

Cyn Meyer is a content marketer for Podia, an all-in-one platform where online courses, digital downloads, and membership websites – alongside their creators – thrive. Cyn also enjoys playing music, helping retirees live active, healthy, engaged lifestyles, and hopping into the ocean.

You can create great, helpful online course content, but if you can't sell it you've wasted your time and hard work. Here are a few tips for getting your value proposition across to prospective customers

You can create great, helpful online course content, but if you can't sell it you've wasted your time and hard work. Here are a few tips for getting your value proposition across to prospective customers.

Lead With Your Main Strength

It’s easy for online course creators to create a great deal of content, feel very good about every detail they’ve covered over the last 100 hours, and cover every single detail on a sales page.

Use Stories Relentlessly

We were fortunate to have some success with our WP Courseware WordPress LMS plugin early in its infancy, but we gained some traction early on from some pretty successful users who were influencers in their space.

What is a learning management system?

Most Learning Management Systems include various tools to facilitate interactivity. Simple quizzes are one option. By placing a single multiple choice question at the end of each lesson, you can evaluate student engagement. Of, course, you also can use some of the more advanced tools.

Why are discussion boards important?

Discussion boards are also effective learning elements because they give learners the opportunity to engage with one another. This can be a big boost to the learning experience because it negates the isolation that many students cite as a reason to not engage in online learning.

How to make an online course more engaging?

An easy way to make online courses more engaging is to stimulate the student visually. This means pictures and videos. The simplest method of using picture and videos in an online course would be constructing your online class more like a PowerPoint presentation:

What is the most important part of creating an online course?

One of the most important components of creating an online course is setting a learning goal for the course . However, there’s more to it. Every online course consists of various sections, and each individual section also needs to have a clear learning goal.

What is the target audience of an online course?

The target audience is the group of people to whom you are writing your course.

What does it mean to get started teaching?

Which means you need to get your knowledge together.

Is teaching more than imparting knowledge?

Remember, teaching is more than just imparting knowledge. Never in human history has so much knowledge been so accessible to anyone with such a low barrier for entry. Just on your phone, you can bring up a wealth of information about Nuclear Physics with just a few keystrokes. Fifty years ago, you’d have to break out an encyclopedia or a book dedicated to the subject, and it’d be just as much work to get another point of view on the same topic.

Is it easier to drop out of online courses?

The thing with online courses is that it’s a lot easier to drop out of them: you just stop, and there’s no consequences at all, nothing to bite you for not completing. This understandably damages completion rates. A study examining sixteen online courses offered by the University of Pennsylvania revealed that the average completion rate was 4%.

Is it a waste of time to create an online course?

It’s crucial that you decide on a specific course subject in the beginning phase of creating your online course. Be as specific as possible.

How long does it take to hook a student in a promo video?

That’s why your promo video has to hook potential students in within the first 3 - 5 seconds.

How to make a CTA stronger?

If you want to make the CTA even stronger, use a sense of urgency and words filled with emotion.

What is a promo video?

The promo video is a student’s first contact with your course and sets the expectation for what they can achieve with your eLearning offer. If the video is slow and uninspiring, that sentiment will influence their decision to enrol. It can engage the prospective student by clearly showing how their life can improve after completing the course.

Why are graphics important in video?

Graphics are a powerful tool to emphasize the main benefits and the results of enrolling in your course. They also help to keep the video feeling dynamic. Remember, varied visuals make the video interesting and increase engagement.

Why do we need a script?

Writing a script helps you make the video as short as possible while still communicating the most essential information. It also helps you pre-visualize the video footage, still images, or graphics you’ll need to keep the edit feeling dynamic and interesting to the viewer.

Easily build engaging online training courses using our templates, assets & library

Create engaging online courses from scratch or use our professionally designed templates. Add your existing presentations, documents & videos, along with quizzes & surveys. Get reports & track learners across all devices.

Add Quizzes, Surveys or Flashcards

Quizzes test your learners on how well they learn and retain your course content. You can add short quizzes throughout your course or provide a longer quiz at the end of your courses.

Create a Delightful Course Effortlessly

Use one of the easiest online course creation tools. No download, no setup fee, no hassles! Zero learning curve. Creating an online course couldn’t be simpler.

Create a course in minutes

Make an online course easily with ProProfs Training Maker. Visit ‘create a course’ section and start your journey. No extra payment to make and no application form to fill.

Create Beautifully Designed Courses

Use course creation software to create a course online easily from scratch. Develop your design or layout. You can also utilize our professionally designed ready-to-use training templates to reduce your efforts. Customize courses according to your course objectives and personalize them by adding your company logo, brand name, color, and designs.

Add Videos, Quizzes, Surveys & Presentations

Help learners identify critical information easily through engaging course content. Use videos, images, flashcards, and presentations. It is easy to test a learner’s progress through quizzes and gain valuable feedback about the course through surveys.

Create a Course Effortlessly

Create a training course by customizing one from a library of 600+ ready-to-use expert courses, which include sexual harassment, food safety, and healthcare. You can also import and personalize content from other learning management systems. Design your own course or use professional templates from the library.

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Keep The Learning Modules Short

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The attention span of learners is much shorter than most learning modules. Traditional education wrongly convinced us that students will pay attention for forty-five minutes or more. The truth is they were never paying attention, they just didn't have an "off" button. With online learning, the option to turn off the presenta…
See more on elearningindustry.com

Use, But Don't Overuse, Video

  • I've tried creating engaging content with audio over a presentation created in PowerPoint or Keynote. That works for a short time, but it isn't effective for an entire course. Another client had a very successful course, but he was intrigued by my claim that I could make it even more engaging. He accepted the challenge. Upon review of his successful course, I discovered every lesson wa…
See more on elearningindustry.com

Keep It Simple

  • Professional videographers cringe when they hear me tell people to use their phones and a wired lapel microphone to record course videos. Professional videos do look better, but a simple video can get the job done. You can purchase a tripod mount, microphone, and extension for less than $50. Resist the urge to use recordings of live presentations. They make the students feel as if th…
See more on elearningindustry.com

Create Interactive Elements

  • Most Learning Management Systems include various tools to facilitate interactivity. Simple quizzes are one option. By placing a single multiple choice question at the end of each lesson, you can evaluate student engagement. Of, course, you also can use some of the more advanced tools. The trick is to give learners something to do. Discussion boards are also effective learning elem…
See more on elearningindustry.com