3 Ways to Create an Outstanding Online Course

We caught up with Bulat Valeev, internet marketing analyst in educational projects, our partner. During his career started in 2011, when he was one of the few digital innovators on the global scale, he helped build dozens of successful online businesses with six-figure profits. Now his approach is largely used by digital companies of all sizes and has proved to be highly effective on the e-learning market way beyond Russia where it was born.

The course planning consists of different stages: defining the main topic, splitting it into arguments, involving other experts if you are not the only speaker of the course, and choosing the e-learning platform to place the lessons.

Once all the preliminary work is done we can move on to the creative part, and this brings up the question: What would be the best way to present the course? There is no uniquely right answer to that because the most suitable format depends on the course theme, goals, and structure. In this article, we would like to review the following 3 incredible methods to make your e-learning product captivating and easy to get through.

1. Pre-recorded video and/or audio lectures.

This way, you do all the work just once and then continue to sell a ready-to-use product.

Pros:

• If the topic is not subjected to constant changes and so there is no need to update information every month or year, the course could stay on the market for a really long time.
• If done and promoted well, this e-learning product could guarantee you a stable passive income without any further effort.
• The customers could watch the course when they want to and pause the lessons every time they get distracted.

Cons:

• The clients wouldn’t be able to ask for clarifications immediately while watching or listening to the lessons and this could make the learning experience less full and immersive.

2. Lessons in live streaming

This option could add more value to the product by establishing the exact time for every lesson. According to the statistics, 90% of the people who sign up for online courses don’t complete them, and one of the reasons is students’ low commitment. They know they can get to the e-learning materials any time they want but almost never do that. So, when you give your customers a schedule to follow they often start caring more. Who would like to miss valuable information that’s already been paid for if soon it won’t be available anymore?

Pros:

• You could increase the percentage of students who gets to the end of the course;
• Your product would be seen as more investment-worthy;
• Students would appreciate the knowledge you share and pay more attention to what you say.

Cons:

• Not all students can follow live streaming lessons.

If you choose this option we suggest you record the lessons anyway and then make them available for students who couldn’t be present during the streaming sessions. But for a restricted amount of time, for example just for one week. This way people will know they can’t procrastinate for too long and will more likely find time to see the recording before it disappears from the e-learning platform.

3. Interactive learning

This approach has already proved itself to be highly effective for online students who often lack concentration, self-motivation, and commitment. It can be used both for the pre-recorded tutorial as well as live streaming format. Interactive learning creates more engagement through numerous incentives and game mechanics such as: assigning virtual points to students, using teamwork, playing educational quizzes, etc.

Pros:

• Gamification elements help drive more engagement;
• Interactive learning makes complicated topics easier to comprehend;
• It creates healthy competition among students.

Cons:

• These elements, if used excessively, could distract students from the subject and reduce concentration on the final goal.

Once you’ve figured out what way is more suitable in your case it’s time to think about how you are gonna communicate with your students. For example, you could give them useful feedback on their progress through a group chat or individually, if the number of participants allows so.

In case you offer personal guidance you definitely can put a higher price on your product. Many clients appreciate the individual approach and would be more likely to purchase an online course including this option, rather than a tutorial where they would be left alone with their questions and doubts.

If you decide on group support it will take much less of your time, since you could wait for the inquiries to accumulate and then answer them at once, within the pre-established period of time. For example, you can guarantee you will get back to your students within two days. It’s better not to extend the wait time any further because the participants could lose track of their studies alongside their motivation to proceed.