7 Online Course Growth Tips: How to Create an Immersive, Engaging and Branded Experience

The course is the new business card. It's a powerful way to communicate your expertise and connect with potential clients, customers or audience members.

But creating an immersive, engaging and branded experience in a self-paced online environment can be challenging for even the most seasoned instructional designer.

To help you get started, here are 7 tips that will make it easier for you to create an exceptional online learning course!

Clarify the transformational benefit to the student.

A course that provides a transformational benefit to the learner is one with strong call-to-action.

The more obvious and apparent this benefit is, the better your chances of generating interest in the student are.

This means you should be able to clearly outline what it takes for students to attain their goals by taking your online course before they sign up!

Here is a quick fill in the blank course value proposition exercise to support you:

• No one can teach ________ quite like I can!

• When _____ (identify ideal client) takes my course, they begin to SEE _____ differently.

• When _____ (identify ideal client) takes my course, they begin to FEEL ________ instead of _________.

• When ____ (identify ideal client) takes my course, they begin to EXPERIENCE _________.

Focus on the student.

Create a true "student centric" experience by using language that connects readers to you emotionally, even if this means using personal pronouns such as "you" or "I". Build a relationship between the course content and the learned. Resist the urge to spin into theory. Make it relevant and relatable so that the information can be applied.

Infuse apps, art, audio, dance, design, fashion, film, gamification, graphic design, illustrations, music, nature, play, photography, software, travel and video into your course experience.

Connect your online course with all of the student's senses. Describe places and experiences in detail so they can see them through their own lens (or camera).

Trust that incorporating these visual elements into your training experience will strengthen their leadership abilities. Research has shown that visual arts assist with strengthening the communication of ideas that educate, entertain and inspire; encourage creative thinking when taking risks and preparing the studentto become courageous leaders.

Don't limit yourself to using clipart that comes pre-packaged with your learning management system (LMS).

Utilize images from your own camera or open source websites like Pixabay, Unsplash or Flickr as they offer free stock photos for academic use (including commercial).

Use images strategically throughout your course and make them relevant to the topic being discussed.

Don't use jargon or industry-specific terminology.

Instead, write as if you were talking directly to them face to face. If you're stuck for words then show your course instead of telling it – with images, audio and video!

Use a lot of headings and subheadings so that readers can easily scan what they are about to read next and where their attention should be focused. People tend not to read blocks of text on the web; rather, they skim through looking at key points only before deciding whether or not this is relevant information – keep this in mind when creating content

Identify content gaps through research or analytics.

You are encouraged to take your own course in addition to running a BETA group. You will be shocked, stunned, and amazed at how easy it is to start on one topic, start rambling, go off topic and confuse your students.

Make sure all course components have been thoroughly tested and vetted prior to launch such as: stories, quizzes, prerequisites, assessments, and course material.

Make it easier on learners by providing access to all supplementary material in one place so they don't have to search around for links or attachments. ..

Organize content into chapters based on learning objectives.

Make it easier for students to find what they want quickly by using clear section headings and descriptive titles across all learning objects in a course.

This should include materials such as: webinars, supplemental documents , videos, guides/cheat sheets etc.

If you're not already doing this when developing courses online then now is a great time start Not only will organizing your content in this manner make it easier for students to navigate, but it will also help them better understand the key takeaways of each chapter as well.

Three ways to encourage students to participate in your online course experience

Online courses are more than just lectures about a certain topic; they’re immersive experiences where students can come together from around the world with like-minded individuals who share their passion for knowledge and learning.

Creating such experiences requires careful planning by course instructors to ensure maximum engagement among students while overall control over content and branding within the group.

Here are three ways you can encourage students to participate in your online course:

1. Be sure that content is available and relevant for all experience levels, while also being challenging enough to keep more advanced learners interested. This means creating a balanced syllabus with activities appropriate for each level of student abilities. It’s not necessarily about dumbing down concepts or tasks—it’s about making them accessible yet interesting so everyone feels engaged throughout the course duration.

2. Encourage discussions by using open-ended questions at regular intervals during lectures as well as after main lessons have been presented. Also consider hosting live Q&A sessions where participants can ask any burning questions they may have topics discussed inside and outside of lectures.

3. Finally, consider allowing students to take assessments on their own time and at their convenience whenever possible (e.g., quizzes, group projects). This gives everyone the opportunity to participate equally while also making learning more accessible for those who have other demands/responsibilities in life that may interfere with a regular course schedule (such as day jobs or family commitments).

In the comment section, please share your biggest takeaway.