Online courses can be extremely versatile and a powerful tool to help a range of businesses. Bloggers could offer courses on organization, crafting, cooking, and interior design. A tax and budgeting firm might offer education programs. A virtual music store could offer online classes and sheet music, as well as supplies and music sheets.

No matter what course type you offer, student engagement matters. Interested learners will complete your courses and sign up for more. They will also leave positive reviews and recommend your business’s services to friends.

Let’s now take a look at how you can make your courses more interesting.

1. Break your courses into digestible pieces

Our attention spans don’t last very long. While studies vary in length, most studies agree that adult attention spans are between 20 and 30 minutes.

It’s possible to have enough quality, interesting content for hours of curriculum. However, your students might not be able to engage for as long as you expect.

This can be done by breaking down your courses into manageable pieces, using categories and subcategories. If you are selling a course about starting solids for babies, then you might break it up into groups such as:

• Introduction to solids
  • When is it time to start eating solid food?
  • Signals of readiness
  • Equipment and gear that are essential
  • First feeding schedule

• The first food to try
  • How to cut and prepare
  • Examples of recipes

• Introducing allergens
  • Common food allergens
  • Watch out for warning signs
  • Serving allergens: Tips

Each group may contain text, images, videos, and printable resources. They can be completed at their own pace, or they can sit down and work through them all at the same time.

These categories are called Courses, Modules, and Lessons by Sensei LMS. Each Course can be divided into many Modules and then broken down into multiple Lessons.

This makes navigation easy for students and allows them to see quickly what’s up in the course.

2. Make effective graphics 

Graphics is a powerful tool to engage students. >Approximately 65% are visual learners. Images can add interest to your courses and help you convey concepts better.

Images can be incorporated into courses in many ways. If you are listing numerical data, create a chart or graph to represent it. A photo of the ingredients side-by-side is a good way to compare their differences. Pictures are helpful if you’re talking about a particular type of houseplant.

These graphics are possible using a variety of techniques. There are many options. You can hire a graphic artist to assist you, but you can also take your photos and create images with software such as Canva, Photoshop, or stock photos, when necessary.

Here are some tips to help you create graphics and choose photos.

• High-quality photos are important. You don’t have to hire a professional photographer but you should ensure that the photos you buy or take look professional. Clear images of the subject should be taken. The lighting should be easy to read and the subject of the photo should always be clear.

• White space is important. White space refers to the area around the graphic’s content. If you have a line or pie chart with text, make sure you leave enough space for it to breathe. This allows people to better understand the meaning of your graphic.

• If possible, include photos of people. Humans are wired to respond to faces and our attention naturally shifts to them. People will be more likely to connect with you and your subject matter if photos include a friendly face.
• Make sure you are selective in your text and that it is large enough. For a variety of reasons, graphics should not contain too much text. It can make it difficult for people with vision impairments to read large amounts of text. Screen readers cannot even see the graphic and can’t see what it contains. Keep text to a minimum and make sure that your font size is sufficient. Alt text can be provided for accessibility purposes. Find out more about digital accessibility.

• Do not get too complicated. Avoid using too many busy graphics. They will compete with each other and the educational content in your courses. Your images should grab attention and make the course more interesting. Sometimes simplicity is the best strategy.

3. You can appeal to many learning styles

Everybody learns differently. There are many learning styles and you should appeal to as many of them as you can if you want to get students interested in your subject matter. These are the most common learning styles and how you can cater to each learner.

• Read/write: Students learn best through words. You can include written instructions and information on the course pages or as downloadable PDFs.
• Visual: Images, videos, and graphics are ideal for visual learners. One study found that viewers remember 95% of the message after watching a video, as opposed to 10% when they read it. Video can be a powerful tool for educating online.

• Auditory: This type of learner prefers to listen and speak to gain information. You might also include videos explaining concepts that students could listen to. You could also offer students access to podcasts, host a Zoom call where one-to-one discussions are possible, or incorporate songs into your teachings.

• Kinesthetic: These students have a natural ability to learn by doing. This might be difficult to transfer to online learning. Get creative! Students can create their sewing patterns, give them a list to photograph each week or ask learners to design a logo.

Let’s suppose you offer online cooking classes. You might want to address all four learning styles within one module. If so, you could have paragraphs about the principles of making bread rise. Include an infographic explaining the science, and a video showing you discussing the principles, and then assign students the task to make their bread.

4. Make sure to use a compelling narrator

A good narrator is a key component of making videos for your courses. This concept is well-known to audiobook fans. Listeners can be put to sleep by a boring voiceover. However, a person who is engaging and entertaining can have the exact opposite effect.

Your narration should reflect the tone of your course. Are you able to make your topic funny and unique? Are you serious and sensitive? You are helpful and approachable. This should be reflected in your videos.

Also, take the time to adjust the pace of your narration. Your voiceovers can become too fast, making it difficult for students to understand. If you are speaking too fast, listen back and start again.

Don’t try to imitate your favorite voiceover artist. No matter how hard you try, you won’t sound like Morgan Freeman. That’s not what students want. Be yourself!

This is a great option if you don’t feel confident in your voice. You can find great voiceover talent available to hire for a fraction of the cost.

5. Use polls and quizzes

You can use polls and quizzes to find out how your students absorb information, learn more about them and engage them at an even higher level. You can also use them to break down your content and provide something new and exciting.

Each module could be started with a survey. Ask questions to help students learn more or encourage them to share some fun facts about themselves. What are they hoping to learn from your course? What is their biggest accounting problem? Which song is their favorite? What number of cakes have they made?

You can also add quizzes to your course. Sensei LMS quizzes can be associated with lessons. You can also create questions that are based on the lessons that students have just completed. Mixing question types — true/false multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer, fill in the gaps, etc. — can keep things interesting.

It is possible to set question types such as multiple choice or true/false that will be automatically graded. You can also manually grade open-ended questions. This allows you to identify areas for improvement and to reach out to students who may need extra assistance.

6. Create a community

The difference between online and traditional learning environments is in the community. Online students miss the opportunity to sit next to others in the class, discuss topics, and ask questions loudly.

An online community can be created using either a WordPress plugin or a social media platform such as Facebook. Topics can be divided by lesson or module, or based on student characteristics such as age, location, and instrument. Students can discuss subjects with each other, share ideas, ask clarifying or difficult questions, and even form friendships that will encourage them to continue learning.

7. Gamification can be integrated

Gamification is a way to apply principles from gaming, such as point scoring and competition, to other mediums like online learning. This is a great way to be creative! Here are some ideas:

• Incorporate quizzes and challenges into your lessons

• Award points are based on the completion of tasks and scoring well on quizzes. — With a prize for students who earn the most

• Students who participate in your forums often deserve badges to reward them

• To motivate students to complete a module, add a progress bar to your courses

• Students can share their grades on social media

Gamification can make learning more enjoyable and encourage healthy competition. This will make your courses more interesting for students.

8. Know your audience’s needs

Your students will find the best way to engage with your courses is to give them what they need. Your students will be more likely to complete your course if you answer all their questions, help them reach their goals, and then recommend it to friends and family.

Knowing your target audience is the first step. Take some time to get to know your students or those you wish to acquire. What are their biggest challenges? What are their goals? What are their goals and objectives? What is their learning style and what are their goals? What is their time availability? What amount are they willing and able to spend online?

Next, adapt your course content and format to meet their needs.

It all comes down to your students

Your online learners will always be at the core of what you do. You can keep your learners interested and purchasing more if you consider their needs when creating your courses and formatting your classes.