Creating an online course or coaching program can be an excellent way to share your expertise, help others, and earn a passive income. However, creating a successful course requires more than just knowledge of your subject. You also need to understand how to engage your audience and keep them motivated to complete the course.
In this article, we’ll share three powerful strategies from the app and game industry that you can use to increase student completion and skyrocket your sales.
1. Gamify Your Course
Gamification is the process of adding game-like elements, such as points, badges, and leaderboards, to your course. This can make the course more fun and engaging for students, and give them a sense of progress and accomplishment as they complete each module.
When gamifying your course, it’s essential to focus on intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic rewards.
Intrinsic motivation refers to the internal desire to learn and improve, while extrinsic rewards refer to external incentives like points or badges.
To create a gamified course that focuses on intrinsic motivation, you can use techniques like feedback, autonomy, and social interaction.
For example, you can provide students with immediate feedback on their progress, give them the freedom to choose which modules to complete first, and encourage social interaction through online forums or group coaching sessions.
Mobile App & Game Developers Use Gamification Very Successfully
Gamification is a technique that has been used by game developers and app creators for years to keep their users engaged and motivated. Gamification involves incorporating game-like elements such as points, badges, and leaderboards into non-game contexts to motivate users and increase their engagement.
One way mobile app and game developers use gamification is by providing users with rewards for completing specific tasks or achieving certain milestones within the app or game. For example, in a fitness app, users may be rewarded with virtual badges or points for completing a certain number of workouts or for reaching a specific fitness goal.
Another way developers use gamification is by creating challenges or competitions that encourage users to engage with the app or game. For example, a mobile game may offer a limited-time challenge that rewards users with in-game currency or exclusive items for completing specific objectives within a set timeframe.
Mobile app and game developers also use gamification to create a sense of progression and accomplishment for users.
By providing users with clear goals and a sense of progress, they are more likely to continue using the app or game and to feel a sense of satisfaction when they complete tasks or achieve specific milestones.
In addition to providing rewards and creating challenges, mobile app and game developers also use gamification to foster social interaction among users.
For example, a language learning app may include a leaderboard that shows users how they stack up against other users in terms of their language proficiency. This can create a sense of community among users and motivate them to continue using the app to improve their language skills.
Overall, gamification is a powerful tool that mobile app and game developers use to keep their users engaged and motivated. By providing rewards, creating challenges, fostering social interaction, and creating a sense of progression and accomplishment, developers can create a fun and engaging experience that keeps users coming back for more.
As a course creator, can use gamification just as popular games and apps do to increase engagement and, hopefully, completion rate of your courses.
2. Use Microlearning
Microlearning is the process of breaking down your course content into small, bite-sized pieces. This makes it easier for students to digest the material and prevents them from feeling overwhelmed.
When implementing microlearning, it’s essential to keep the following principles in mind:
- Chunking: Breaking content into small, easily digestible chunks.
- Relevance: Ensuring that each chunk of content is relevant to the overall learning objective.
- Repetition: Reinforcing key concepts through repetition.
- Retrieval: Encouraging students to retrieve and apply their knowledge through quizzes or other assessments.
By implementing microlearning principles, you can make it easier for students to learn and retain information, which can increase completion rates and overall satisfaction with your course.
How Mobile Apps & Popular Games Are Already Using Microlearning
One way that mobile app and game developers use micro-learning is by incorporating it into the gameplay or user experience.
For example, a language learning app may present users with short, interactive lessons that focus on specific words or phrases. By breaking down the learning content into small, manageable pieces, users are more likely to engage with the material and retain what they have learned.
Another way that mobile app and game developers use micro-learning is by providing users with quick, easy-to-digest tips and tricks for using the app or game.
For example, a productivity app may offer users short, daily tips on how to be more productive at work or how to manage their time more effectively.
Mobile app and game developers also use micro-learning to provide users with immediate feedback on their progress.
For example, a language learning app may offer users a quick quiz after each lesson to test their understanding of the material. This immediate feedback helps to reinforce what the user has learned and provides motivation to continue using the app.
In addition to breaking down learning content into small pieces to make it more digestible and memorable, mobile app and game developers also use micro-learning to create a sense of progression and accomplishment for users. By providing users with a clear path to mastery (or winning), they are more likely to stay engaged with the app or game and to feel a sense of satisfaction when they achieve specific milestones.
Overall, micro-learning is a powerful tool that mobile app and game developers use to keep their users engaged and motivated.
By breaking down learning content into small, manageable pieces, providing immediate feedback, and creating a sense of progression, developers can create an engaging and effective learning experience that keeps users coming back for more.
3. Offer Personalized Coaching
While online courses are often self-paced, offering personalized coaching can help keep students accountable and motivated.
This can be in the form of group coaching sessions, one-on-one coaching, or even just email support.
When providing personalized coaching, it’s essential to tailor your approach to each student’s needs and learning style.
For example, some students may prefer one-on-one coaching, while others may thrive in a group setting.
It’s also important to set clear expectations for your coaching program and establish boundaries to ensure that your time is used effectively.
You may want to limit the number of coaching sessions per week or set specific office hours to avoid burnout.
By offering personalized coaching, you can provide students with the guidance and support they need to complete your course successfully.
In conclusion, creating a successful online course requires more than just sharing your knowledge. By implementing strategies like gamification, microlearning, and personalized coaching, you can create a fun and engaging learning experience that keeps students motivated and increases completion rates.
Remember to focus on intrinsic motivation, break down content into bite-sized pieces, and tailor your coaching approach to each student’s needs. With these strategies, you can create a highly successful coaching program or online course.
Don’t Overestimate The Power Of Community
As we all know, completing an online course can be a challenging task, especially for those who are working full-time or have other responsibilities.
One way to make the process easier and more enjoyable is to create a sense of community among students.
A community experience in an online course can take many different forms.
It may involve creating discussion forums or chat groups where students can interact with each other and share their experiences.
It may also involve assigning group projects or team-based assignments that require students to collaborate and work together.
One of the benefits of creating a community experience in an online course is that it can help to reduce feelings of isolation and frustration that students may experience when studying on their own.
By connecting with other students who are going through the same experience, students are more likely to feel supported and motivated to complete the course.
In addition, a community experience can also provide students with opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and mentorship.
By interacting with other students who have different backgrounds and experiences, students can gain new insights and perspectives that they may not have otherwise considered.
They can also learn from each other’s successes and failures, which can help to reinforce key concepts and increase their motivation to complete the course.
Finally, a community experience can also help to increase accountability among students. By working with others and sharing their progress and goals, students are more likely to stay on track and to hold themselves accountable for their own learning.
Overall, a community experience can make it easier for students to complete online courses by providing them with a sense of support, collaboration, and accountability.
By creating opportunities for interaction and peer-to-peer learning, online course creators can help to create a more engaging and effective learning experience that motivates students to complete the course and achieve their goals.
And finally, and almost most important, a community you create to support your own courses, can be monetized!
After all, this is a community of people who have already purchased your course and are now ready to purchase your next course.
