Creating an online course
A course sells on its promise and earns referrals on its finish rate. These guides cover the build: turning what you know into an outline with a clear outcome, sizing the course and its videos, recording on a small budget, writing quizzes that teach, choosing between drip and all-at-once release, and issuing certificates.
Each guide opens with a short answer, then the reasoning and the research behind it, so you can make the call for your own students.
10 guides in this topic
Every guide in this topic
- Cohort-Based vs Self-Paced Courses: Which to SellCohort-based vs self-paced online courses: how they differ in price, completion, your time and scale, and how…
- Drip Content vs Releasing a Course All at OnceShould you drip course content or release it all at once? The trade-offs, what research on spaced learning sa…
- How Long Should an Online Course Be?How long an online course should be: size it to one outcome, keep lessons short, and why longer isn't better.…
- How Long Should Course Videos Be? What Research SaysCourse videos should run about six minutes or less. What the edX study of 6.9 million sessions found, and how…
- How to Create an Online Course Outline (With a Template)How to outline an online course: start from the outcome, work backwards to modules and lessons, and add pract…
- How to Record an Online Course on a Small BudgetHow to record an online course on a small budget: why audio matters most, a simple light and camera setup, sc…
- How to Validate an Online Course Idea Before You Build ItHow to validate an online course idea: find the demand, talk to buyers, and pre-sell or run a pilot before yo…
- How to Write Quiz Questions for an Online CourseHow to write online course quiz questions that help students learn: question types, writing good multiple cho…
- Online Course Certificates: How to Create and Issue ThemHow to create certificates of completion for an online course: what to put on them, when to issue them, verif…
- Online Course Completion Rates: Benchmarks and FixesWhat completion rates online courses get, from the MOOC research, and nine practical ways to get more of your…
Frequently asked questions
How long should an online course be?
As long as it takes to deliver one clear outcome, and no longer. Split it into short lessons of a few minutes each, with something to do between them, so students can see their progress.
How do I get more students to finish my course?
Promise one specific outcome, keep lessons short, give students something to do after each one, release content on a schedule or in order, and follow up by email with anyone who stalls.
Do I need fancy equipment to record a course?
No. Clear audio matters more than the camera: a USB or lavalier microphone, a quiet room with soft furnishings, and steady, even light will do more than an expensive camera.