Those who have little experience with creating online courses often make typical beginner mistakes. These can quickly become fatal: participants lose interest after a short time, and the entire course fails to achieve its purpose. We will show you examples of online courses that contain exactly these 5 mistakes.
These are 5 typical beginner mistakes
We at blink.it have been observing numerous online courses daily for years and also experience which courses are quickly successful - and which are not well received by participants. Benefit from this experiential knowledge now and avoid the following typical mistakes:
Jumping directly into the content
100% Copy&Paste from existing documents
Giving unclear or no instructions
Using overly text-heavy content
Neglecting the benefit for the participants
Why these mistakes can be particularly fatal and what good online courses should look like instead, I will present to you now in more detail based on an example.
1. Typical online course mistake: Jumping directly into the content
Clearly: A good introduction to the online course is particularly important. Because if your participants drop out at the beginning, the rest of the course can be perfectly crafted. If your online course starts directly with the content, the participants are quickly overwhelmed.
Therefore, the rule is: Even if you have communicated the framework conditions in advance (e.g. via email or verbally), you should never start an online course directly with the content.
Not a good approach: Jumping directly into the content without an introduction. Source: blink.it learning platform
Instead, do it this way:
Welcome the participants, preferably in a short, personal video
Introduce yourself as the course leader: Who are you? Why are you the expert on the topic?
Briefly present the framework conditions of the course: Overview of topics, duration of the course, benefits for the participants (see mistake No. 5)
2. Typical online course mistake: 100% Copy&Paste
Want to save time and use existing documents for your online course? There is fundamentally nothing wrong with that - however, you should not rely on 100% Copy&Paste. Good content is always adapted to the current format. You should invest this extra time to provide appropriate content for your participants.
Not a good approach: Uploading one document after another without comments. Source: blink.it learning platform
This means: You can certainly incorporate the existing PDF overview of fire safety regulations in the company into your online course. However, make sure it is placed appropriately and write a few sentences about why the participant should look at the PDF. Also choose an appropriate heading instead of just using the document name.
3. Typical online course mistake: Giving unclear or no instructions
The A and O of further education, whether in person or online, is clear instructions. What should the participant do with the information? We at blink.it repeatedly see content that has been posted without a call to action.
Not a good approach: Omitting the instruction (call-to-action) to the participants. Source: blink.it learning platform
A call to action should be formulated clearly and concisely. Don't write too long and complex! Your participant should understand the request immediately upon their first reading. This point leads us to another typical mistake...
4. Typical online course mistake: Too much text
We humans are visual beings. To keep your participants engaged in online courses, you should not use too many pure text-based contents.
Not a good approach: Using one text content after another. Source: blink.it learning platform
Video content is particularly popular among participants in online courses. The videos don’t need to be of outstanding technical quality - good sound and a length of less than 3 minutes are already worth their weight in gold! You can easily create short introductory and explanatory videos with your smartphone and thereby enhance your course!
Of course, text content is allowed in the online course as well! However, try to use it sparsely and support it with videos and images.
5. Typical online course mistake: Neglecting the benefits for participants
We all have busy schedules and prioritize our daily tasks. What does not offer us an obvious benefit does not have priority in our minds. Therefore, never forget to mention the benefits for your participants!
This means: A good online course guides the participant through the content in such a way that they always know why they should engage with this or that content. The overall benefit of the online course, which you should mention at the beginning (see mistake 1), is particularly important. This can be, for example, a certification, or also a personal benefit like improving a soft skill.
Overview: This is how to do it right!
If you avoid the five mentioned typical beginner mistakes, your online course will have a very good chance of success from the very beginning. This is how to do it right:
Clarify framework conditions at the beginning
Provide appropriate content
Give clear instructions
Use varied formats
Communicate benefits
By the way: As a customer of blink.it, you can get feedback from online course professionals! blink.it offers all new customers the opportunity to have their first course draft reviewed and receive personalized feedback. So that every blink.it course really becomes a success. 💡
