When creating a course, downloadable, or any online product, it’s important to reflect on how your material will be received. Luckily there are practices that you can implement during the creation process to ensure that the student experience is as impactful and valuable as possible.
Ideally, your students will feel welcomed, understood, and considered by your content. The better the experience your products provide, the more likely it is that your students will undergo a positive transformation, become lifetime customers, and leave positive reviews. This can also give you a boost when it comes to achieving your business goals. Read on to find out how!
6 ways to create a positive environment for your students
1. Get intentional with what you’re teaching
Of course, you know what the overarching goal of your course or downloadable product is. Whether that’s sharing about oil painting skills or about being a spiritual business owner, you and your audience know the niche in which you reside. Have a specific intention with each product that you offer. Define what students will walk away with a new understanding of. When doing this, be as specific as possible and include it at the beginning of your course or downloadable.
For example, instead of “By the end of this course, students will know how to knit” you could say “By the end of this course, students will be able to confidently create basic knit stitches and cast on and off.”
You can also create an intention for how students will feel as they go through your course or product. Perhaps they will feel supported, inspired, or motivated—setting the intention at the start of the creative process makes it easier to weave elements into the product that elicit these feelings and create the best learning environment for students.
2. Provide students with support
We all need some encouragement at times. That includes your students who are excited to learn. To help offer them support, you can set emails that send during specific times of the cohort-based course. This can be especially helpful if there’s a certain module or lesson that’s more challenging or tends to have higher drop-off rates among students. You can also include FAQs as part of the content, and provide students with a way to reach out to you, extra resources, and other places they can get support. This is also a great way to connect with potential coaching clients if that’s something you offer!
3. Cater to different types of learners
Learning is certainly not a one-size fits all experience, so keep in mind that there will be a variety of learners engaging with your material. The three main types are visual, audio, and kinesthetic/tactile. You can be sure you’re appealing to each learning style type by including at least one support for each type of learner.
- Visual learners – Include charts, graphics, video with text or graphics overlaid, have notes or a written summary of the most potent information
- Auditory learners – Offer spoken elements of the content, videos, music
- Kinesthetic learners – Provide hands-on practice assignments, games or puzzles created out of content/quizzes, encourage learners to make flashcards or their own visuals
4. Getting in a good headspace
The better and more confident you feel about your course or product, the more able you are to show up for your students consistently, and the more likely you are to share what you’re offering. Writing a letter of gratitude is a great way to get the positive emotions flowing and to elicit genuine excitement about what you’re offering. Studies show that writing a letter of gratitude can shift your brain chemistry by significantly improving mental health in the weeks following this practice. Before you launch your new product, take a moment to write a letter of gratitude for all the people that will invest their time, money, and energy by signing up for what you’re offering. This will still make a positive impact, even if you don’t share it!
5. Include a welcome message and end on a positive note
Taking the time to include this opening and closing message can go a long way in terms of setting a positive note for your students. It can be short and sweet—make sure to express your gratitude that they’ve chosen to learn from you, and applaud them for investing in their own learning! The end message can also include a question for reflection or an invitation to leave feedback. Not only is this a neat way to open and close the learning experience, but it helps people to feel more connected to and appreciated by you.
6. Use a visual tracker
One powerful way for students to track their progress and feel motivated to keep going is through a visual goal tracker. Using a goal tracker that you can see, and envisioning it to be complete, increases the chances of you successfully completing your goals. You can provide this for your students by creating a chart or tracker that highlights different benchmarks of the learning process—like mastering different skills or putting in a certain amount of practice time. This is also an encouraging way for students to stay on track and celebrate the progress they’ve made!
Implementing these strategies
Find what fits best with your course, downloadable, or podcast—whether that’s one or all of the strategies, they’re sure to help students have a more positive learning experience so they can really get the most value from what you’re offering. As you get more intentional with the learning environment you’re creating, watch as your audience has more positive transformations and your product sales continue to grow!
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