8 Tremendous Ways Courses Reward Your Membership Group
Online learning has become more popular recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic and growing conversations about accessibility. Online courses are now widely used in schools, organizations, and even for employee training. Online courses can also be a way to reward the membership group of your brand or website.
Online courses have many benefits and can allow your audience to learn more about your niche or topics related to your brand. Online courses can motivate people to get more involved with your brand and, in turn, help your membership grow and learn with the flexibility that only online courses provide.
Keep reading for eight ways that courses reward your membership group and learn how you can incorporate online courses into your brand or website.
1. Education
One clear benefit of online courses is the education they provide. Giving members a way to gain knowledge and expand their expertise on topics they’re interested in is the main purpose of courses in the first place. Online courses are a fun way to learn more about topics in any niche and are taught by experts in the field.
Providing members with resources to learn about various topics allows them to apply what they’ve learned to work, hobbies, or other aspects of life. Courses can also be a way for members to learn about topics they’re unfamiliar with. Members have the opportunity to explore potential new interests through courses, as well as develop current knowledge.
2. Opportunity for Growth
Online courses allow members to grow by acquiring new skills and applying them to their lives. New knowledge from courses can be used to grow in jobs or school. Courses also allow for personal growth. Whether it looks like professional development or gaining skills to grow as a person, courses can help members grow in their personal lives, as well as professionally.
Courses can also help people grow in terms of learning about new topics. Maybe someone has always wanted to learn about a certain topic but hasn’t had the resources to do so. Online courses can provide this opportunity for members to expand their skill set.
3. Exclusive Content
Courses are a way to provide more value to your membership group. This incentivizes people to subscribe to your membership group but is also a way to reward current members. Courses are another form of content that members have access to, which in turn, encourages people to continue being a part of your membership.
Ultimately, more content accessible to members is one way to reward them. You may already provide some forms of content, like blogs or graphics. Courses are an additional resource to this existing content. Not only do courses increase the volume of content on your site, but they add to members’ experience on your site.
4. Make Connections
Courses allow connections to be made in many ways. Members can make connections based on the content they interact with. For example, they may make connections between the course and their lives or their jobs. Members may also make connections with other people.
Depending on the nature of the course, this may happen directly through the course. If the course involves interaction with other people or a real-life instructor, participants may be able to connect with people directly.
More commonly, however, members will be able to take what they learned and make connections with people they know in real life. Maybe some members know others who are members on your website, who they can connect with about what they learn. Members can also use their new knowledge to make connections with other people at work or in school. If there are courses offered on professional development, members may even directly learn about networking and growing by making connections with others.
5. Quick Feedback
Online courses have the benefit of providing quick feedback. Compared to in-person classes and training, online courses allow for speedy and accurate feedback. Most courses give feedback based on scoring done electronically.
There is also something to be said for online courses having more measurable results since many online courses score different activities numerically. This shows users exactly where they were lacking and how they can improve on the topic.
Courses reward members by providing them feedback in this way. By telling users how they can improve, they get a greater opportunity for growth. Feedback can be used to improve performance not only within online courses but also in real-life applications. If the course material connects to the member’s work or school, feedback can help them grow in those contexts.
6. Convenient Learning
Online learning can be done from anywhere and at your users’ own pace. This is important because most people have other responsibilities to manage while also trying to grow and expand their knowledge. Online courses can be done from anywhere at any time, making it easy for members to benefit from online course content. The flexibility offered with online courses is not mirrored by in-person training and allows more people to take advantage of courses.
Online courses also allow users to access the course content whenever needed. Members can go back and reference course resources when they need them.
7. Provides Value
The purpose of online content for your brand, in general, is to provide value to your target audience. Online courses provide value as an avenue for growth and learning. Online course content should connect to your niche or the topic of your brand to best interest your audience.
When thinking, “How can I create a compelling online course?” you should consider who your audience is and why they are interested in your brand. Then, create content based on what you believe your audience would be interested in learning more about.
8. Personalized Learning
One of the biggest benefits of online learning is the fact that it is personalized. Beyond being able to work at your own pace and when you want to, online courses can be personalized to the user’s needs and interests. Many online course systems offer a variety of course choices that members can choose from based on what they want to learn about.
Online courses also are accessible to different learning styles, incorporating visual, reading, auditory, and interactive elements. This makes it easy for members to stay interested in the courses and retain knowledge.
How Can I Plan and Create Online Courses?
When planning online courses, you’ll first want to think about what topics would be interesting to your membership group. You should start by researching who your audience is and which existing content they interact with most. You can also take trends and popular interests into account based on age and gender.
Once you have an idea of some topics your audience may be interested in, you will need to determine who will be in charge of creating courses. While it is good to have someone on your team who can lead building courses, a course management system can facilitate the process of creating your courses.
When thinking about which platform works best to create an E-Learning community, LearnDash is a popular platform for WordPress websites. LearnDash includes a course builder, capabilities for quizzing and exams, and other opportunities for integrations. Once you know which topics you’re going to create courses on, who will lead on creating them, and your platform, you can start creating your courses, as well as marketing them to your audience.
A good course management platform should make creating your courses easy. Announce your courses on social media, through email, and on your other online platforms. Promoting courses can be incorporated into your marketing plan to try to interest existing followers and reach new people.
Add Online Courses to Your Brand
Online courses can provide unique benefits to your brand and your members alike. In addition to how members benefit from your courses, online courses encourage your audience to get more involved with your brand. They are also another way to promote your business to people who may be unfamiliar with your brand but are interested in your courses.
Cosmik Carrot offers website design for WordPress websites. Incorporate courses into your website with the help of professional web designers. Contact us to get started today!