How to set up an intro or demo video for your online course and how this can help increase conversions Demo or Intro videos are a great way to increase your online course sales. In fact, when I added a short demo video to my own online course it increased sales by more than 30%. Even if you offer your courses for free, demo or intro videos will increase your online course sign ups and lead to more students, more satisfied students, and higher reviews for your course. In a moment we’ll look at how to create a demo video for your online course, but first let’s look at why it works. 5 reasons demo videos work to increase online course sign ups: Demo videos build trust in you and your course by letting people meet you and see who they’ll be learning from. It’s an opportunity to show off some of your best stuff - put some great content in your demo and more people will sign up for the full course It let’s potential students check out what they’re going to get with very little effort It’s your opportunity to sell! You can share who you are and what the course is about - but most importantly tell them why they should take it. Video is the perfect medium. People are coming to expect and love video on the web, don’t pass up the opportunity to use it. 5 Reasons Demo Videos Work to Increase Online Course Sign UpsClick To Tweet Okay, now to the specifics - What to put in your demo video… Here’s the 5 key elements to include in your online course demo video: Let them know why they want to take this course - what is the result they will see? What is the change in their life? Remember, people don’t buy facts or information - they buy results. Let them know what they’ll learn or what’s covered - this can be tied closely into the point above, and you don’t need to go into too much detail about the curriculum if you share the result. Introduce yourself and share a little of your personal experience - the goal here is to build trust in you and let them know why they might want to learn from you. Add value - this one is optional - depending on your sales funnel and whether they know much about what you’ll be offering you may want to offer a sample portion of a lesson for free here. You can also include this in a free trial of the course. A call to action - no demo video is complete without a call to action. Make sure you end with an Invite to join you in the course! The 5 Key Elements to Include in Your Online Course Demo VideoClick To Tweet And the goal is to keep this all to a short video - no rambling! Most attention spans on the web are very short - we recommend you keep it under 2-3 minutes. Shorter if you can. Remember you can always offer more info on the course landing page and in a free trial, as well as in your other marketing materials. How to add a demo / intro video to your online course The next step is to actually add your demo video to your online course. If you’re a Thinkific customer this is super easy to do. Just click on the course editor - pick your course - go to the details tab and add your demo video. You can upload a new one or choose to use a YouTube video. Want to see a quick video showing how fast it is to add a demo video to your course? Check out our Demo Video lesson in our free getting started course here. The post Sell More Online Courses with an Intro Video appeared first on Thinkific.

One of the single most valuable things you can do as an online course creator is to make your courses look AMAZING. Before your students will read your words, they will be drawn to your images. Simply put, stunning images will mean more attention, by more people, and ultimately more students! Free download of over 115 STUNNING stock images for online courses? Yes please! Get yours here:Click To Tweet Sourcing gorgeous images for your online courses can be time consuming and expensive, so we’ve done the legwork for you. We’ve created a download of 115 of our favourite free stock images and pre-sized them for your Thinkific banners and course cards, so they’re ready to go! Ready to check them out? Download My 115+ FREE Stock Images Now Show Off Your Work! We want to see your gorgeous new course images in action. Share your link in the comments for some extra attention!   The post 115+ Free Stock Photos for Your Online Courses [Free Download] appeared first on Thinkific.

Game Developer Salary Survey 2012 - GameCareerGuide.com [Originally published in Game Developer magazine's free Career Guide issue, this annual survey provides a comprehensive breakdown of salaries and job prospects for entry-level game developers and beyond.] Every year, we ask thousands … Continue reading →

Brand new, high converting landing pages are now available in your Thinkific school! Course landing pages are the primary selling platform for your online courses - your landing page is where students find out what they’ll be taught, and where they make the decision to purchase your online course. Today, we are pleased to announce the official release of our newly designed landing pages designed solely to increase sales & signups for your online courses. Course landing pages are the primary selling platform for your courses - do yours convert?Click To Tweet The new landing pages have gone through rigorous testing with our beta team. The confirmation is in - the new landing page gets the nod of approval from both instructors and students alike, and the numbers confirm they lead to more signups for your courses! Key features of the new pages include: Clean design with primary tones pulled from your branding colours to ensure a consistent look with your brand Clear call to action drives purchasers to signup for your course Course description focus, making your sales copy the most important part of the page More prominent instructor bio to start building trust and your relationship, with the option to add long-form copy and HTML to this section of your page To preview and switch your courses to the new design simply: Visit your course in your Thinkific Dashboard View course details Turn on or preview the new landing page via the link at the bottom of the page The post New High Conversion Landing Pages appeared first on Thinkific.

Kelsey is a University of British Columbia alumni with a degree in English Literature and History. While completing her undergraduate degree, she served on multiple student organizations and was the Editor-in-Chief for UBC’s History journal. On top of being an active HelpHub tutor, Kelsey is working in the student services department of a children’s art school as well as facilitating an after school literacy program for elementary students. In the fall, she will begin her graduate studies at UBC in the school of Education. She likes to spend her spare time watching one of Canada’s greatest pastimes, hockey. Ready to work with Kelsey? Get in touch with her on HelpHub or learn more about her below: Social: Twitter - @kelselle Hardest class you’ve ever taken: Geographical Biogeosciences. It was a course recommended for Arts students with very little background in Science. The funny part about this course was that the further along we got with the material, the harder it became to understand. It got to the point where we were being introduced to basic Physics questions - I’ve never taken a Physics class before, and it was hard for me to understand which symbols meant what. On top of struggling with the course material, I felt having to solve Physics questions (with no Physics background) added another challenge to succeeding in the course! How long have you been tutoring/teaching: I spent two years as an ESL tutor. I was recommended to tutor by a friend, I didn’t initially have an interest in tutoring but decided to pursue it after I realized how rewarding it can be. I’m not helping to facilitate an after school literacy program for kids ages six to eight. Previously, I was an editor for two years on the board of UBC History’s undergraduate journal, reviewing submissions and conversing with student authors about their work. I became Editor-in-Chief of the journal in my last year of undergrad. What do you like most about tutoring/teaching? I enjoy making English and History accessible for people that might not be interested in these subjects, or are facing barriers that prevent them from fully engaging with these subjects. I put a lot of emphasis on the learning process and understanding the things that I tutor. I’m always striving to make learning a positive experience for people, that way when they revisit these subjects in the future, they are able to positively and actively engage with the material. What made you decide to major in English Literature and History? I really enjoyed the kinds of questions we were asking in my high school English and History classes. They were thought-provoking, challenged me, and allowed for nuance - I didn’t do well with questions that only had one answer to them, or only gave you two options (yes/no). The assignments and questions I’d encounter in these classes had no control over the process in which I arrived at my answers; I like having agency over my own thinking process. I also enjoyed how these subjects were taught to me: I always felt like my teachers were trying to tell me a story, and I always enjoyed listening. I’m always striving to make learning a positive experience for people, that way when they revisit these subjects in the future, they are able to positively and actively engage with the material. Favorite school memory: I was active in four student organizations during my undergrad. I’d say my best school memories came from being a part of these organizations - although each organization had something different to offer to the UBC community, I felt that all the people I met through these organizations sought to elevate and encourage others to succeed in their own way. I felt very inspired by the people around me - I don’t have any particular memories that jump out at me, but I do remember the way I felt being in these organizations. Favorite subject in school: In high school, I really enjoyed my English and Social Studies classes. At UBC, I enjoyed English and History, as well as the few Anthropology and Gender Studies classes that I’ve taken. I found the discussions from these classes were the most valuable to me; I like learning from others! Favorite late night snack: Vietnamese salad rolls! Is there a subject/trade you wish you could learn not related to your major? Marketing, Communications, Environmental Sciences, and Law If you could study abroad anywhere in the world for free, where would it be and why? Great Britain because was immensely influential in the early beginnings of Canada, I think it would be interesting to study there and see how they teach about North America History. I’d also like to go to New Zealand, they have strong Indigenous Studies programs and initiatives there that I want to learn from! Favorite way to study: I like to think about the themes I encounter in my classes. I stress over paper topics and theses ideas all the time, I never allocate time to think, "okay, now I’m going to think about my term paper topic for my Environmental History course." Because I think about the things I learn outside of class time (sometimes while I’m walking somewhere or grabbing a bite to eat), my ideas come when I least expect them. As a result, I have all these scratch notes and point form texts that I’ve accidentally sent my friends or written on my arms or in my phone. I never think, "well, I have nowhere to write this down, so I’ll think about it again later." Truth is, I’m going to forget it later, so I write down my ideas as they come to me, no matter the situation! Best advice you’ve ever gotten from a teacher or mentor: A fellow student leader once told me, "it’s up to you to make it yours" - it was her interpretation of UBC’s motto, "tuum est," which translates from Latin to "it’s up to you" or "it is yours." To connect with Kelsey, sign up for HelpHub and start chatting with her and thousands of other tutors now!

About Sharkworld | Sharkworld - a project management game Sharkworld offers aspiring project managers the opportunity to gain experience with several aspects of project management in an attractive and motivating setting. The game creates a convincing virtual environment in which … Continue reading →

We’ve got 4 new features to tell you about this week, and all are things you’ve been asking us for so we’re happy to share! Our goal is to continually improve the student experience and their learning outcomes, while making it easier for you to administer and deliver your courses.   Site Wide Promotions Now, instructors can create coupons that apply not just to a single course, but your choice of a group of courses or even your entire site. Huzzah! These coupons give you the ability to offer things like a free course of the coupon holder’s choosing, or a percentage off any course in your catalogue. The promotion ideas here are almost infinite! Details here.   Pass / Fail Quizzes Quizzes are intended to solidify student learning, and you now have the option to show a percentage grade and require a specific score in order to pass. Students will be unable to complete the course until they get a passing grade. Details here.   Student Notifications We’ve given you more control over what emails your students automatically receive. Now you can turn off automated student notifications from the system. Find the new options in your dashboard under notifications.   Private Courses Marking a course as private allows a published course to remain accessible to existing students, but require new students to contact you for enrollment. This is PERFECT if you want to close enrollments on a course, ensure students meet certain criteria before they join, or do a VIP launch of an upcoming course. Details here. An online course platform that listens to its users. More new @Thinkific features! Click To Tweet The post More control over promotions + more appeared first on Thinkific.

About This Project | Adjunct Project About This Project Two-thirds of the faculty standing in front of college classrooms each day are off the tenure track. But getting information about the salaries of this army of adjuncts and the campus … Continue reading →

How to Setup a Free Trial of Your Online Course and Increase Conversions A free trial is a great way to increase sign ups or sales for your online course. For my own online course my free trial increased course sales by over 40%. I definitely recommend setting one up for your course. What do I mean by a Free Trial for your online course? To be clear, I am NOT talking about giving free access to your entire course, not even for a limited amount of time. That just opens you up to abuse. What I mean by a free trial is you pick a few short pieces of content within your course and offer them for free to anyone who signs up for the free trial. After they check out those free pieces, they should be prompted to purchase or enroll before they can access any more information. 3 Reasons Why Free Trials Are Great for Online Courses: It’s a great way to build your list - make sure you collect emails from anyone before they get access to your free trial. Then you can put them into your drip marketing campaign. It builds trust - by giving them something valuable for free and letting them play with the product you build trust in your product and how you’re delivering it. Now they’re more comfortable pulling out the credit care for a full purchase. It let’s you offer something to people who aren’t ready to buy just now. And of course you can then follow up with them later. 3 Reasons Why Free Trials Are Great for Online CoursesClick To Tweet Here are the best practices when setting up a free trial for your online course: Get their email - can’t stress this enough - get an email before they get access to the trial Give value - make sure what you offer for free is of great value - their evaluating you here and if your free stuff is great, they’ll be much more likely to sign up for the full version Keep it short - make sure it’s short enough that they can consume it in one visit - you don’t want them leaving before they hit the paywall. I suggest 2-7 minutes - 15 minutes max. Have a paywall after the free trial - ensure that when the free content has been consumed they are offered the opportunity to pay and sign up for the full version. Set up an auto responder email campaign for anyone who signs up for your free trial. This should be automated so they start receiving emails shortly after the trial starts. Best Practices When Setting up a Free Trial for Your Online CourseClick To Tweet How do you set up a free trial for your online course? If you’re a Thinkific customer it’s super easy to set this all up. In fact we do it automatically for you! All you have to do is tick the box for "include in free trial" next to any content item you want in your free trial. We then take care of all the best practices above including collecting emails for you, and offering up a paywall at the end of the free trial, and with our marketing integrations you can set up autoresponder email campaigns in your mailing system of choice. Of course you could hire a developer to build all this for you, but with Thinkific it’s ready to go in seconds! Already a Thinkific customer? Check out our support article on how to set up your online course free trial. Not yet using Thinkific? Create a free account now to check out how easy it is to get started creating and selling your online courses today. The post Sell More Online Courses with a Free Trial appeared first on Thinkific.

Another great bit of info from Mark Guzdial’s blog: Home About Computing Education BlogWhat happens when professionals take on-line CS classes: When Life and Learning Do Not FitJanuary 9, 2013 at 9:46 am Leave a comment The journal article on … Continue reading →