Creating an online course? Why video may be the wrong option and what to choose instead
Answer three questions and you’ll know what format to use for your next online course.
Three questions that help you decide which format to use.
Many people consider a collection of information a course if it’s delivered as a series of videos. But this is far from the only way. And often it’s the wrong choice. But what are the alternatives? And how do you know which is best for you?
“I bet you can’t write the book with just 50 words.”
This is what Theodore Giesel’s editor said to him as he was working on his latest children’s book. Giesel, whose pen name was Dr. Seuss, accepted the challenge. And if you count the words in the book he was writing, titled Green Eggs and Ham, you’ll find he used exactly 50 words. Seuss won the bet.
But did the children reading the book care or even notice?
Probably not. They just enjoyed the entertaining play with words. Similarly, when we create a course, we are often told to use specific formats such as video whether our audience wants to consume information that way or not.
This is why I’ll show you the logic behind choosing one format or another from the perspective of effective teaching. This way you’ll find a medium for your course that will help your clients achieve their goals.
First, what are the main media used to create a course?
They are audio, video and text. Of course, sometimes there can be photographs, cartoons, and diagrams but typically these are embedded in text or video.
So how do you decide which ones to use?
Here are three questions to help you decide.
1) What format are your students working in?
If they want to learn to be freelance writers, then you’ll likely want to use the format they are used to — text. If you teach video editing, you’ll likely need to demonstrate the software using video. A course on how to use your voice effectively might easily be done with audio.
2) What format makes it easier to demonstrate what you teach?
Ian Westermann makes his living teaching tennis online. He uses videos to teach forehand, backhand and how to move on the court. There are books on tennis, but it’s far easier to learn by seeing someone play so he made the right choice when he chose video for his courses.
When I was learning copywriting, all the early courses I took were text-based. Later, I took a course that had a lot of videos. It was a pain. I had to stop to take notes a lot and I couldn’t see the copywriting principles demonstrated as effectively. In the text-based courses, the entire lesson was a good demonstration of effective copywriting, not just the examples of sales materials.
3) With which formats are you most skilled?
Are you good at writing or dream of improving as a writer? Then create a text-based course. Do you shine on camera? Then try making a video format work.
This may seem to contradict my earlier advice about using a format that makes the most sense given your subject matter. However, it doesn’t have to. If you know that text would work best for the subject matter but you would rather speak on camera, then make sure to supplement each video with worksheets and maybe even give printed transcripts.
If you prefer writing but you’re creating a course that shows how to use a software program, you can write up material about the ways to use the software, then create videos that actually show you which buttons to press and in which order. Mix and match as needed.
A lot of people stall on course creation because they feel they need to make a video course.
Sometimes they are camera shy. Sometimes, they just don’t want to do the extra work involved in making a good instructional video. That last one applied to me. I had a large list of students that I had sold an ebook to on how to do well on the SAT Essay — a college entrance essay. Many expressed an interest in a course that I was thinking about developing.
At the time, I thought a course had to be video-based. And since I hated all the production time required to create videos, I never developed the course. Years later, I took some fantastic online courses that used no video at all. Since then I’ve rewritten three courses from the ground up. I used text for all three.
And each new course I develop is also text-based. I add video only when needed to demonstrate a concept in action. My development time is much shorter and the students love the ease with which they can review the material compared to the old video courses.
But won’t my course have less value if there is no video?
This is what I used to think. When I started making courses for a coaching company about 10 years ago, video was all the rage. Eventually, it seemed that a series of videos was synonymous with a course. However, we soon discovered that video can actually make learning more difficult. The material in a ten-minute video can often be read in a PDF that would take half as long to read. Those minutes add up when people are busy. Also, people frequently feel the need to pause videos to take notes, adding additional learning time.
What we discovered when we switched our course formats is that value comes from getting the desired results, not specific formats.
If you can get the same result by audio, video or text, you’ll pay the same amount. For example, would you pay more to learn how to write stunning articles, if the course was on video, audio or text assuming each format got you the desired results? Probably not. In fact, you might pay more if the format just happened to be the one that’s the easiest to consume — and that’s usually not video.
It may sound like I’m against video courses. I’m not. I do believe that there are times when it’s helpful to make a video course. What I want you to leave with is knowing that your course doesn’t have to have video. It can be audio or text-based and still command a hefty sum.
To sum up, when choosing a format, don’t get seduced by video
You can use audio or text too or any combination of formats. Try choosing a format based on what type of content your students will be creating. If they’re writers, give them text. If they are working on a physical skill, give them video.
You can also choose a format based on what type of content makes it easiest to demonstrate a concept. For example, it’s easier to show a list of headlines in a text document, then it is in an audio presentation.
And lastly, consider what format you have the most skill or interest in using. It’s better to choose a format that you like if that ensures you actually finish creating your course.
Like most children, when I read Green Eggs and Ham, I had no idea it used just 50 words.
All that mattered to me is that I was entertained. When you create your course, keep in mind your clients have a result in mind too. Deliver that and they won’t care how many lessons you have or in what format they come. They’ll be too happy enjoying the results of learning form you.
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