Introduction
You’ve successfully enrolled a new wave of eager students in your online course. Now, the question is: How do you ensure they feel excited and motivated to dive in and NOT request a refund?
After all, you’ve poured your heart and soul into creating a valuable online course. You’ve meticulously crafted the content, designed beautiful visuals including slides that took you far longer than you ever wanted to spend on them, and even recorded a high-quality video experience despite wanting to toss your camera out the window a time or two.
Do you leave it all to chance and hope that your new students are enamored with the concept of learning with you OR do you create a compelling welcome/intro video for your online course?
If you fall into the latter category and want to stack the deck in your favor, today we are going to talk through how to reaffirm our student’s purchase decision so that they are confident and excited, we are going to talk about motivating our students to dive into the content, and ultimately cut down on those refund requests that happen because of cold feet.
Why Course Introductions Matter
Imagine this: a student excitedly clicks the “enroll” button, they are excited, a little nervous, but ready to learn with us. They hand over their credit card information, but then, they’re met with a bland welcome page when they log into the course platform or, worse yet, nothing at all. This can leave them feeling lost, uncertain, or even regret their decision.
This is especially an issue if we have a really well-polished webinar and sales page. We want our student experience to be cohesive from the first post they see on social media to each email they open in our inboxes to the webinar, masterclass, or challenge they complete, to the sales page and to that very first login to the course.
When things are cohesive it will create trust and that trust buys us time to welcome our students into the course and get them settled.
Without a well crafted and cohesive intro video and module for our course, we are creating a situation where our students aren’t engaging and they definitely aren’t feeling welcomed. That tanks our engagement from the start and it can be hard to come back from that. When our students login and are not immediately greeted with a welcome video and experience that is authentic to our brand and approach we have already knocked engagement down a few rungs.
We are also more likely to see an increase in refund requests because our students may feel unsure or unsupported. When we allow that doubt to creep in, our students are more likely to ask for a request especially if we are dripping content and they can’t dig right in to reaffirm their decision as the right decision.
Finally, without a well crafted intro video in our courses, we are missing an opportunity to build rapport and create a connection with our students right from moment one in the course.
Hopefully you are seeing the importance of the welcome video inside your course. It is very much like the intro paragraph in a 5-paragraph essay. It is typically written after all of the other content is complete, but can’t be rushed or it doesn’t properly introduce all that is coming in the essay or in this case your course.
So how do we craft a knockout welcome? Using a lot of the same principles we learned when writing that five-paragraph essay in middle school. We need to have a hook that draws our students in, we need to give them a roadmap of what to expect, and provide a clear next step to take.
Tip 1: The Hook: Focus on Rapport and Establish Trust
Our welcome video truly is a great way to continue building that trust and rapport and should be a big focus on the welcome or intro video inside the course. It is our chance to start that relationship off on the right foot and connect with our students.
Now chances are that they know a little about us if they have purchased our course. They might have been through a webinar with an about me slide, they might have spent a week with us inside a challenge group, or simply been following us on social media.
We don’t need to cover ground that we’ve already covered, but instead can go deeper. Talk from the heart and share our passion for the content and the reason behind creating the course. For example, inside a course on course creation, I might start off a video with something like:
“I’m so glad that you are here. Creating a course is a big step in your business and I know what it felt like to create my first course. It was a mix of excitement, terror, and confusion. There are so many amazing resources out there that it is hard to know where to focus your attention and figure out what steps to take first. If you are anything like I was, I spent hours scouring the internet for free resources and it just left me with a pile of resources that didn’t feel cohesive.
Inside this course, I’ve put together the resources and steps you’ll need to follow in a cohesive road map, with bite sized action steps that you can take even on the busiest day of the week, and for those of you who want to understand the why behind each step, I’ve even shared that with you.
When you complete each step that I’ve laid out, you will end up with a course that you can be proud of, that will help your students be successful in what you are teaching, and you’ll be able clear out your downloads folder where you saved hundreds of resources that never seemed like they fit together and frankly probably never opened.
I’m honored that you chose me as your guide to creating a course and don’t take that trust lightly. If at any point in the process you feel stuck, unsure, frustrated, or ecstatic with your progress, reach out. I’m here to help and want to celebrate those achievements at each step.
We can connect in whatever way makes the most sense for you, but typically that is in our course community, via email, and during our office hours.”
The key aspects to build rapport and continuing to establish trust here is to share yourself authentically. If you aren’t super bouncy and outgoing, don’t need to be super bouncy and outgoing. You do need energy, but you need to be you. This will create cohesion when students watch the course videos that you’ve created.
To go back to our essay analogy you wouldn’t have your five-year kiddo write the intro and then you write the key content. There wouldn’t be any cohesion between the intro and the core of your essay. It would be choppy.
Keep it cohesive.
We also want to show excitement for them trusting in us and joining the course. We can highlight here that we are confident of their success and even show what that might look like for them to succeed. For example, in my sample video start I mentioned having a course that students were successful with but also deleting all of the stuff that had accumulated in the downloads folder when the student was trying to go it alone.
Finally, we want to acknowledge that they have made a financial and time commitment to learn from us and we take that seriously. We will show up for them, just as they are showing up for themselves.
I always think back to my dissertation advisor who said he would put in just as much effort as I did in my dissertation. Meaning, if I put a ton of effort in, so would he.
So the first thing we are looking for in the welcome video is to hook our students into the course by focusing on trust and rapport.
Tip 2: The Process: Set Clear Expectations and Build Anticipation
The welcome video is not just a place to build trust and rapport, although that is important, it is also the place where we set the stage for how the course will flow and build expectations for how the process works.
In our course we want to create a clear structure for our students. In the intro video that means that we can give our students a brief overview of the course modules and what they can expect to learn. By doing that we are taking the opportunity to set the stage.
Not only are we telling them hey here is what you are going to be learning, we are also going to be sharing with them some of the benefits of what going through this course will look like. This is a perfect chance to share just one or two success stories.
Do not fall into the trap, however, of sharing so many success stories in your intro video that it either becomes a sales pitch or students feel like this won’t work for them because they are too different. Choose a story that shows and embodies one of your course students who is in the exact stage that the course is designed for. We want to show that working through the course material can lead to your being successful as a student.
Setting expectations of what to expect from the content gets students excited and ready for what is inside the course. This is akin to the intro paragraph in the essay where you share a preview of the topics that will be covered in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4. It teases the content and keeps the reader going.
The same is true for our students at this moment in the video. We are teasing the content. Now, you might be thinking I’ve done that before in the webinar, on the sales page, and in all of the emails they’ve received. That is, hopefully, true but now they are listening from a different perspective and that same information will mean something different now.
Think about all of the times our parents had to tell us to enjoy childhood because adulthood has a lot of responsibilities. We shook that off and still wished to be “grown-ups” with freedom. As adults, however, that same adage now means something completely different. The same is the case when our students hear what to expect after enrolling in our course.
Let me walk you through what this might sound like for a course on creating courses that picks up where we left off:
“Now that we are ready to jump into the course, let’s review what will be covered so that you can have a really clear understanding of not only where we are starting but where we are heading. I don’t know about you, but it really helps me to know what the end looks like before we even get started with something new.
First up we are going to talk about the topic of your course. What are you hoping to teach and why? Who are you going to be sharing your course with? Then we will dive into the research process to make sure that what you want to offer in your course aligns with what your course students not only need but also want. It is so much easier to sell a course that people are looking for, just like it is easier to read a letter written in black ink vs. invisible ink!
With those ideas in mind, we will break down the creation of your course content beginning with the key areas that you want to cover and then breaking that down further into the objectives, the motivation a student might have to learn the content, the key concepts that you’ll be covering, and even coming up with examples and resources for your students. If that sounds like a lot, I’ve got spreadsheets designed to walk you through each step and if the idea of a spreadsheet makes you want to run, I’ve got a simple word document that works just as well.
Once we get the core content outlined, we will work on the introduction and concluding modules and just like that we will be ready to create visuals and talk through recording the course.
Each step of the way, I’ll be there with you to simplify the process so that even if you tried to create a course before and haven’t been successful, you will get your course finished this time! In fact, my student who admittedly had been trying for years to get her course finished in the midst of raising kids, having a full time job, and still prioritizing her health was able to break down her course faster than she ever dreamed by taking it one step at a time following the same process that I’m teaching you in this course.”
Are you beginning to see how this intro video can really set the stage to get our students excited and ready to put in the work to be successful? We have hooked their interest, focused on building trust and rapport as well as set the stage for what is to come in the course by highlighting key topics and creating a little anticipation with mention of a successful student.
Now we can transition into the final element of a strong welcome video.
Tip 3: The Layout: Provide Clear Next Steps and Support
This is where we want to guide our students into the exact next steps to take and let them know, in no uncertain terms, where to go if they need help. We don’t want to leave them jazzed but turned in circles because they don’t know what to do next.
Since the students know what to expect from the course, we can now teach them where to go to get started, how to access the different types of materials available, how to interact with the community if you are providing one, and how to get in touch with support.
When you are introducing the course platform, it can be nice to show on screen a walk through as you talk them through clicking on each component. Show them where those modules that you just talked about are found, let them know if they need to click complete after a video for their progress to get recorded, and where to find video controls like closed captioning and playback speed.
If you have a resource that they should be working on alongside the video lesson, be sure to tell students where to grab it and to work alongside you in the videos. Again, what we are doing here is setting them up to know exactly what to do. It is just like a recipe. First you preheat the oven, next you mix the ingredients, third you form the cookies on the greased cookie sheet, and finally you put the cookies in for 12-14 minutes. Take them out when they are golden around the edges.
We are doing this exact same concept with our walkthrough. Remember that even the most veteran course taker will have to orient themselves to your platform and setup. Think about taking a course in Kajabi. Each Kajabi course is set up slightly differently to align with the course creator’s needs. Don’t assume that your students can just click in and find everything they need. They don’t live inside your head. We have to provide a crystal clear roadmap to follow.
If you are including a community aspect, office hours, Q&A calls, or anything outside of the course content that they can consume, be sure to share how to get those details, how to add the dates to their calendar, and any actions that need to be taken to participate. For example, if you host Q&A calls, but all questions must be pre-submitted to be addressed, let them know how, where, and when to do that. If they need to register for a Zoom office hours call, show them where to find that registration link.
Essentially, this final part of the video is designed to help our students to take action right away. Whether that is getting involved in the community, completing the first module, or registering for a welcome call. We want them to take action. By taking action, they are more likely to remain engaged in the course, complete the content and be successful, and bonus they are less likely to ask for a refund!
If you’ve been following along with the video I’ve been modeling for you, let’s dive back into that for the final piece:
“So where do you get started? When you first login to the platform you will see all of our modules as you scroll down the screen. Start with Module 1 and when you click into this module you’ll see a few things. First up is the video for the module. On the right side of the screen you’ll notice that there are several resources listed for you. You can print these, download them onto your tablet and write on them, or just fill them in on your computer. Regardless of what you prefer, I encourage you to complete them as you go through the video. There will be plenty of opportunities to pause the video so that you don’t have to come back to it later and risk forgetting what we’ve talked about.
Now one of the cool things about the videos in this course is that you can turn on closed captioning and adjust the speed of the video playback. I know some students who love to slow the videos down a little bit. I’m from the north and tend to speak quickly, and other students who are on a tight timeline and listen to everything at 2x speed. Play around to find the right speed for you.
We do have a community for our course and you’ll want to get logged into that community today and introduce yourself. The link for the community is always pinned on the right side of the screen regardless of what page you are on inside the course. This makes it easy to click and ask questions as they pop into your mind.
And finally, we have monthly office hours where you can hop on Zoom with me and ask your course-related questions. You can register for those office hours with the link found in the Intro Section of the course. Once you register, you’ll be prompted to add the dates to the calendar of your choice. I don’t know about you, but I have a lot going on, so be sure you turn on those reminders as well!
I think that takes care of the major pieces of the course, but of course if you get stuck at any step of the way you can always send an email to support @ my course dot com and we will get back to you within 24 business hours.
If you are ready to jump in, head over to Module 1, download the workbook, and hit play on that very first video. I’ll see you there!”
As you can see, I’ve guided my students through the next steps, shown them where to find resources and support, and even told them what the exact next step to take will be.
Action Item
Speaking of next steps and taking action, we are now to the point of the episode where I ask you to take action. This week, take some time to craft a welcome video for one of your online courses or for your first online course.
You can start by reviewing the entire video script that I’ve shared here and identifying the key concepts that you’ll want to cover. THen you can decide on the mood that you want to set and start crafting your script.
Don’t worry about memorizing it, there are plenty of teleprompters out there to help you deliver your script professionally without having to memorize every word. You should practice your script though. When you read your script out loud, you’ll often find parts that don’t flow quite right or don’t sound like you. Make those adjustments and keep practicing!
Where to Go Next?
There you have it! A well-crafted welcome video can significantly impact student engagement, course completion rates, and overall student satisfaction. By investing time and effort into creating a warm, welcoming, and motivating introduction, you can set the stage for a learning experience for your students that not only makes you feel good, but has you receiving late night emails from students who are absolutely thrilled with their progress.
Now if you are thinking about what it might look like to build your course community, check out Episode 139 where community expert, Deb Schell, shares her wisdom and insights into what makes a great community.
And if you are feeling a little tired right now, but are resisting taking a break in your business, listen to Episode 163 which is all about slowing down to speed up and the importance of taking breaks before they are forced upon you.
I trust this episode was helpful. As always, I love hearing from listeners. Once you record your welcome video, send me a link via DM on Instagram or Facebook at DigitalCourseCreatorGuide so that I can celebrate your progress with you.
Until next time, happy creating!
Video Script
Want to see that entire video script in one place? Your wish is my command. Here is the entire video script from this episode:
(Hook for Trust and Rapport) I’m so glad that you are here. Creating a course is a big step in your business and I know what it felt like to create my first course. It was a mix of excitement, terror, and confusion. There are so many amazing resources out there that it is hard to know where to focus your attention and figure out what steps to take first. If you are anything like I was, I spent hours scouring the internet for free resources and it just left me with a pile of resources that didn’t feel cohesive.
Inside this course, I’ve put together the resources and steps you’ll need to follow in a cohesive road map, with bite sized action steps that you can take even on the busiest day of the week, and for those of you who want to understand the why behind each step, I’ve even shared that with you.
When you complete each step that I’ve laid out, you will end up with a course that you can be proud of, that will help your students be successful in what you are teaching, and you’ll be able clear out your downloads folder where you saved hundreds of resources that never seemed like they fit together and frankly probably never opened.
I’m honored that you chose me as your guide to creating a course and don’t take that trust lightly. If at any point in the process you feel stuck, unsure, frustrated, or ecstatic with your progress, reach out. I’m here to help and want to celebrate those achievements at each step.
We can connect in whatever way makes the most sense for you, but typically that is in our course community, via email, and during our office hours.
(Clear Expectations) Now that we are ready to jump into the course, let’s review what will be covered so that you can have a really clear understanding of not only where we are starting but where we are heading. I don’t know about you, but it really helps me to know what the end looks like before we even get started with something new.
First up we are going to talk about the topic of your course. What are you hoping to teach and why? Who are you going to be sharing your course with? Then we will dive into the research process to make sure that what you want to offer in your course aligns with what your course students not only need but also want. It is so much easier to sell a course that people are looking for, just like it is easier to read a letter written in black ink vs. invisible ink!
With those ideas in mind, we will break down the creation of your course content beginning with the key areas that you want to cover and then breaking that down further into the objectives, the motivation a student might have to learn the content, the key concepts that you’ll be covering, and even coming up with examples and resources for your students. If that sounds like a lot, I’ve got spreadsheets designed to walk you through each step and if the idea of a spreadsheet makes you want to run, I’ve got a simple word document that works just as well.
Once we get the core content outlined, we will work on the introduction and concluding modules and just like that we will be ready to create visuals and talk through recording the course.
Each step of the way, I’ll be there with you to simplify the process so that even if you tried to create a course before and haven’t been successful, you will get your course finished this time! In fact, my student who admittedly had been trying for years to get her course finished in the midst of raising kids, having a full time job, and still prioritizing her health was able to break down her course faster than she ever dreamed by taking it one step at a time following the same process that I’m teaching you in this course.
(Clear Next Steps) So where do you get started? When you first login to the platform you will see all of our modules as you scroll down the screen. Start with Module 1 and when you click into this module you’ll see a few things. First up is the video for the module. On the right side of the screen you’ll notice that there are several resources listed for you. You can print these, download them onto your tablet and write on them, or just fill them in on your computer. Regardless of what you prefer, I encourage you to complete them as you go through the video. There will be plenty of opportunities to pause the video so that you don’t have to come back to it later and risk forgetting what we’ve talked about.
Now one of the cool things about the videos in this course is that you can turn on closed captioning and adjust the speed of the video playback. I know some students who love to slow the videos down a little bit. I’m from the north and tend to speak quickly, and other students who are on a tight timeline and listen to everything at 2x speed. Play around to find the right speed for you.
We do have a community for our course and you’ll want to get logged into that community today and introduce yourself. The link for the community is always pinned on the right side of the screen regardless of what page you are on inside the course. This makes it easy to click and ask questions as they pop into your mind.
And finally, we have monthly office hours where you can hop on Zoom with me and ask your course-related questions. You can register for those office hours with the link found in the Intro Section of the course. Once you register, you’ll be prompted to add the dates to the calendar of your choice. I don’t know about you, but I have a lot going on, so be sure you turn on those reminders as well!
I think that takes care of the major pieces of the course, but of course if you get stuck at any step of the way you can always send an email to support @ my course dot com and we will get back to you within 24 business hours.
If you are ready to jump in, head over to Module 1, download the workbook, and hit play on that very first video. I’ll see you there!
