📝 What to Include in Your Course Introduction
Viewers see the value of your course in the first 20 seconds!
The introduction chapter sets the tone for your entire course. I wouldn’t say this is the hook for your course since the hook would be your marketing and promotional content. But if someone is paying $100-$1000 on your course, it’s good to give them an idea of what to expect in the coming chapters (or modules… however you break down your course!).
Here are the key elements any good course introduction video has —
🤩 An Attention-Grabber
Yes, your hook is your promotional content, but you need to keep the tone going by providing information that will keep your audience engaged!
Some good ideas for an attention grabber are:
A lesser-known fact or statistic
Animation
A story relevant to the course
A thought-provoking question
Evoking an emotional response
🕒 Course run-time
Online classes give your students the freedom to study anywhere at any time, but that doesn’t mean your course will have a 100% completion rate. This is because some students may start the course and find out they don’t have time to finish it. If you don’t mention the duration of the course, your audience will have a hard time making appropriate space in their schedules.
For that reason, it might be a good idea to film your introduction video at the end of your course, when you have a better understanding of the material and the run-time
💡 Learning outcomes
You may have mentioned this already in your promotional material, your website, and the PDF handout… but it bears repeating. Take a minute to explain the value your course will bring to the student so you are both on the same page before diving into the heavy stuff!
✏️ Materials provided
If your course includes free worksheets, downloadables, or a PDF textbook, now is a good time to mention where your students can get the resources from.
If, for example, your students need the textbook for Module 6 because it contains key definitions, you don’t want them to navigate all the way back to the introduction module to download it. Help them be prepared for your content!
📚 Resources provided
If you are using links to other lectures or journal articles, tell your students where they can find them. Also, let them know if they need those extra resources for your quizzes or if they’re just for extra knowledge on the subject. This will help your students manage their time better with your course!
Your introduction chapter is a window into the rest of the course, so make sure you tell your students everything they need to know! This will increase your credibility as a course creator and give you a better completion rate.
Your conclusion is just as important! To learn what points are crucial to include when closing your course, check out this article!
If you’re thinking of creating a course and need some guidance on structuring and scriptwriting, you can contact me through my website! I offer additional services like branding, animation, voice-over, and promotional content creation.