How to Structure an Online Course

You already have a general understanding of the who, what, and why of your course and now it’s time to start putting it all together (yay!). Your course outline, or structure, is the foundational piece that determines how everything will come together for your student’s success!

Every course will follow a similar, basic structure — introduction, core curriculum, and conclusion with a few assessments strategically sprinkled throughout to gauge your students comprehension and experience. 

But, the entire structure of your course depends on how you choose to deliver your curriculum and what’s actually included in your course.

Choosing the Best Way to Deliver Your Curriculum

Technically, the curriculum is not solely used for courses — and it’s definitely not limited to courses dedicated to breaking down entire topics or ideas, like signature courses tend to do (as they’re typically an alternative to your 1:1).

And how you deliver your curriculum will change how you structure your online course. For example, a signature course and a mini-course might follow slightly different structures — or if your course ‘drips’ it’s content to students or everything is readily available at login.

Essentially, while there’s a general structure to follow, it’s okay to change and adapt it to your specific needs and results. 

How to Structure Your Online Course

If you want to create a course with a successful learning experience, you have to organize your content in a way that just makes sense. Remember, the key here is to create something that works best for your students, not necessarily you.

When structuring your course, you should:

• Give guidance and instructions, tell your students how to navigate your course and what to expect from modules — AKA how to get the most out of their time here. How long should they expect to spend in each? Are there worksheets they should download? Are there assessments? If so, when? Giving this information up front sets your student’s expectations for the duration of your course.
• Focus on progressive learning, sort your modules and sections in the order they should be completed to best understand the concepts. Always group or ‘chunk’ like things together for better comprehension and retention.
• Stick to your curriculum, and if you find yourself trying to deviate from what you already have planned out, head back to your drafts to figure out why (and . Do you actually need more information or are you trying to ‘fluff’ out this section of the course?
• Add assessments, the exact placement will depend on your overall curriculum but assessments are a key component in any (and every) successful online course structure — at least, the ones who want their students to succeed.

If you’re adding more to your course, such as bonus modules, masterclasses, or lessons, make sure you’re separating them from your original course content to make it clear to students that it’s not required to see results (and it’s truly just a special bonus).

Making the Most Out of Your Course (While Giving Your Students the Greatest Experience Possible IN Your Course)

If you want to make the most out of your course (and actually sell your offer evergreen), you have to put your students first. When you’re working on your course — your curriculum, your structure, your slide decks — and you’re not sure about something, think about it from the POV of your students.

You’re the expert — but they don’t need to be. They don’t need to know everything you know, they just need to know what they need to get those final results, put in a way that makes sense to them.And if you’re ready to make the most out of your course and start scaling your impact and income, apply to work 1:1 with me to create an online course you (and your students) can’t stop raving about! Click here to apply.