6.7 million. That’s a big number. It also just so happens to be the amount of college students (in 2012) that had participated in at least one online course. But what does that have to do with you? A lot, actually. Basically, this number signals the meteoric rise of online learning resources. More and more, people are turning to the internet as a resource for building knowledge. The convenience of learning in any location coupled with the low overhead costs of creating the courses becomes a win-win for everyone. That trend has spread to adults outside the confines of higher academia. Coursera, Code Academy and edX are just a few examples of free online learning institutions people use. Even Stanford, Harvard and Yale have joined the fray to offer free courses. Which brings me back to you. If you have an online presence, you need to offer some sort of course. By providing a learning tool in your niche, you offer value to any prospective visitor. The five templates our editor chose for this roundup will help showcase your new course in the best (and highest-converting) light possible. Without further ado, let’s launch right into it!
1) Sell Your Online Course by Jen Gordon
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Click here to see the entire template.[/caption] What better way to start a roundup about online courses than a template literally named Sell Your Online Course? And Jen Gordon, the author of this template, is an accomplished conversion expert. She has well over 3,000 split-tests under her belt, and her landing pages are the well-honed end result of these experiments. What stands out about this page is the engaging design. Everything has a flat, clean look, and the matted colors give the template a subtle modern feel. The first-fold is gorgeous and offers a lot of utility with a video opportunity and two opt-in buttons. Not only that, but there are icons that peak slightly above the first-fold cutoff, which is a subtle signal that the visitor should keep scrolling for more information. In true Jen Gordon fashion, the remainder of the template is chock-full of big-time conversion triggers. She’s included testimonials, social proof via number of users, specificity with countless course highlights/descriptions, and personality through displaying the faces of the instructors. This is a rock-solid template if you’re looking to market your online course. VIEW TEMPLATE >>>
2) Create an Online Course Instantly by Bryan Harris
The last template excelled at highlighting the key points of your course. It gave a great overview and was designed for the end goal of eliciting a buy-response. But what happens when they do buy your course? Do you have a page where customers can access every aspect of your course? Not only do you need a page like this, but it needs to be just as intuitive and gorgeous as your initial sell page. This Create an Online Course Instantly template by Bryan Harris is a simple and perfect solution for this next step. The first fold is clutter-free and places emphasis on the lesson. The video occupies a majority of the space, and a quick description is placed to the right of it along with a button to advance to the next lesson. Under the main video, the rest of your course lessons are displayed with their titles and descriptions in a well-designed column format. This template strikes a fine balance between lesson interaction and storage, which makes this page a valuable dual-use asset. VIEW TEMPLATE >>>
3) Flat Pre-Launch Template by Lucius Kern
But perhaps you strive for simplicity with your lesson page. You may not need a multi-fold, long-form resource template because you want people to focus on the lesson at hand. That’s why templates like the Flat Pre-Launch Template by Lucius Kern exist. What we like most about this template is the emphasis it places on the lesson (in video form), as well as its ability to give lesson highlights below the main video. One underrated feature of this template is the “Video Sneak Peek” section in the header. One of the big worries in other templates like this in other marketplaces is the ability to move between different lessons in non-sequential order. The button below the main video can advance you to the next lesson, and most templates use that as the sole course navigation (which is a problem). With this template, you can link to a maximum of four other lessons, allowing customers to have that extra bit of navigation freedom. This template is a clean and simple way to keep customers focused on one lesson at a time. VIEW TEMPLATE >>>
4) 8 Week Training Course Sales Page by Chris Johnstone
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Click here to see the entire template.[/caption] If you’re looking for a more robust way to market your course, this 8 Week Training Course Sales Page by Chris Johnstone is by far one of the best templates for long-form promotion. There’s a video opportunity right at the top of this template, which has now become standard practice for most online course marketing pages. It is preceded by a catchy headline space and followed by an opt-in button, so visitors will be intrigued right away if these sections are strong. The lesson descriptions are where this template stands head and shoulders above the competition, though. There are eight separate content sections (and three bonus sections) that were created to give in-depth overviews to each lesson in your course. And wow, are they beautifully designed. Each section has its own color background, alternating between two darker, muted colors to make the content pop off the screen. Additionally, the sections all feature a headline, a left/right aligned image and unlimited room for a course description (though we recommend no more than half a fold in length). Throw in subsequent testimonial sections, a pricing table, an “About Me” and a few more opt-in buttons, and it’s easy to see why this is one of our editor’s favorite templates. VIEW TEMPLATE >>>
5) Single Speaker" Event/Presenter/Coaching/Minisite by Travis Moore
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Click here to view the entire template.[/caption] Our last template is an interesting one. As you can see from the title, it’s mostly meant for events/coaching/minisite useage. But, just like so many templates in the Marketplace, with the right amount of imagination you can use the Single Speaker" Event/Presenter/Coaching/Minisite template by Travis Moore for an online course (and it works extremely well). If I didn’t tell you right away that this was an event-based template, you’d think this was tailor-made for an online course. The first fold is gorgeous but, more importantly, it features a registration countdown timer. This timer can be used to create a sense of urgency for visitors, prompting them to sign up for your course because registration could end soon. Then, the template moves into an overview section, which can easily be used to talk about the entirety of your course. It’s laid out well, with video/image areas justified into the text areas. Plus, within the text, there are spots for checklist callouts, which just adds to the nice graphics/text combo. And, just like the 8 Week Training Course Sales Page, this template has a large section to call out each lesson in your course. Unlike the previous template, however, this template gives you 14 potential lesson areas (as opposed to eight). The template wraps up with a testimonial section intermingled with text or video options, a VIP section, a pricing table, an “About Me” area and a final opt-in button. Travis Moore just keeps cranking out excellent template after excellent template, and this page keeps that legacy going. VIEW TEMPLATE >>>
