Create the perfect preview for your must-see course
A second-by-second guide to making video previews that get attention
A course preview is like a movie trailer for your course. It’s a video of two minutes or less on your course landing page that helps learners understand what you’ll teach and, most importantly, how you’ll teach it.
To find out what makes an attention-getting preview, we ran tests and looked at hundreds of course previews. Then we came up with a second-by-second guide for how to make your video effective. Watch the video, and then see how we break it down.
First 3 seconds
Course Image Placeholder
Start with a slide showing your course image or branding.
This allows learners time to maximize the video player and adjust the volume.
Next 20 seconds
Welcome and instructor intro
Give a 1-sentence intro to the course that tells potential learners why you're a credible instructor.
Tip: Try inserting clips where you speak directly to the camera. In a pinch, you can always use the camera on your phone.
Next 20 seconds
Benefits
Describe the benefits of the course and what students will be able to do after completing it.
Give students examples of specific skills they will gain, instead of abstract concepts they will learn.
Good example:
"At the end of this course, you'll know how to build a scalable AWS website."Bad example:
"At the end of this course, you'll master AWS Cloud Services."
Next 20 seconds
List of major learning objectives
Explain how the course is designed and list (don't describe) the major topics you'll cover.
Be careful not to get too bogged down in the details of what you'll cover. Don't teach anything yet, just list what you will teach.
Next 15 seconds
Ideal learner description
Persona Generator: Think about the three aspects below to help define the ideal student persona for course.
Roles: What are some roles this persona plays in their professional and personal life?
Hopes & fears: What are some goals this persona wants to achieve? What worries this persona?
Challenges: What challenges does this persona face when trying to achieve their goals?
Result: "I designed this course for engineers who want to understand project management essentials, without going the full route to certification."
Last 10 seconds
Thank You & Call to Action
Call the student to enroll in the course or sample your free previews, if they want to explore further.
Our most important tip:
Keep it under 2 minutes. 90 seconds is ideal.
Show what you know.
Create your course preview now.
Upload my previewTip: Upload your course preview to YouTube and LinkedIn to drive more traffic