Elearning has gone from a niche type of teaching for techy subjects to being a preferred, growing and almost necessary way to teach EVERYTHING. Technology is expanding and people’s need and desire to learn on their own time and at their pace is making eLearning the goal for many companies.

That you have built the course is no guarantee that learners will flock to take it. Modern workers have better things to do than take courses that do not appeal to them. So what do you have to do to appeal to your learners? You have to excite them. You have to intrigue them. You have to provide solutions to their problems. And most importantly, you have to convince them that your content will change their life for the better. How? By knowing what your learners expect from you. By knowing your learners, so you can deliver exactly what they need. By having a deeper understanding of them you can approach them like a friend and guide them like a mentor to make them change their behavior and attitudes. Have conversations with them frequently. Hear about their needs, fears, goals, interests, and expectations and figure out the next steps from there. Each conversation will make you more effective at eLearning design. "The better we know our students, and the more they know and trust that we know them, the more invested they become in their learning" - TeachThought If you know your learners, it will be worth your time as you will be more capable of:

Today, the question is no longer if eLearning benefits your business; the real question is whether you can afford not to join the trend. Year after year, eLearning has proved to be more competent and cost-effective as compared to traditional training. Here are some statistics that show the power of online training: According to a Brandon-Hall Study, learning through e-learning typically requires 40% to 60% less employee time than learning the same material in a traditional classroom setting The Research Institute of America found that eLearning increases retention rates 25% to 60% (retention rates of face-to-face training are very low in comparison: 8% to 10%). 42% of companies say that eLearning has led to an increase in revenue. (The Ambient Insight 2012-2017 Worldwide Mobile Learning Market - Executive Report) Read all stats in this article.

Successful eLearning courses hook readers on the very first page. That’s because eLearning, in essence, is all about engaged learning. It’s multi-sensory in that it engages all senses through interactive texts, stunning graphics and compelling videos.

Motivation. The word is bandied about too much these days. An entire body of literature has sprung up around it. There are coaches who teach people how to cultivate motivation. There are websites, courses, seminars, and workshops to teach the how-to's, the wherefores, and the what-ifs of motivation. So first, let's address what is motivation? And why should you care about it as an eLearning professional?

We, instructional designers, know the feeling. We take copious notes when we interview the SME, and when we return to our desks, we are at a loss wondering what information to include in the course and what to toss out. Most of us end up squeezing into the course almost everything the SME had said. At other times, we read through the raw content, fall in love with a piece of data that is new to us and seems exciting, and cram it in the course. The result is an information-heavy eLearning course that overwhelms the learner but does not benefit him or elicit the response from him that you had desired. Information overload is a common pitfall that eLearning designers should be wary of. Your goal should be to create a course that packs in only that much information that fulfills the learning outcomes. Relevance increases learner engagement. Besides, your adult learners are busy people; you cannot expect them to sit through a course as you ramble on.

Keeping learners motivated throughout an eLearning course is a challenge for even the most seasoned designers. Not only is it difficult to hook and keep learners engaged offline, but asynchronous training invites an even larger set of challenges. There is no way to read visual cues if students are bored or for an instructor to redirect training if there are questions. Online courses also provide an anonymity that prevents some learners from even participating at all.

Learning leaders, you have lessons to learn from the marketing pros. More specifically, you need to learn a tip or two on “branding.” If you thought branding is something that only FMCG manufacturers, car dealers, and luxury watch sellers need to practice, think again. With a pressing need to keep employees on top of industry knowledge and skills, you MUST ensure that your eLearning courses do not get lost in the crowd. You MUST make your courses visible. Else, your efforts go to waste. Or worse, your learners waste energy hunting around for content or learn inadequately.