By forexlibrary 
It doesn’t matter if you are creating online courses to sell online or for corporate libraries; giving a detailed course description and outline is crucial. It is easy to get caught up in the trap of creating dry course descriptions that “tick all the boxes.” But it is crucial to develop a course description that makes your prospects excited to sign up.
A course description can be described briefly by ‘all relevant details about your course.’
Although this is a simplified description that could be more specific, there are reasons for it. Online courses are available in many formats that cater to different levels of competence and other types of customers/employees.
A general interest course in knitting a jumper will likely have a different format and tone of a course description than one from an accredited institution of higher education. However, they will contain similar information.
It is helpful to break down the course description into areas of content. Some of these are mandatory, while others can be added or removed as necessary.
To place your course on an online course-selling platform such as iSpring Marketplace, you will need to include a course topic, course format, and author bio. Your marketplace might look something like the following:
iSpring Market lets you quickly create an online marketplace that allows you to promote and sell courses and build your customer base. You can also track your sales and revenue from one place.
We will discuss how to structure your course description, and what to include in the article later.
What is the purpose of a good course description?
A course description that is well-written can make all the difference in whether students sign up or leave your course. A well-written description of your e-commerce product is a key aspect.
Research shows that consumers won’t buy products online if they don’t know what they are buying. An eCommerce study showed that 20% of all purchase failures could be attributed to insufficient or unclear product information.
Imagine you are shopping online for clothing, and not being able to find the right size measurements or the material. Would this make it difficult for you to buy the item? This is exactly what happens with online courses. Unfortunately, this is often overlooked. We are left with vague and unclear course descriptions that leave many learners unanswered.
A course description is required if your course offerings will be made public through an online platform that allows you to upload a brochure or catalog. It should be well-written.
How to write a catchy course description
Let’s now dive deep into the art of writing a course description that works.
Add a course tagline
A great tagline for an online course should be between one and two sentences. You might need to rethink the content and focus of your course.
It’s important to remember that first impressions are everything in digital marketing. Most prospects won’t go beyond the landing page or homepage of your course. So make sure you capture their attention and clearly explain your offer.
If you’re selling similar courses within a niche, the tagline can be found in the first paragraph of the course description.
Define a course goal
This should provide a summary of the course’s goals and state the benefits of taking the course. This part can be included in your course tagline as shown in the above example.
It is possible to place the course goal in a separate description. You can then present it as “Your Outcome” in order to grab potential viewers’ attention immediately.
Set learning objectives
Learning objectives should detail the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that the learner will need to be able to complete the course. These objectives are usually presented from the perspective of the learner, which shows both the learning level and what the learner needs to learn. Clearly written learning objectives help students to know what they can expect and are better prepared for their workload.
The learning outcomes could also include academic and professional skills and any resulting certifications.
Choose a course format
This section should explain how you deliver your course. This section should be about what makes your course unique. Are you embedding videos in your course? What kind of videos are you using? Are they interactive? Do they have an expert or instructor? Or are they slides-style presentations? Are they interactive? Are they professionally produced?
What makes your eLearning course stand out? You might have meaningful dialogue simulations, branching situations that help students learn a particular skill or professional voice-overs from industry experts.
This should be concise, but you shouldn’t be afraid of promoting the benefits of your course.
When you’re still designing your course, make sure to include interactive content like dialogue simulations and matching activities.
An eLearning authoring tool like iSpring suite can help you create beautiful courses quickly and easily. Take a look at this course made with iSpring for inspiration.
iSpring Suite lets you create online courses based on PowerPoint slides. It includes engaging quizzes and screencasts, role plays, role plays, and other interactive activities.
Indicate a course credit or level
This section should clearly indicate the course level (e.g., beginner, intermediate, or advanced) and any industry certifications or academic credits that could be earned by completing the course.
Mark curriculum/contents
Your learning objectives should guide your content selection. You should tailor the content to the course description you are writing. You might give an overview of the lessons or modules, or a more detailed breakdown.
If desired, course contents can be broken down further and tagged.
The Essential Knowledge: fundamental theories, concepts, and models.
Medical Knowledge: enhances and complements the essential knowledge
Optional Knowledge: Additional and Special Knowledge
It is best to only include the essential knowledge contained in the description. The rest can be added to additional sections or may differ between versions of the course.
Please specify the assessment criteria and methods
An online study should be able to help students achieve their learning goals. Assessments are used to assess how students have reached the learning objectives.
Describe the evaluation methods that were used in your online course and the weighting they are given in the final assessment. This is the key point. It is important to establish expectations for students in order to pass your course.
Many courses that are certification-based often require mandatory assessments. While many online courses of general interest are not formally assessed, they often employ knowledge-check activities to reinforce learning.