How Long Should My Course Be

Feb 9

If you’re thinking about creating an online course, chances are this question has arisen in the process - How long should my online course be?

If that question has come up for you, don’t worry, you’re not alone!

When working with clients, we get the “how long should my course be?” question quite often and the answer is simple:

Your course should be as long as it takes for someone to achieve transformation and meet the goals of the program.

Yes, it’s that simple. If you can help people get to their goal in under an hour, then do so. Don’t bloat your course with a lot of fluff.

Longer Isn’t Always Better

In most courses, your course is going to be a shortcut to a desirable outcome. The more you put in front of people, the longer the path it takes to get to that outcome.

For instance, don’t make a 5-step program, 20 steps just because you think people will pay more for it.

In general, courses should help people:

Achieve a goal faster than if they were to do it alone.
Avoid overwhelm.
Attain a specific result.

Additionally, think about attention spans and how busy people are - including yourself. Do you have time to watch a 60-minute video? What about five or ten? Most of the time you want to learn what you need and be able to apply it quickly.

Planning Your Online Course

An online course should be substantial enough that the viewer feels that they got what they paid for, but it shouldn’t include fluff content.

Students want to come out of your course feeling like they have what they need to put their new knowledge to use. Think about what it takes to get from A to Z, and how the viewer needs to get there.

Break Your Content Into Modules

Creating modules and then lessons within the modules is the easiest way to break down your course to be manageable for your audience. Each module is the main topic and then the individual videos are the support to those points.

In determining how long your course should be, break your main subject down into larger key elements using an outline format.

For example, a course on starting a business may look like this:

Module 1: Introduction Into Excellent Business Creation
Module 2: Solidifying Your Idea
Module 3: Determining Your Business Model
Module 4: Marketing Your New Business
Module 5: Accelerated Scaling
Module 6: Wrap Up & Next Steps

When thinking about what goes into each of these modules, write down a few topics that you can cover that fit well into the theme of each module.

Within the course, your videos should be relatively short bursts, no more than 15 minutes, if not less – you don’t want your viewers to lose their interest before the video is over!!

User engagement drops off after just two minutes so it’s important to not only keep your audience interested in the topic but to keep the videos short and sweet. Better to have several short videos than just one or two long ones.

When planning your modules, think about what supplementary materials, like workbooks or planners, your students will need to enhance their learning experience.

Consider Refining Your Idea

Many people come to us with an idea that is just too long and would take months (possibly years) worth of content to start. You’re already busy!

Start with ONE clear objective, and get your course to market.

Don’t spend months or years in the planning stages.

The complexity of your subject also plays a role in how long your course should be. If you are continuing with the example of how to start up your own business, that is a subject that can be covered easily in a short program of just 6 modules as mentioned before with each video no more than 10 minutes long, but ideally no more than 5-7 minutes in length. However, if your topic is something more scientific let’s say, that might require more hours and more videos. Think about where the knowledge gaps are and how you can cover them in your course.

Think of your audience when planning your course as well. Who are they and how much time do they have to give? Are they working parents who only have time in the evening? Students?

Adjust the modules and each video in response to your target audience. If you have a target of full-time working parents, they already have a lot on their plate. So make your course something that is attainable for them to be able to participate in. Getting them to commit to hours per day is not going to happen so be realistic in setting expectations and keeping the audience engaged

Is Course Length Related To Price?

Length can be directly related to price, but not always.

A three to five module course that has a couple of downloads can command the same $500 - $2,000 that a longer course could.

The average course length we’ve seen to be successful is anywhere from 1 - 3 hours of content, broken into mini-videos, plus 3 - 5 handouts.
Most courses that are under 6 modules go from $297 - $997. The cost is directly related to how great of a transformation you provide, and how much your content differs from the competition.
A signature program, which is usually much more extensive, will be about 6 hours of content in addition to downloads and will range from $1000-3000 for the entire course.
Another option for a longer program would be a transformation system which, for example, might be a 6-month program with an hour of content per month in addition to downloads and usually some kind of support system (like a private Facebook group).

Bringing It All Home

Regardless of the type of program, you opt to create, keep it simple and to the point.

Your audience is there to learn a skill from you that you are an expert in so impart that knowledge in a way that doesn’t waste their time and keeps the content organized and easy to understand for any viewer.

Keeping your viewer's attention span is key but also making sure they feel they got what they paid for – a happy viewer is a repeat customer for any future courses that you may create.