How (Not) to Build Course Content?

This week I'm addressing how to create course content. I will not discuss what content to create, but I will discuss how to develop content. But first...

Last week I did a LinkedIn (access my profile here) search which identified about 2,730,000 results for ‘course instructor’ and 238,000 for ‘course creator’. I wasn’t expecting that many, but it tells me two very important things:

1. There are a significant number of people who have experience building courses, and
2. There is a great need to find people and resources that support course instructors.

Hmmm, sounds like a great opportunity for you to develop your ideas for a course. Here are my thoughts on creating course content.

More than likely, if you are reading this (which I appreciate), you are either a course instructor or course creator. Either way, I challenge you to give honest thought to how you create your course content. As an entrepreneur, which of these approaches do you use to create course content?

❌ You Google industry expert reports then copy and paste to build your course content.

❌ You wing it by including things you’ve seen and heard in other courses.

❌ You do a brain dump of all your genius thoughts, ideas, and feelings into a document, PPT, or even video.

❌ The worst, you stare at a blank screen in frustration, fear, and sadness not knowing where to start.

You can use these approaches to create course content, but they are not appropriate or effective. The danger is that when content is created using these approaches, you run the risk of quickly disengaging your learners, risking learner retention and application; ultimately, your clients won't finish your course and won't use the content.

Do directors know this is happening?

Here are two effective ways to create content:

✔️ Review current reports and research, actually read what you find, and interpret what you learned. Plagiarism is a real thing, even in business. Learn more about plagiarism.

✔️ Reflect on what you can use to create course content. Have you been formally educated, have years of experience, or prefer to use industry research? No matter your education, experience, or something else, use it strategically to create your course content.

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