The DOMS™️ Landing Page Checklist
A simple 4-point checklist to optimise your course landing page for attraction & learner love
This week, I ran a rapid test of 50 course landing pages on Coursera & Udemy. I was able to predict with 95% accuracy the user rating of a course based on the content of its landing page.
TL;DR - course landing pages matter.
Your landing page is where you first hook your learners in & turn extrinsic motivation (I have to do this) into intrinsic motivation (I want to do this).
Common Landing Page Errors
Getting landing pages right can be tough. The three most common errors I saw during my review were:
1. Too Many Outcomes
A high % of low scoring courses had landing pages with ~10-20 outcomes and 25+ hours of video content
The Problem:
There’s a high risk of learner overwhelm
By trying to cover too much and please too many, the course doesn’t resonate enough with any single learner type
2. Vague Course Titles
A high % of low scoring courses had landing pages with course titles which were vague & broad, e.g. How to Excel as a Leader
The Problem:
It’s unclear who the course is for (probably because the creator isn’t sure either)
As a learner, it’s unclear if this course is for me, e.g. is it for beginners or experts?
It doesn’t resonate enough with any specific enough target learner group
3. A Focus on the What [Not the Why]
A high % of low scoring courses had landing pages which stated what the course was about but not why learners should take it (i.e. no “you will leave with” value proposition)
The Problem:
Learners are motivated by the end state: they need to understand why they should engage with the course, e.g. what knowledge, skills, network and/or resources they might leave with
As a learner, it’s unclear how the course impacts my personal and/or professional pain or goals
The Formula for a Great Course Landing Page
So, what is the formula for a great landing page?
The highest scoring courses I saw had landing pages with four key things in common:
A course title which states the what and the who
A course value proposition (i.e. “why” statement), targeted at the pain and goals of a specific learner profile with a specific problem and goal
A “you will leave with” statement, including clear description of what the learner will leave with across four domains: knowledge, skills, network & resources
A small number of outcomes focused on a specific topic & single overall purpose
Here’s a concrete example of great.
Not surprisingly, the courses which users rated most highly were also the courses which were designed in line with the science of great course design.
For example, the landing pages of the highest rated courses:
Drive intrinsic motivation by stating the “why” and end state
Manage learners’ cognitive load by focusing on a small number of outcomes & a articulating a clear single purpose (course value prop)
Introducing: the DOMS™️ Course Landing Page Checklist
The DOMS™️ Landing Page Checklist is a simple tool to help you to bake the science of learning (and learner love!) into your course design from the get-go.
Use it to create or review your own or others’ landing pages today!
Happy designing 👋
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One more thing…. Do you want to get hands-on and design a course with me using DOMS™️? Great!
Check out my course design accelerator, a three week, hands-on adventure where we work together to design or redesign a course of your choice using the science of learning.