As a Content Specialist, one question that often comes my way is, “how can I, as a seller, market my material better on the OpenSesame marketplace?” There are several different tactics you can employ in this endeavor. The special sauce (so to speak) of creating an effectively branded and marketed seller profile results, as do most delicious sauces, from a blend of several different factors and techniques. Unique course images, seller bios, and designated featured courses are important components of an effectively branded seller profile. That said, one of the quickest and easiest of these techniques to accomplish is course bundling. ... [more]
You are an expert. That's why you are creating online courses, right? Because you know more about your topic than others do, and you want to share your knowledge with them. But have you ever stopped to think about how your expertise could be making it harder for you to create effective online courses? It's true. In fact, research tells us that when it comes to predicting the time it will take a beginner to master a new skill, experts are cursed. ... [more]
Without a large budget, elearning is doomed to fail, right? That’s not necessarily true! Think of your favorite films. Go ahead, list them in your head and visualize them. I'm willing to bet that among your favorite films, there is at least one that was made with a small budget. ... [more]
eLearning is boring, right? Think again! As a self-proclaimed "master in Excel," I had my socks knocked off numerous times during an 18 hour elearning course on financial modeling. I know what you're thinking...financial modeling?! That seems like a tough course to learn online! Well, that's exactly what I was thinking too! ... [more]
In the last two post of this series, we discussed why stories present ideal contexts for learning and shared a helpful infographic about why elearning provides more effective training and improves retention. As a buyer of elearning, you want products that teach concepts effectively, and as a seller you want to offer content that rivals the best elearning products as the most effective, engaging, and fun courses. ... [more]
Here at OpenSesame, we have a wide variety of sellers specializing in everything from healthcare to information technology to construction. We’re extremely proud of the success they’ve had providing training and education to professionals throughout the globe. As with any recipe for success, increasing sales involves perseverance, responsibility, positivity, and a little bit of our secret sauce! What is the secret sauce at OpenSesame? ... [more]
Here’s the sixth in a series of blog posts written to help you evaluate elearning courses by considering how well their visuals add to the effectiveness of the training. It’s also the final installment in this series. In this post, we’ll discuss some techniques for creating visuals that add a “charge” to your training, grab attention, and make the material easier to remember later. ... [more]
I see many elearning courses over a year, some published by market-leading elearning agencies. What saddens me is a widespread lack of understanding of how to present text on a screen. Over the last 15 years I have trained thousands of people for the screen. So here are some tips you may like to run through, and perhaps even add them to your content writing guidelines. ... [more]
I have a confession to make. My elearning project is behind schedule. It happens to the best of us. Something unexpected happens—like getting a cold that slows you down, or having your computer hard drive go kaput, or other projects come along that need immediate attention. Being behind schedule doesn’t mean the project is over. The important part is getting the project back on track. ... [more]
There’s recently been a lot of interest in captioning online video content. With over 48 million Americans having some degree of hearing impairment, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued rules requiring more video to include captions. Many online education sites have taken note. In addition to staying one step ahead of the regulatory curve, these sites have realized that adding captions to video aids in the learning process. That’s why closed captions will make your content more easily accessible, understood, and remembered. ... [more]
