Strategies for Effective Course Delivery on Shopify

Did you know that online learning is the fastest growing market in the education industry? Since its creation in the 2000s, it has grown 900%!

This growth is excellent news for those looking to create and deliver online courses, though it also means in order for educators to have a competitive advantage it is essential to find the right platform to create, manage, and sell their courses.

Shopify is known for its incredible eCommerce capabilities and its platform for course creators.

In this article, we will discuss the key aspects of using Shopify’s Courses Plugin, its features, modern training methods, effective delivery strategies, best practices and how to measure your course’s effectiveness all to help you understand why it is an ideal platform for your eLearning needs.

Overview of Shopify as a Platform for Course Delivery

Shopify is a powerful eCommerce platform that is well known for how easy it is to use and its extensive customization options.

While Shopify was originally used for physical products, they have expanded their capabilities to support digital products like online courses. The best part is the reliable infrastructure was already there and will supply everything educators need to create and sell their online courses.

The Shopify Courses Plugin is a specialized tool that transforms Shopify into a full-fledged learning management system! The plugin allows course creators to design, deliver and manage their online courses right through their Shopify store. Even giving you the ability to leverage the platform’s strengths in eCommerce and digital marketing.

There are many benefits of using Shopify for your eLearning needs these include:

A unified platform where you can manage your courses and products to streamline workflows and oversee sales, marketing and course management in one location.
The ability to scale as Shopify’s infrastructure is designed to seamlessly handle growth without compromising quality.
Access to comprehensive eCommerce tools such as securing payment, to the ability to enhance sales and marketing of your courses to drive higher enrollment rates.
Customization options that allow you to tailor your course structures and content delivery to meet your teaching style and learner’s needs.
Marketing and SEO capabilities that enable you to promote your courses through optimization, targeted marketing campaigns and analytics to track your efforts.
User friendly features with drag-and-drop functionality.
Integration with other apps to ensure you can integrate your course with other tools and services such as email marketing, customer support and analytics.
A secure and reliable platform that ensures your learner’s data is protected with SSL certification, secure payment gateways, and regular updates.
Support and community through excellent customer services and an integrated community of users and developers willing to support one another.
Analytics and reporting that allows you to track and analyze the performance of your courses using Shopify’s built-in analytics tools.

Key Features of the Shopify Courses Plugin

There are three key features that set Shopify above its competitors and allow it to be the most effective platform for online courses. These include:

User Friendly & Easy to Use

Many platforms tout themselves as ‘user-friendly’ only to have small requirements or bugs that are frustrating to their users, this is not the case with Shopify.

The Shopify Courses Plugin simplifies course creation and makes management easy. Its drag-and-drop functionality and intuitive navigation makes it easy to learn and allows you to build and organize your courses without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

This ease of use means you do not need to hire someone to manage your courses adding extra expense and difficulty.

Customizable Course Structures

Flexibility is another standout feature where Shopify Courses Plugin raises above the rest. The platform allows you to create various course structures that range from single modules to comprehensive multi-module programs depending on your needs.

You can also customize the layout, content delivery and assessment methods so your courses will suit your instructional style and meet your learner’s needs.

Integration with Other Shopify Apps & Tools

Finally, the Shopify Courses Plugin offers seamless integration with other Shopify apps, because nothing is more frustrating than your apps and tools not meshing and affecting the functionality of your courses. You can connect your course platform seamlessly with essential business tools to ensure you handle all business components in one location.

Modern Training Delivery Methods

Modern training and delivery today varies greatly from educator to educator and can take forms such as:

Synchronous or live sessions through live webinars that can be sold through access to live training sessions,
Asynchronous learning through interactive quizzes and assignments that learners can complete at their own pace,
Blended learning or a mix of live and self-paced sessions for a combined learning experience that is especially helpful for complex topics, and
Microlearning or short, focused learning units.

Because Shopify is a flexible platform, it supports a variety of training delivery methods. You can host live classes or webinars, offer content for download, and create interactive self-paced modules. The Shopify Courses Plugin enables you to tailor your user’s learning experiences, so you can produce and they can experience different delivery methods seamlessly.

Effective Learning Delivery Strategies

Engagement and interactivity are essential for successful eLearning. Incorporating interactive elements such as quizzes, discussions and multimedia content helps maintain learner interest and improve retention.

Techniques to increase the likelihood of of effective learning that can be done though the Shopify Courses Plugin include:

Interactive content through the use of videos, infographics, and interactive quizzes to break up text and keep learners engaged.
Community building to foster a sense of community through discussion forums, and group activities.
Regular timely and constructive feedback to keep learners motivated and on track, and to ensure that learners feel like you are invested in their education as much as they are.

Best Practices for Delivering Online Learning on Shopify

To ensure you create an excellent user experience for your learners you must first know how to set up your online store. These steps include:

1. Set Up Your Shopify Store

Go to Shopify and sign up for an account. Pick a plan that suits your needs, or just start with a free trial if you are unsure and go from there.

Then, take time to look through the themes available to find one that suits your brand, and customize it. From there you can add your logo, adjust the color scheme and customize the layout.

Finally, before you launch you want to ensure you have created all the necessary pages such as, Home, Contact, and a dedicated page for your courses.

2. Install & Configure Course App

Once your Shopify is set up, you will need to choose a course app to install. This is where Tevello comes in. We integrate perfectly with Shopify and will match the branding of your page.

Go to the Shopify App Store, search for your preferred course app, and install it.

Then you must follow the app’s setup instructions to integrate it with your Shopify store, followed by customizing the app settings to match your course structure and branding.

3. Create Your Course Content

If you already have content created, this is where you would begin to plug it in. If not, start by defining your goals and outline the modules and lessons you will need to achieve your goals. Make sure you break down the content into manageable sections for easier learning.

The best way to make sure you’re creating high-quality content is by ensuring your content is clear, concise, and well-structured. Then work on creating engaging videos, incorporating comprehensive guides, and designing interactive quizzes that accurately measure your learner’s comprehension of the topics.

Don’t be afraid to utilize different types of multimedia like videos, audio files, PDFs and infographics to cater to different learning styles and make your courses more enjoyable.

4. Upload & Organize Course Content

Now that you have created your content, it’s time to publish! Use the courses app’s interface to upload your materials and organize the content into modules and lessons that match your course outline.

Once this is complete, set up assignments and quizzes to test your student’s knowledge and track their progress. The app has built in tools to help you with this.

5. Set Up Pricing and Payment Options

Determine the pricing model (i.e., one-time fee, subscription, or installment payments), then use Shopify’s payment gateway to set up payment options.

6. Launch & Market Your Course

Before you launch, test all of the features of your course to ensure there are no technical issues. Consider getting feedback from a few beta testers as well and make necessary adjustments.

Finally, promote your courses! Leverage methods such as, email marketing, social media, paid ads, blog posts and sharing testimonials.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Course Delivery

When you are up and running, the work has just begun. To ensure success you must measure the effectiveness of your course delivery by measuring metrics and KPIs. These include;

Course Completion Rates,
Learner Satisfaction Score, and
Engagement Methods like quiz participation and sales figures.

There are built-in analytics tools to help you measure these metrics, utilize them to refine your content and adjust your strategy to ensure your success. Even if your metrics look great from the start, this may change over time, so continue to monitor and adjust accordingly.

Start Delivering Effective Courses Today!

The Shopify Courses Plugin, along with the right course app, will offer a robust and flexible platform for creating, managing and selling your online courses.

Creating quality content, marketing your courses, and measuring their success will ensure high engagement and satisfaction from your learners, which will lead to the success of your online business.

Start your free trial with Tevello and see how we work seamlessly with Shopify to help you meet your teaching goals today!