When you are planning to enter into the world of eLearning, you will be presented with a couple of hurdles. On what subject will you develop your first course, on which platform will you sell your course, how will you market the course, what should be the price etc. etc. But there is one thing that surpasses all these hurdles – How to build trust. Learners don’t want to spend their time or money on a course from an unknown instructor. And gaining trust requires more than just attractive messages and a tempting price point. Rather, you need to establish enough trust so that your learners can believe your course is well worth their time and money. But how can you establish such trust? Here are a couple of ways to do it.
[+] Use your credentials
Credentials are the first mode of action that you can take to inform your prospective learners about yourself. You might be a new instructor in the field of eLearning but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a complete newbie in the world of teaching. You may have a certificate that entails you are an expert at what you do. You may also have a letter of appreciation from one of your early endeavors. Showing that certificate or letter of appreciation will make your learners understand that you’re not fake and your course will produce the results that you are claiming.
[+] Peer recommendation
In today’s world of social media, peer recommendations act as a social proof. It signals that someone else had put their trust in you and were benefited from your course. Social proof is highly persuasive, especially if they have a strong connection with the person who is referring your course. Social proof can take either or more of these forms – testimonials, case studies, word of mouth, ratings and feedbacks. Though there is one shortcoming of this method. You are going to need your first batch of students or an industry influencer who can vouch for you. And this leads to our next point.
[+] Offer free trial
The easiest way to get new learners to enroll in your course is to offer a ‘free’ period. Or you can offer free consultation too. Whenever you are offering something extra without the pay, learners will be interested to try your course. You can even offer the full course for free in exchange of the guarantee to give you positive ratings. Or develop a system where students can unlock different stages of your course by referring a certain number of students to your course. This will help you with one other issue. You can test the efficiency of your teaching method and the effectiveness of your course via these free trials. You can mend your ways easily if needs be.
[+] Demonstrate expertise with blogs and social profiles
A common misconception about blogging on your field of expertise is that your competitors will copy your methods. But that’s not true. Sharing your knowledge will only strengthen your credibility and foothold over the area you are adept at. So share your thoughts and ideas on your personal blog, write guest posts on websites, post status and comments on forums and your social media profiles. When your authority will be established, people will start noticing you and believe in what you say.
Wrapping Up
Trust can’t be built in a day. You can’t win your learners’ appreciation overnight. There is no magic wand to turn yourself into an expert in the eyes of your learners. You need to do your tasks consistently and with all your heart to reap the benefits of your learners’ trust.