How Long Should an Online Course Be?

How Long Should an Online Course Be?

The ideal length of an online course depends on the content you want to deliver and the needs of your audience. While there’s no fixed rule, a good approach is to keep individual lessons concise and engaging.

Aim for video segments that are 5–10 minutes long, as research shows engagement tends to drop after 6–7 minutes.

If your course requires more in-depth explanations, consider breaking longer content into digestible sections rather than creating one lengthy video. Shorter courses or lessons are often better received, as online learners typically have shorter attention spans.

To maintain interest, consider incorporating interactive elements like quizzes, surveys, or games. These additions can make the course more engaging, even if it requires slightly more time to create.

When planning your course length, think about the complexity of the subject.

For simpler topics, keep lessons compact and focused. For more complex topics, you can allow for longer lessons but ensure the information is delivered in an organized, accessible way.

Gathering feedback from your audience can also help you fine-tune your course’s duration to meet their expectations and needs.

What Should Be Included in an Online Course?

To create the perfect online course, there are many things that you can keep in mind. However, the best thing that you can do is to keep it exciting and engaging for your students.

Online classes are very different from in-person classes. Connecting with your students online is not as fast or as easy as doing it in person, so you have to make sure that you deliver your content in the best way possible.

An excellent way to create an appealing online course is to choose a topic that has a high demand in the market. Check the internet to see if people are actively talking about that topic, and if there is a low source of information.

With online courses, you have many channels to deliver your content (Text, audio, and video). To make the best of your classes, try to make a blend of the three in order to make your course more interesting.

Be sure to determine the most engaging methods for each class. There are topics that are better delivered on video, others by text, etc. Remember to keep a balance between every type of delivery, so you keep the course fresh.

Students respond better to variety, so in order to get them to understand the information you’re providing, try to include online assignments that allow the students to use that information. This makes accomplishing goals easier.

If you’re delivering content by audiovisual channels, try to complement that by attaching other materials that might help your students expand the information.

How Much Should I Charge for My Online Course?

It depends on the value that you give your content. If you consider your course to be of incredibly high value for your potential students, you can consider giving the course a slightly high price.

For most paid online courses, the average minimum charged is $100. However, more expensive courses can be found for $300 to $400.

If your course is designed to provide an answer to a small topic, you can consider charging $100, which is the minimum.

If you created a course that answers some more complex questions or topics, you could charge between $200 and $500 since that course can provide useful information that may not be found easily in other places.

Finally, if your course is designed to deliver exclusive content that not many people have access to, you can charge from $500 to $1,000+. Most expensive courses provide a wide range of explanatory videos, exercises, worksheets, and many other materials.

How Much Money do Online Courses Make?

As with the last question, it depends on the course. There are many factors that can be considered while telling how much you can earn.

You may earn from $100 to $50k+ per month, depending on how much you charge for your course and how many people bought it.

If you made a $100 course, and 150 people bought it in total, then you can earn approximately $15,000 for that course. Consider the value of your course when determining how much you are charging for it.

Final Thoughts

To answer the question ‘How long should an online course be?’ all you have to do is determine how you are delivering your content. Your course has to be as long or short as needed to provide the information successfully.