The Rapid Elearning Blog

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In a recent post, Brian Clark, author of the Copyblogger, a site the gives advice on copywriting, suggested to blog authors “…to make an important promise…” to the reader. The promise is to not waste the reader’s valuable time. That advice is just as true to the world of e-learning as it is to copywriters and bloggers.

What’s Your Value Proposition?

The next time you design a training course, think about the learner who has to sit through it. They get bombarded with enough “nice to know information.”

It’s about time they find out why the course is important to them. If you want them to sit through your course, tell them how it’s going to help do a better job or improve their skills. Make a promise not to waste their precious time.

Instead of starting with something like this:

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Why not start with this?

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What’s My Value Proposition?

After reading Brian’s post, I stuck a note on my computer that says:

Why is this important to the reader? How are you helping them?

My personal goal is to help you do the best job you can do. To get started, I’ve included two series in the resources section on the sidebar.

  • Rapid E-Learning 101: This 7-part series brings you up-to-speed with some basic ideas about rapid elearning and how to get your project off the ground.
  • 5 Myths of Rapid E-Learning: In this 5-part series, we’ll explore common misconceptions about rapid e-learning development and discuss ways that rapid e-learning can help you do a great job and get the results you want.

If you subscribe to the blog, you get a complementary copy of The Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro. In it, I offer time-tested tips, tricks, and best practices to help you do more than just get your courses out the door.

As the blog progresses, I’ll be adding more categories and series. I have some ideas, but I am interested in knowing what you’d like to see.

What tips and tricks are valuable to you? Tell me what resources you need. If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to drop me a line.

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Free E-Learning Resources

Want to learn more? Check out these articles and free resources in the community.

Here’s a great job board for e-learning, instructional design, and training jobs

Participate in the weekly e-learning challenges to sharpen your skills

Get your free PowerPoint templates and free graphics & stock images.

Lots of cool e-learning examples to check out and find inspiration.

Getting Started? This e-learning 101 series and the free e-books will help.



2 responses to “What’s My Value Proposition?”

Conversely and equally important. Don’t make a promise you can’t keep. If you’re going to tell your audience that you’re going to make them a super star, the course better be darn good and that they’ll feel it’s worth their time or you’ll lose a lot of credibility and your next offering may not be looked at with the same interest. Of course, if you do live up to your promise than it’s all good and gravy. Point is, follow-through on your action and you wouldn’t go wrong.

You’re right on follow through and commitment. A lot of us in the elearning world focus so much on designing the “best” course that we lose sight of the customer service part of the job. It’s always about providing a service to someone…learner, company, customer, etc…

You can’t go wrong if you recognize real needs and help fulfill them.