Top 5 tips for using clickbait in your eLearning… You’ll never guess number 5!

‘Ouch!’ My phone hit me on the face. It was nearly midnight and to be honest I should have been asleep hours ago. I wasn’t making important arrangements or speaking to a friend, I was on Buzzfeed reading funny articles, taking pointless quizzes and watching videos.

It had kept me awake way too long, I had entered some strange sort of clickbait stupor so I couldn’t hold my phone above my head any longer – but in case you were worried, my face is fine!

You don’t need me to tell you that a catchy title or an exciting image or heading, captures the imagination and makes people want to know more. Still, so many companies will name an eLearning course ‘Health and Safety: Part 1’ and wonder why people have to be threatened with walking the plank to take it.

A client of mine once told me the name of her most popular course ‘How to read a 1000 page document in 3 clicks’. She needed people to understand how to use a piece of software, in the most effective way including some great search functionality. Instead of a boring “how to use X software”, she decided to go with a more creative title.

I guess you might not want your learners to end up dropping their phone on their face, so here are a few ideas to help you grab their attention:

1. Title 

Go beyond the obvious, make the title relevant to how the course can help them, or write something that makes them want to know more. Anything that intrigues or makes them ask ‘what’s this about?’ will attract much more interest.

2. Imagery 

Use a photo or illustration next to the course description. Nothing grabs people’s attention like a picture, especially one of something that is familiar to them like a person, place or product.

3. Challenge them with a quiz

We all dread an anxiety inducing quiz and whilst a quiz at the end of every course has its place, it has become predictable. Why not have one as a standalone element and challenge your learners to prove their prowess and intellect! Maybe they start off with some lives that they can lose if they make mistakes. Once completed give them a name and description of their expertise based on how well they did, you can even give them a badge.

4. Use videos 

Short videos are easy to watch on any device and can be quick to create. It can be the easiest way to explain something visual like a product and rather than making a full course sometimes a short two-minute video combined with a quiz will do the job just as well.

5. Make it a competition

Why not have a prize draw for everyone who completes your course or gets a top score? If it’s a good prize then word is sure to spread quickly.

Do you have a better idea to entice your learners into taking a course? Let me know.