How To Write A Course Description That Converts Ultimate Guide (with Examples)

Writing a good course description can be the difference between converting a steady stream of eager learners or having your students ignoring your course all together.

A great headline can attracts your students to click on your course, a stunning image can makes your online course pop in the sea of thousands of courses, and a compelling online course description can convert your audience into paying learners of your course.

If you don’t have a course description that motivate your student to try out your course, all your effort will be wasted.

Here we’ll look into:

• Best practice of writing course description that sells
• Step by step guide to write a compelling course description
• Examples and template of a course description

So, let’s get started!

What Is A Course Description?

A course description is a concise overview that describes how your course will benefit learners, the essential information they need to know, and the prior knowledge required. It serves as a snapshot that provides enough information for potential learners to make informed decisions about enrolling.

Writing the course description involves capturing the essence of your course, highlighting its key features, learning objectives, and outcomes. The same technique can be used for coaching course, digital course, webinars, and online training as well.

By crafting a compelling course description, you can attract and engage learners by providing them with enough information to understand the value and relevance of your course.

Why Do You Need to Write a Good Course Description? 

Regardless, which online course platform, or membership platform you are creating and selling your course, or how much are you pricing your cost, a compelling course description that can effectively communicating the value and benefits of your course to prospective students will ultimately increasing conversions.

Reasons to write a good course description for your online course:

1. Attract and Capture Interest: Grabs the attention of prospective students and sparks their interest. It serves as the first impression of your course, enticing them to explore further and consider enrolling.
2. Convey the Value Proposition: Clearly communicates the unique value and benefits that students can expect to gain and highlights how your course addresses their needs, solves their problems, or helps them achieve their goals.
3. Build Trust and Credibility: Establishes credibility and builds trust with prospective students, it showcases your expertise, qualifications, or the success of previous students, instilling confidence in the quality of your course.
4. Motivate Action: Creates a sense of urgency and motivates prospective students to enroll in your course and embark on their learning journey without hesitation.
5. Increase Conversions: Increasing conversions by motivating prospective students to take action through identifying the value and relevance of your course, prompting them to enroll and become paying customers.

Good Course Description Can Increase Your Conversion Rate And Increase Your Profit

A bad course description is a simple two sentences that simply tells what you will learn in the course, nothing more, nothing less. The conversion of a bad course description can be as low as 0.1 to 0.5%, making all your marketing effort and time creating the course a waste.

By taking the time and effort on writing a good course description, you can effectively attract, engage, and convert prospective students into enrolled learners, increasing your conversion rate from the average of 2.35% to as high as 5% to 10%, increasing your profit from selling your online course.

Here is how a good course description can help you in increasing your conversion rate.

Course description is a powerful tool to showcase the value of your course and inspire individuals to invest in their personal and professional development.

Investing in writing a compelling description can greatly increate your income as an course creator and edupreneur.

Best Practice For Writing Course Description For Online Course

Writing good course description the art of crafting compelling course descriptions that captivate your target audience and entice them to enroll. This is essential for any online course creators if they are looking to convert their audience into paying learners of their course.

With a compelling course description, not only you will increase your conversion rate, ensuring that your courses stand out in the digital marketplace.

1. Understanding Who Are Your Target Audience, Your Prospective Students

By investing time and effort in understanding your prospective students, you can create a course description that speaks directly to their needs, captures their attention, and motivates them to enroll in your online course.

Here’s how you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your target audience:

Defining the Target Audience

• Identify the specific demographic characteristics of your prospective students, such as age, gender, occupation, educational background, and location.
• Consider the level of expertise or prior knowledge your audience possesses in the subject matter.
• Determine the motivation behind their interest in your course, whether it’s personal or professional development, acquiring specific skills, or solving a problem.
• Explore any specific challenges or pain points your audience might be facing that your course aims to address.

Knowing your Audience’s Needs and Preferences

• Conduct thorough research through surveys, interviews, or online communities to gather insights into what your prospective students are looking for in an online course.
• Identify the skills, knowledge, or outcomes they desire to achieve by taking your course.
• Consider their preferred learning styles and formats, such as video lectures, interactive exercises, quizzes, or discussion forums.
• Take into account the time constraints and availability of your audience, as well as their preferred pace of learning.

Aligning the Course Description with Audience Expectations

• Ensure that your course description addresses the specific needs and goals of your target audience.
• Use language and terminology that resonates with them, demonstrating that you understand their challenges and aspirations.
• Highlight the specific benefits and outcomes they can expect to gain from taking your course, emphasizing how it will address their needs or solve their problems.
• Tailor the tone and style of the course description to align with your audience’s preferences, whether it’s formal, informal, friendly, or professional.

A well-aligned course description will not only attract the right audience but also set clear expectations, leading to higher student engagement and satisfaction.

Highlight how your course will help students. Emphasize the specific skills, knowledge, or outcomes they can expect to gain. Show how the course is practical and relevant to their personal or professional lives.

2. Identifying Key Content Of Your Online Course 

Content is king, and knowing what are the key content of your course helps you to know what are the critical information you need to have in your course description.

This core message will serve as the foundation for your course description and help attract the right audience. Here’s how you can identify the key content of your online course:

• Define Learning Objectives: Clearly outline what knowledge, skills, or outcomes your course aims to achieve. What your student can gain from taking the course.
• Highlight Unique Value: Identify what sets your course apart. Emphasize the benefits, advantages, and unique value it offers to prospective students, giving them the reason to decide whether to take the course.
• Tailor to Your Audience: Consider the needs, preferences, and skill levels of your target audience. Design the content to meet their specific requirements.
• Align with Market Demand: Research the market to ensure your course meets current demand and stands out from the competition. 
• Align with Industry Trend: Depending on your course type, certain course required to be always updated to meet the current market need, if you do, just let your students know.

By identifying the key content elements of your online course and effectively articulating them in your course description, you can provide prospective students with a clear understanding of what they will learn and achieve by taking your course.

Having the right students who are genuinely interested and motivated to enroll, will often lead to a higher likelihood of student satisfaction and engagement.

3. Focus On The Benefits

Benefit touches the emotions of the readers, and this what actually sells. When crafting a course description, it is important to highlight what are the benefits for taking this online course. Emphasize the value they will receive from taking the course. Here’s the reason why:

• Engage and Motivate: Highlighting the benefits grabs the attention of prospective students and sparks their curiosity. It shows them how your course can address their needs, solve their problems, or help them achieve their goals.
• Provide a Clear Value Proposition: By emphasizing the benefits, you communicate the unique value your course offers. This helps students understand why they should choose your course over others in the market.
• Showcase Tangible Outcomes: By specifying the benefits, you provide tangible outcomes that students can expect to achieve. This builds confidence and trust, assuring them that their investment of time and resources will yield valuable results.

With this, you can capture their interest and motivate them to enroll.

To effectively focus on the benefits here are some points you should remember when mentioning the benefits:

• Clearly state the specific knowledge, skills, or competencies that students will gain.
• Describe how the course can positively impact their personal or professional lives.
• Highlight any unique features, course delivery or advantages that set your course apart.
• Use compelling language that resonates with the aspirations and desires of your target audience.

Remember, by focusing on the benefits, you can demonstrate the value of your course and inspire prospective students to take action and enroll in your online learning experience.

4. Use Persuasive Language

A well-written course description employs persuasive language that sparks curiosity and enthusiasm in potential learners. Use power words and phrases to evoke emotions and draw readers in. A well written course description have persuasive language that can:

• Grab Attention: Helps you stand out from the competition. It engages the reader from the very beginning, compelling them to continue reading and explore what your course has to offer.
• Highlight Unique Selling Points: Effectively communicate the unique selling points of your course. It enables you to articulate what sets your course apart and why it is the best choice for prospective students.
• Create an Emotional Connection: Appeals to the emotions and desires of prospective students. It taps into their aspirations, challenges, or goals, creating a sense of resonance and connection that motivates them to take action.
• Convey Value and Benefits: Clearly articulate the value and benefits that students will gain from taking your course. It helps them understand the practical applications, positive outcomes, and long-term advantages they can expect.
• Address Concerns: Be proactively addressing potential concerns or objections and present positive and reassuring solutions.

If you want to use persuasive language effectively you can start with these simple changes in your writing:

• Understand your target audience and tailor your language to their needs, aspirations, and pain points.
• Use powerful words and phrases that evoke emotions, such as “transform your skills,” “unlock your potential,” or “achieve unprecedented success.”
• Highlight specific results and outcomes to create a sense of urgency and desirability.
• Employ strong action verbs and engaging adjectives to make your course description dynamic and compelling.

Writing style should follow these guidelines:

• Use second person point of view (“you”) to directly address the reader and create a more personal connection. Avoid using words like “the student” or “individuals”.
• Use professional and persuasive language to convey the value and benefits of the course.
• Keep the tone positive, enthusiastic, and focused on the reader’s needs and aspirations.

By using persuasive language, you can create a course description that captivates your audience, communicates the value of your course, and make your audience feel a stronger connection to you as the course creator.

5. Course Description Format And Styling

Formatting your the course description effectively is crucial to ensure clarity, readability, and engagement for prospective students.

Here’s a simple guideline on how to format your course description:

1. Length:
   • Keep the course description concise and to the point.
   • Each paragraph should be approx. 15 to 50 words.
   • Place sentence or phase that is more than 50 words in a separate paragraph.
   • Aim for a total word count of around 150-250 words, depending on the complexity and depth of the course.

2. Introduction:
   • Begin with an engaging opening statement or question to capture the reader’s attention.
   • Keep the introduction to 1-2 sentences, providing a brief overview of the course topic and its relevance.

3. Course Overview:
   • Dedicate the majority of the word count to the course overview section.
   • Highlight the major learning activities, topics, or modules covered in the course.
   • Aim for 2-3 sentences for the course overview, providing enough information to give a comprehensive understanding of the course content.

4. Benefits and Outcomes:
   • Allocate a few sentences to emphasize the benefits and outcomes that students can expect from taking the course.
   • Focus on the specific knowledge, skills, or competencies they will gain.
   • Highlight the value and relevance of the course to their personal or professional lives.

5. Course Structure:
   • Provide a brief overview of the course structure, including the number of modules, lessons, or hours of content.
   • Keep this section concise, using 1-2 sentences to give an idea of how the course is organized and the progression of topics.

6. Call-to-Action:
   • Conclude the course description with a strong call-to-action to motivate prospective students to enroll.
   • Use 1-2 sentences to create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate action but don’t go overboard with this.

To enhance readability, styling your course description can help your audience to identify the key point of your course and let them better decided if they should enroll to your course:

• Using appropriate headings for your title.
• Use subheadings to break down each sections.
• Include bullet points for easy scalability of your course description.

Proofread your draft and edit your description meticulously to ensure it is free from grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.

A polished and professional presentation will inspire confidence in potential learners.

By following these formatting and styling tips , you can create a concise, engaging, and professional course description that effectively communicates the value and benefits of your course to prospective students.

6. SEO Optimized Course Description

Keeping your online course description to be Search Engine Optimization (SEO) optimized can help in driving organic traffic to your landing page of your online course, giving you a free boost of audience that might be interested in your course.

And here is how you can create a SEO optimized course description:

1. Keyword Research:
   • Conduct keyword research to identify popular and relevant terms related to your course topic.
   • Explore keyword tools, industry-specific websites, or search engine suggestions to discover keywords that resonate with your target audience.

2. Strategic Keyword Placement:
   • Integrate relevant keywords naturally throughout your course description.
   • Place keywords in the title, introduction, course overview, and benefits sections.
   • Incorporate keywords in headings, subheadings, and bullet points to enhance readability and SEO optimization.

3. Balance Keyword Density:
   • Avoid excessive keyword stuffing, which can negatively impact the readability and user experience.
   • Aim for a keyword density of around 1-2% in your course description.
   • Prioritize the clarity, coherence, and engagement of your description while including relevant keywords.

4. Engaging and Informative Content:
   • Focus on creating high-quality, informative content that genuinely appeals to your target audience.
   • Address their needs, aspirations, and pain points through compelling language and relevant information.
   • Provide a clear value proposition and highlight the unique benefits of your course.
5. Meta Tags:
   • Optimize the meta tags associated with your course page to improve search engine visibility.
   • Craft a compelling meta title that includes relevant keywords and accurately represents the course content.
   • Write a concise and informative meta description that entices users to click through to your course page.

Thorough keyword research and strategically incorporating relevant keywords into your course description can help you optimize your course description for search engines while maintaining a professional and engaging tone. 

7. Adding Visual Elements 

When crafting your course description, you can add visual elements and visual cues that can grab attention, spark interest, and provide a glimpse into the learning experience, making your course more appealing to potential learners. 

Here are some visual elements you can consider:

• High-quality course graphics or banners that reflect the course topic or brand.
• Infographics summarizing key course concepts, processes, or statistics.
• Screenshots or previews of course materials, such as videos, slide decks, or interactive modules.
• Testimonials or reviews from previous students, presented in a visually appealing format.
• Charts, graphs, or diagrams illustrating data, trends, or comparisons relevant to the course content.

Having these visual elements can help you to:

• Enhanced Engagement: Visual elements capture attention and make your course description more visually appealing.
• Improve Clarity: Break up the text and create a more dynamic and engaging reading experience for prospective students.
• Improved Comprehension: Visuals can help clarify complex concepts or illustrate key points more effectively than text alone.
• Be Memorable: Visual elements have a greater potential to be remembered compared to text alone.
• Be Impactful: Create a lasting impression, making your course description stand out in the minds of prospective students.

Including visual elements into your course description can elevate its visual appeal, improve comprehension, and make a lasting impact on prospective students.

Just take note to choose visuals that align with your course content and relevant to your audience.

How To Write a Compelling Course Description 

A well-crafted online course description is crucial for enticing prospective students and giving them a glimpse into what they can expect from your online course.

Good course descriptions should be clear, provides an overview on how it can help the student in achieving their learning goals. It is where you can project your image as the expert in the field, getting people to find your course and enroll in it.

Write a course description takes a few simple steps, and here’s how you can create a compelling course description that highlights major learning activities and demonstrates how your course can benefit students:

1. Begin with an Engaging Introduction
   • Capture the reader’s attention with a captivating opening statement or question related to the course topic.
   • Convey the value and relevance of the course by highlighting the real-world applications or benefits that students can gain.
2. Outline Major Learning Activities
   • Provide a concise overview of the major learning activities or topics covered in your course.
   • Mention the key concepts, skills, or techniques that students will learn and apply throughout the course.
   • Highlight any hands-on exercises, case studies, or interactive elements that make the learning experience engaging and practical.
3. Emphasize the Benefits and Outcomes
   • Clearly communicate the benefits that students will gain from taking your course.
   • Highlight the specific knowledge, skills, or competencies they will develop and how these can be applied in their personal or professional lives.
   • Describe the desired outcomes, such as increased proficiency, improved problem-solving abilities, or a portfolio of completed projects.
4. Provide a Roadmap of the Course Journey
   • Give an overview of the course structure, including the number of modules or lessons and their sequence.
   • Mention any milestones or key achievements that students can expect to reach throughout the course.
   • Illustrate how the course content is logically organized to guide students from foundational concepts to more advanced topics.
5. Conclude with a Compelling Call-to-Action
   • Encourage prospective students to take the next step by enrolling in your course.
   • Use persuasive language to convey a sense of urgency or highlight limited availability if applicable.
   • Offer reassurance by mentioning any guarantees, support systems, or resources that will be available to students during their learning journey.

Crafting a compelling course description helps prospective students understand the value, relevance, and learning activities they can expect from your online course.

By clearly communicating the content of the course, and the benefits from taking the course, you increase the likelihood of students enrolling in your course and embarking on a rewarding learning experience.

Online Course Description Example

• 7 Best Teachable Alternative for Course Creators (Free and Paid)
• LearnWorlds Features: In-Depth eLearning LMS Overview
• ThinkiFic Features: Course Creator’s In-Depth Overview
• +59 Best Proven Membership Site Ideas to Get Started This Year (Read First)
• Passion.io Review 2024: Still The Best App For Coaches & Creators? (Limited Time Lifetime Deal)

Antony C.

Founder & Financial Writer at Income Buddies | Website | Posts by Author

Antony C. is a dividend investor with over 15+ years of investing experience. He’s also the book author of “Start Small, Dream Big“, certified PMP® holder and founder of IncomeBuddies.com (IB). At IB, he share his personal journey and expertise on growing passive income through dividend investing and building online business. Antony has been featured in global news outlet including Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq and Non Fiction Author Association (NFAA).

• Antony C.

  https://incomebuddies.com/author/antony-c/

  Moomoo SG Promotion! $970 FREE Stocks + Perks for New User | May 2024 Updated 🟢
• Antony C.

  https://incomebuddies.com/author/antony-c/

  WeBull SG Promotion! GET 8.4% p.a. + USD1,000 Cash Voucher | May 2024 Updated 🟢
• Antony C.

  https://incomebuddies.com/author/antony-c/

  7 Online Brokerages vs Traditional Brokerages in Singapore: Making The Right Investment Choice
• Antony C.

  https://incomebuddies.com/author/antony-c/

  How to Use Webull Singapore to Trade, Buy and Sell Stocks? (Beginner's Guide)