When you’re delivering a course, you’re telling a story. Great stories don’t come together all at once, though; they’re built bit by bit, leading up to the conclusion. Course topics build upon one another, leading to a final outcome or takeaway for the learner.
As an instructor, sometimes you have to slow down or speed up the storytelling process to maintain engagement or promote retention. Dripping your course content allows you to tell a better story to your learners so that they’re engaged along the way and meet the outcomes of the course.
Let’s explore why drip content might be the best way to deliver your course and how to do it.
What is drip content?
Drip content is a learning method that releases course content and materials over a set period of time. The schedule varies according to the instructor and the course content. This tactic gives course creators more control over the learning materials they share with students online.
Drip-feeding is all about timed delivery: Your learners get the course material in stages, gaining access to content like lessons, quizzes, and assignments at a set time. Drip content is a great alternative to on-demand learning.
For example, let’s say you have an online course consisting of various lessons, quizzes, and other content. In your typical course, learners would have access to all of these materials as soon as they enroll or the course opens. However, this method may be overwhelming for learners and cause your course completion rates to drop.
Instead, try drip-feeding. When new learners enroll, they may have instant access to the first lesson, but they’ll have to wait several days before the second and third lessons are available.
Drip-feeding vs. self-paced learning
Self-paced learning, also called on-demand learning, means that all of your course content is available immediately—learners don’t wait for new content, and they can skip around to any lesson or topic they’d like. It’s a bit like going to a class and having your homework assignments handed out to you all at once the moment you arrive.
While on-demand content allows learners to see all of the material at once, it’s not always a preferred learning style. For some students, the sheer amount of work looming ahead can cause learner paralysis and may even demotivate learners.
Rather than allowing access to all content at once, a drip schedule is set up so that course content is made available gradually over a period of time. For many people, this is a preferable learning experience.
Both drip-feeding and self-paced learning have merit, and the best approach depends on the course topic and audience. You should use what makes the most sense for your students and your desired outcomes, but there are several benefits to drip-feeding your course content that you should consider.
Benefits of drip content
Drip courses offer considerable learning benefits and can help build community and increase retention within your customer base.
Stronger engagement
Drip content allows learners to look forward to something, building excitement and motivation. Drip courses help learners avoid feeling overwhelmed and instead create a clear path for your learners to follow.
Do you have a favorite TV show? Yes, it’s satisfying when the whole season drops at once, and you can binge the night away. However, when the show only releases one episode per week, the experience is drawn out, leaving you with time between episodes to process what happened, discuss with other watchers, and get excited for the next episode.
The same rings true for course content. The gradual delivery of lessons allows learners to follow their own pace instead of being overwhelmed with course materials all at once. This delivery method keeps students engaged and gives them a reason to keep coming back, with new content to look forward to.
Better learning outcomes
Drip course content can help learners retain information. Dripping content in manageable increments over time enables instructors to use the brain’s natural ability to absorb information. As a result, your learners comprehend and retain the information shared.
Consistent exposure leads to greater recall. For your students, drip content is like receiving a fresh episode of a show each week, keeping them engaged with the latest batch of information.
Also, using drip-fed courses helps instructors avoid content overload. Well-designed drip feeding breaks complex topics into digestible pieces, enabling learners to fully grasp a topic in small bits first before introducing a new concept.
Finally, drip-feeding your content to students reinforces their previous learning. New lessons can briefly recap or reference previous lessons, which creates an opportunity for strong connections and deeper, more meaningful learning.
More revenue
For course creators who use subscription-based pricing models, drip content is key to keeping learners coming back. Instead of receiving all of the course content at once, learners must keep their subscription to get more content and finish the course, which leads to more revenue for you.
Another way to increase revenue is to provide alternative purchase options. Instead of selling courses individually, you can offer them as packages and differentiate content in terms of ability and level of knowledge (e.g., beginner, intermediate, expert).
Packaging your content into bundles to meet learning levels adds credibility to your expertise and provides more options to tailor your content to the needs and existing knowledge of your learners. It also allows you to price those packages accordingly. For example, the expert-level option may be double the price of the beginner-level package. You can test out how this approach will work by preselling your course.
By spacing out the content and combining it with periodic reviews, the drip-feed method ensures learners are not overwhelmed with information. It also leverages the benefits of spaced learning, allowing the brain time to process and consolidate the information, which leads to better retention and understanding.
5 tips for successful drip course content
As we’ve explored, dripping your course content can be an effective way to engage learners, improve outcomes, and increase revenue. Here are some tips for getting started:
- Use the right tools: Ensure your e-learning platform supports drip content. Not all LMS platforms have this feature, so select one that allows timed content releases.
- Create a plan: Outline a clear schedule for content release. Determine when each module will be available to keep learners engaged and ensure consistent progress.
- Ask if it’s right for you: Evaluate if drip-feeding fits your course and audience. It requires planning, time, and consideration. Membership sites, for example, would greatly benefit from drip-feeding as learners stay subscribed to access all content, and complex topics are easier to digest gradually.
- Apply cohort-based learning: Drip course content would be on a schedule, so why not try cohort learning? Incorporate cohort-based learning, where learners progress through the course together on a set schedule, fostering collaboration and accountability.
- Be consistent: Drip-feeding course content can be tricky; ensure there is enough (but not too much) time between content releases; follow your schedule and stay on track.
How to drip course content with LearnDash LMS
Drip content has so many benefits, but this method may require more setup. Fortunately, the right tool can help.
LearnDash LMS offers drip content support for all your course content. Not only can you drip entire lessons, but you can also drip topics and quizzes within specific lessons.
Drip Lessons and Topics
LearnDash LMS allows you to drip course content with Topics, Lessons, and Quizzes.
These are used to create hierarchy within your course and organize it. The natural flow of the course goes from the overall course topic to individual lessons on subtopics to subtopic breakdown. Course materials like videos, text, and presentations are excellent ways to deliver material through both lessons and topics. Topics are best used if you have a lot of content, and they are optional.
Course → Lesson → Topic
The Topic Release Schedule option allows you to set up a schedule for dripping your content. To start, find the Topic or Lesson option within the LearnDash settings from the WordPress admin dashboard. Then, select the one you want to edit, select Settings, and locate Display & Content Options. From there, navigate to the Topic Access Settings.
These settings determine how the topics are accessed by your students. Here’s a brief look at what each of the settings means:
- Associated Course settings allow you to link your topic to a specific course. You can also do this using the course builder.
- Associated Lesson settings allow you to link your topic to a specific lesson. You can do this while building the course and lessons.
- Topic Release Schedules make it possible for you to drip feed your topics to your users using this option either Immediately, Enrollment-based in which the topic will be available x-number of days after the user has enrolled in the course, or a Specific date, at which time the topic will be available.
Drip course content for more engagement
Drip-feeding course content offers a strategic and engaging approach to delivering learning materials, ensuring that learners absorb information at a manageable pace. This method not only enhances retention and comprehension but also keeps students motivated and looking forward to new content.
By carefully planning your drip schedule, selecting the right tools, and considering the unique needs of your audience, you can create a dynamic and effective learning experience. Learning and Development professionals like you can use drip content to focus on improving the skills, knowledge, and competencies of your learners.
Whether through platforms like LearnDash or other e-learning tools, drip-fed courses provide a valuable framework for modern education. Try the LearnDash demo to see for yourself how easy it can be!
