If you manage and sell online courses, then we don’t have to tell you how hard it can be to manage waiting lists. They can be a double-edged sword for both creators and administrators.
On one hand, they signify high demand and interest in your course offerings. On the other, inefficient management can lead to frustrated prospective students and missed opportunities for engagement.
Optimizing waiting lists is more than just managing names; it’s about creating a smooth experience that retains interest, maximizes enrollment, and fosters a sense of anticipation – and in this blog post, we will teach you how to do it!
Registration for courses can be a stressful and important process, as online classes are usually available with a limited number of spots, even online. Many courses are also essential classes for student learning as well as requirements for certain degrees.
Using online courses with WordPress can make the online learning process smoother and available to the global community of students, although, with that many potential customers, there are bound to be waiting lists for courses.
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The waiting list for your online course registration can be an issue. It’s important to be prepared when that happens. Waiting lists allow instructors to see just how much interest there is in their online course so that its next portion can be scheduled to meet the demand.
One of the best ways to manage a waiting list for an online course is by using a waiting list plugin. Most learning management system plugins exist in WordPress, and they also have addons, which are additional features and functionality to make the plugin work even better.
These addons tend to provide features that make the running of the online course much smoother for both the admin and the students and increase the engagement between them.
WordPress Course Catalog Plugin
The WordPress Course Catalog Plugin from CreativeMinds is a great tool for anyone looking to create and manage successful online courses. Administrators can use it to easily create an e-learning website with online classes, enroll students, and share online courses all in one platform
Additional features of the WordPress course catalog plugin include sending full email reports, adding courses in different languages for international students, and tracking user registrations. All catalog data can also be exported and generated into a CSV file for record-keeping.
This WordPress course catalog plugin is available for one website for $49, and $119 If you’d like to use all the available five addons.
With our plugin administrators can create a directory of courses – each with their own individual page. It also allows potential customers to search for courses using keywords, locations, course types, and more.
WordPress Course Catalog Plugin and the Waiting List Addon
The WordPress course catalog plugin, when enhanced with the Waiting list addon, can be a very helpful tool that creates value for your business.
It allows you to create waiting list forms for individual courses so students can leave contact information to register when the course is available.
The Waiting List Addon for WordPress course catalog plugin is available for $29 for one website and $59 for up to five websites as well as one year of support and updates.
The LMS WordPress plugin for online courses is also an excellent way to ensure you will have a full class of students for a course as soon as registration is open.
Additional features of the Waiting List addon include a convenient drag-and-drop editor to create fully customized waiting list forms, the ability to hide or show a waiting list for a class to students, customize special messages, and review submitted information on the waiting list forms.
Managing the Waiting List
Once the waiting list has been created for the online course, it can be posted for students to access. The admin has the ability to restrict the number of participants in each course to make them more manageable.
The course can also be made private by the admin, so students cannot see it, but leave their contact information on the waiting list for a future course registration. On the same token, students can send registration requests for classes, which is a way to determine class needs and interests.
Students who send registration requests can also select the specific course they want and the future dates for the course. From there, the admin can see which courses are in the highest demand and add more dates for those courses in the future.
Once students have submitted their contact information to the waiting list, they will receive a message showing that their addition to the waiting list was a success or that there was an error. These messages can be fully customized in the backend of the addon and can be in any available language needed.
As soon as the contact information has been submitted to the waiting list, that information is available for the admin to track on a separate dashboard in the backend. Each request can also be moderated to make sure it is actually from an interested student and not spam.
What Should I Offer to Students on my Online Course Waiting List
For students eagerly waiting to join an online course, offering exclusive previews or snippets of course content can be a great gesture.
Providing a sneak peek into the course modules, sharing introductory materials, or granting access to supplementary resources can keep their interest alive while they await enrollment.
Additionally, engaging them through a series of insightful newsletters, inviting them to community forums or discussions, and offering early access to related content can help build anticipation, foster a sense of belonging, and reinforce their decision to enroll when the opportunity arises.
These actions not only maintain their enthusiasm but also demonstrate your commitment to their learning journey, ensuring a positive and eager transition into the course.
Conclusion
The WordPress Course Catalog plugin, together with the Waiting List Addon, are excellent tools for anyone creating online courses with the need to manage waiting lists.
Having a waiting list is a good way to stay organized as well as offer high-demand courses for students.
Students can register for a waiting list to stay up to date on when a course will be offered again. This addon also allows students to ask to join a course and select future course dates. This information provides the admin with how much interest there is in a course.
This waiting list addon is an ideal choice for anyone with an online course because it keeps the number of students manageable for the admin. It makes sure not too many people can register and allows for the addition of more courses in the future to meet demand in a reasonable manner.
In addition to creating and managing a full waiting list for online courses, this addon also lets users customize the confirmation email and message that students receive after they input their contact information into the waiting list.
