July Feedback Thread: Give and get feedback on your course!

Whether this is your first or fifth course, it’s always helpful to hear from other instructors how you can improve your course content to be even better. Each month, we create a feedback thread where you can ask for feedback and share your feedback too.

Before you share your course content, check out our self-promotion policy and read these quick guidelines:

  1. Be specific. Share what you’re looking to improve or things you’re concerned about so your fellow instructors can provide targeted feedback.
  2. Upload content directly. Whenever you can, directly upload a video or course outline to our platform so it’s easier for other instructors to check it out.
  3. Don’t share course links or instructor coupons. This is a space to share and receive feedback, not sell to other instructors. If you want to reference a course, share the full name of your course without linking it. Instructors can find the course by clicking on your community profile and going to your instructor account on Udemy.
  4. Pay it forward. If you’re asking for feedback, look over someone else’s course and give them some feedback too! Always try to give more than you ask for.

We hope this feedback thread can help you create even better courses!

Comments

  • MARS-900
    MARS-900 Posts: 2 researcher rank

    Hi, I am creating my very first training course here on Udemy and would like experienced course creators to kindly take a look at my intro video and suggest any changes or improvements they think would make the video better.
    As Intro videos are reported to increase sales (if done right) therefore I would really appreciate feedback and recommendations.
    Although, I am open to constructive feedback, however, I would appreciate it if you were kind while you made your point!
    Thanks a bunch in advance.
    Best.
    Muhammad.

  • AliciaPaz
    AliciaPaz Posts: 294 visionary rank

    Overall looks an sounds good, audio could be a bit crisper but it's still good! I like the overall presentation although a topic I know little about. I would include more about what a student will learn in specific terms and say it aloud along with a visual slide or two. Also, I would include some info about who you are and what makes you an expert, no need so spell Udemy out twice since it's on the slide, although I also spell it out in promo videos for YouTube or my own social media not landing page video (I presume this is the former.) I don't like longer videos but think 1.5 minutes to max 2 is pretty good so add to this one.

    I end similar videos with some kind of "see you in class" or "hope to see you in class" "welcome to this journey learning XYZ with me" just to drive home the topic and add a call to action.

    Not sure if you taught before but this is a solid 8/10 especially if you are a newbie. Also if you want more feedback add it to this post

    Good Luck!

  • MARS-900
    MARS-900 Posts: 2 researcher rank

    Hey Alicia, thanks so much for the feedback. I would like to point out that your feedback is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I needed specifc tactics that I could use in updating the intro video which convert better (or make a great first impression on potential students) and not just a thumbsup or thumbs down or "hey you are doing a great/poor job" and nothing else. I have gotten some really good ideas from your reply and am now thinking about updating the intro video soon. I would like to show you the updated version to you soon!

    That said I would like to now respond to each of the points you made in your reply. here goes!

    so first the audio quality: I get your point about the audio but it took me a ton of time to just coming up with this audio quality. I was using a more expnesive mic earlier but the results were no where near to what I was able to get from the mic i used for this animation video you just reviewed. But point taken. I will try to work on the audio quality.

    I btw am using the Boya BY MM1 micro shotgun mic for this video (Which happens to be a 30USD mic and would totally recomend it to people on a tight budget.) I btw saw your video courses just to see what kind of audio were you getting and I liked the audio quality there. can you tell me what Mic are you using and if you enhance audio quality using any software or not?

    Second point about telling students what they will learn in the course: I think this is a great point. I have started working on it already and am trying to come up with a really short summary (2 to 3 liners) for each topic taught in the course. again, Great point!

    point about adding some details about myself (the instructor). I think this will be good for building student confidence and hopefully better conversion rates. good thinking there. I am actually going to look through your courses to see if i can find your Intro to see how you introduced yourself to your students. the trick here is to show you know your subject and build trust with students without sounding cocky or like a showoff. kinda ticky if you ask me but I should be able to pull it off. Lets just wait and see! :)

    Good point about there being no need to spell "Udemy.com" twice. i thought it was a little wierd but then i remembered this guy do it and i needed some audio filler too in the video thats why i actually did that i mean repeating www.udemy.com twice.

    on your point about it being OK to have a 1.5 to 2 minute video. I am not too sure about this one as people have relateively shorter attention spans these days (research supported fact and not just my opinion) so i wanted something that was short and on point.

    The last point you made about adding "see you in class" or "hope to see you in class." is a great idea!! I am definetly doing this in the video update!

    finally but not the least you gave me a soild 8/10 for being a newbie. however, as much as i would like to say that I am a newbie but the fact is that I am a content creator who has been devellopiong content for others for the past 3 years. in fact i have made a number of courses for myself as well but never really got to market them! its surprising for most people when i tell them that we as human beings are not just afraid of failure but we are also afraid of success! you have permision to call me wierd now!

    Hey, one more thing would love it if you could also give some quick feedback on the actual lectures that I deliver. I am looking for "Delivery Feedback" more than anything esle if you would will, please.

    overall your response was really helpful Miss and I hope you are OK with me following your comments here on the community for more tips and tricks!

    The video lecture I am seeking feedback on is attached below.

    Best of luck with your own courses!

    Muhammad A. Rahim.

  • Hi All,

    I am coming back to creating courses on Udemy after 2 years of break from it. I hope I haven't lost my mojo. Here is one of my first lectures. If you have any feedback, do let me know.

    Just an FYI.. This time around, I went ahead and focused on quality of the videos and recorded my videos in 4K resolution. If someone has any experience or even can confirm if it is truely 4K experience or no, that will be great. Atleast youtube tagged it as 4K. So, I guess that counts?

    Course Title: Goal Setting - Learn the importance of goal and goal setting

    Any feedback will be appreciated!

    Thanks in Advance!
    Abhay

  • Hi Abhay,

    I think you are a good speaker. You've not lost it! Nice idea with the social image as well.

    The challenge is standing out amongst the other courses on goal setting. Getting ratings soon would obviously help. I saw your promo video too. I would personally start the intro video with the course topic rather than the your name unless your focus is wanting to build your personal brand rather than sell to your students.

    For goal setting, I think I would find more downloadable resources useful. Like a smart template or time horizons and goals. I can't comment on whether it is 4k but the video quality looks good.

    I see some gramatical errorr on your page

    Accompanied me on a trip with the objective of genuinely setting up your goals and stick to it

    Should be

    Accompany me on a trip

    Just a compute or portable device, to watch the videos.

    should be

    Just a computer

    It could be worth investing in a copy writer to help with the all important course description.

    Best of luck with it.

    Yau

  • Hi,

    Looking for feedback on my first course: Life Planning and Getting Things Done with Notion. Particularly as I have no ratings so far

    Specific feedback I'm looking for:

    • Whether I should change the name to: Notion - Life Planning and Getting Things Done. This is the first course on Notion in udemy. Was thinking Life planning and Getting Things done are more popular topics but there are many courses in these areas.
    • Do you get a sense of what Notion is from the promo video and it's benefits?
    • What do you think of the course image. Udemy provided it for me but I'm not sure about it.
    • The first 3 sections are about how to use the application. The last 2 are about applying it in practice. Would splitting up the course in 2 with the first section being free be a good strategy? I personally think the best stuff is the last 2 sections and I'm not sure students are reaching it. Is a How to sign up to the application too unexciting to have in the first 3 videos and the first section should be more 'Wow'?
    • Any other feedback welcome.

    Many Thanks everyone!

    Yau

  • Thank you Yau, this was really helpful. I wish I have the stamina to re-do any of the videos at this point. However, I will take the feedback about copywriter. It seems like a great idea.

    You are right, the goal is to give this course for free, for as long as I can, so that I bring in the new set of business/personal development students. My current student base is more technical. So, trying to build a brand, in those terms.

    I will surely fix the spelling mistakes.

    Regards,

    Abhay

  • MitchelMD
    MitchelMD Posts: 2 researcher rank

    I think I sound a bit too "clinical" and dry. Looking for suggestions to present in a more engaging/exciting manner. Open to suggestions and feedback.

    Here is a typical video from my sleep course:

  • Courials
    Courials Posts: 5 researcher rank

    Please help me about quality of the content and also tell me about teaching style.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E3mN6xlx_U-kimxL1HiQfDyKSX1k0qKd/view?usp=drivesdk

  • SharonRamel
    SharonRamel Posts: 1,311 rolemodel rank

    Hi @Courials
    ,as with the comments that were made on the other clip. You are loud enough and there is not too much distortion. However, I could not understand what you were saying. I did get that you were reading and that what you were saying was on the slide being shown. Be aware that many watch courses on their phones and thus tiny screens. Thus they are not going to be able to read your slide. It also looks like it is taken out of a textbook and copied on screen. If so don't forget about copyright laws.

    Personally, I believe you need to slow down, practice, practice, practice until your English sounds clear and you are not rushing words. I would be trying to be more creative with your presentation. Whilst it is a good first-up try it is boring to watch. Remember student will only give you a few seconds to wow them - if you don't they leave and usually never come back. Can you animate it, add some colour, maybe a giff or emojis to give some depth and flavour to what you are teaching?

    You might also investigate presenting your course in your native language - take a look and see how many courses are in your genre.

    Good luck and here are my mantras "don't shoot video that sucks" followed by "bin it don't fix it"

  • Hi Mitchel, this is a very informative video, but you're right, it could use a little more energy. Here are a few suggestions I have (for this particular video, at least):

    1. Engagement:
      From the very start, I think you need to give your audience a good reason to care about the topic. This way, they'll more likely stick with the video than skip it like you said :)

      Just to give you an idea, maybe starting with something like this would work:

      "You may be wondering why you sometimes feel so tired in the morning even though you slept through the night. It actually has A LOT to do with your sleeping environment."

      I imagine starting with a "pain point" like the above will hook your audience from the very first sentence because it's something they can easily relate with.
    2. Visuals
      If possible, try adding images to your slides to make them more appealing. The reason why more people are choosing videos over books these days is because a lot of them hate reading text.

      You can get high quality images here (they're free for commercial use): https://www.pexels.com

    3. Delivery
      There were parts in the video where you spoke a little too fast and there were hardly any pauses, like in 06:00 - 06:40. This blurred out some of the words.

      To solve this, you may want to invest in a little scripting. This lets you stay on topic, condense some of the lengthy sentences and makes sure you don't miss any important points.

      I know some people are against it because scripting sounds less natural, but with just a bit of practice, people won't be able to tell the difference :) One more benefit it has is that it lets you easily repurpose your lessons into an ebook, blog article, etc in the future (who knows, it may come in handy)

    Hope this helps!

    Cherry Aluzan

  • Hey Yau, I checked out your course. It looks awesome! :) I haven't heard of Notion before, but your intro clearly explained what it does. Anyway, here's are my thoughts:

    1. Course Title

    I learned somewhere that if you're trying to rank higher in search, the most important keywords should appear first. So, since you don't have any competition for the keyword "Notion" yet, using "Life Planning and Getting Things Done with Notion" makes more sense to me.

    You may also want to explore or add other keywords that your target audience may be using to find courses like yours. I haven't done a lot of research on this, but other words that come to mind related to your content are "productive/productivity" and "organize/organization".

    2. What Notion is

    Yes, your promo video explained this well :)

    3. Course image

    I think an image that shows familiar productivity apps all pointing to the Notion icon will better represent the "All-tools-in-one" feature of Notion at a glance.

    Maybe something similar to this (but no text).

    4BFAEF7100000578-5704431-Connected_Money_The_new_app_will_allow_HSBC_customers_to_put_all-a-11_1525791355714

    4. Breaking down the course

    I'm not sure about offering the "How to Use Notion" section entirely for free. If you give away too much information, students may just decide to "connect the dots" on their own when it comes to applying their newfound knowledge of the app. Not many of them will realize what they're going to miss if they skip the second part. But that's just a thought.

    5. Other feedback

    I think you have a really promising course, but a headline tweak can make it compete better with similar courses that teach about productivity/planning/organization.

    Maybe something like "Get more things done in less time with Notion" looks more inviting that just "Getting things done". Anyway, that's just off the top of my head, so don't take it as gospel :)

    Cherry

  • ZeeBee888
    ZeeBee888 Posts: 2 researcher rank

    Hi,

    I am a first-time educational video producer. I am hoping to get some feedback on my video. In particular:

    -audio and video quality

    -critique the use of my headshots versus using text-to-speech on some of the slides

    -the flow of the lesson

    -anything that comes to mind

    Thank you very much!

    John

  • ZeeBee888
    ZeeBee888 Posts: 2 researcher rank

    I just found out that text-to-speech is a no-no, so I'll be redoing this. But any other comments are appreciated. thanks!