How about transforming your community into a buzzing hub of knowledge, growth, and connection—all without breaking a sweat. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not. With our latest CRM feature, you can now integrate free courses directly into your community platform. This game-changing feature allows you to share knowledge, enhance engagement, and add value effortlessly.

This is more than just online courses—it’s a bridge between education and community. Ultimately, offering free courses in classroom series will elevate your platform and keep your community skills at their best.

Here’s how this feature works, why it’s invaluable, and how you can get started in just a few clicks.

Why Educational Content is Key to Thriving Communities

Education is a cornerstone of growth. Providing free courses within your community adds a wide range of new dimension to member engagement. Let’s unpack why this is essential:

1. Strengthening Connections: Learning together creates shared experiences, strengthening bonds within your community. Members who grow together tend to stick together, fostering their essential skills, such as business skills and career skills.

2. Building Trust and Loyalty: Knowledge-sharing is a powerful tool. By offering educational content through series of courses you position your community as a trusted source, increasing loyalty and credibility.

3. Retaining Members: Communities that provide value keep members around longer. Imagine a fitness community offering access to content about wellness courses or a tech group running coding bootcamps—the added value is irresistible.

A Closer Look at Free Course Integration

This new CRM feature is designed to make adding free courses as seamless as possible. Here’s how it works:

Create, Manage, Share

The ability to build courses and training programmes directly within your CRM is a powerful tool for simplifying the education process. It's a running professional network where members seek careers & skills growth—offering a range of topics like "Advanced Excel for Analysts" or "Personal Branding for LinkedIn" directly within the CRM eliminates the need for complex integrations with external learning management systems (LMS). You can:

• Customize lessons: Add videos, text guides, or interactive quizzes tailored to your members’ needs.

• Assess learning: Embed polls or tests to gauge understanding, such as a mid-course quiz on Excel formulas.

• Manage content effortlessly: Update or expand course and training materials without relying on third-party platforms.

Track Progress

Monitoring progress is essential for course success. The built-in tools allow you to:

• Track completion rates: For example, in a wellness community offering courses on mindfulness, you can identify where members tend to drop out, whether it’s after Week 2 or the midpoint of the course.

• Assess engagement metrics: Metrics like average time spent per lesson can indicate the effectiveness of your materials. If members spend more time on a lesson about meditation techniques, it suggests higher interest and relevance.

• Collect feedback: Incorporate surveys or star ratings at the end of each module to gather insights for improvement.

All-In-One Platform

The cohesive experience offered by keeping everything within the same platform is invaluable. Let’s take an example:

In a fitness community, members already interact through forums, share workout tips, and participate in challenges. Adding a "Nutrition Basics" course directly within the platform ensures members don’t need to switch to another app for learning. This increases participation and reduces barriers to entry.

By eliminating third-party integrations, you:

1. Save time and money on syncing tools.

2. Ensure a uniform user interface, creating a seamless journey from discussion threads to course modules.

3. Foster trust, as members feel secure knowing all their activities and data are contained within a single system.

The Benefits of Free Courses for Your Community

Integrating free courses into your community isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s what they really need. Let’s break down the broad range of its benefits:

Enhanced Engagement

Educational content serves as a dynamic catalyst for member involvement. By introducing courses, you encourage active participation, fostering conversations and interactions beyond basic discussions. Members find fresh reasons to engage, and a sense of novelty is added to the community experience. For example, gardening group could introduce a course on "Building a Seasonal Vegetable Garden." Participants could discuss challenges, share progress photos, and exchange gardening hacks in a dedicated forum. The content not only educates but also encourages collaboration, creating a vibrant and connected group dynamic.

Simplified Setup

The accessibility of this feature lowers barriers to entry for community leaders. You don’t need advanced technical knowledge to make it work. This ease of setup ensures that even non-tech-savvy admins can integrate courses quickly. A food enthusiast running a small online community could set up a cooking course like "Mastering Sourdough Bread" in under an hour. Using templates, they can easily upload video tutorials, add quizzes, and provide downloadable recipes. The simplicity empowers community managers to focus on creativity instead of logistics.

Community-Centric Learning

By integrating social elements with learning, courses become more than educational—they evolve into shared experiences. Members learn together, providing support and feedback, which builds stronger bonds within the community. A photography group might offer a course on "Mastering Portrait Lighting." Participants could upload their photos to a shared space, receive feedback from peers, and discuss techniques. This blend of education and interaction transforms passive learning into an active, communal experience.

Skill Building

Offering skill-based courses helps members achieve personal and professional growth. This makes the community a source of both enrichment and connection, ensuring members stay loyal to the platform. With this, a writing community could launch a "Creative Writing 101" course with modules on storytelling, character development, and editing. Participants submit their work for peer review, receiving constructive feedback while honing their skills. This process strengthens both individual capabilities and communal ties.

Increased Retention

Retention hinges on perceived value. Members who find your platform indispensable are less likely to leave. Courses tied closely to the community’s core theme ensure relevance and continuous engagement. A tech-focused community could provide coding bootcamps like "Building Your First Mobile App." By combining high-quality content with community support, members feel they’re part of something valuable and are motivated to stay engaged long-term.

How to Get Started in Just a Few Clicks

Ready to dive in? Follow these steps to create and integrate your first course seamlessly:

Step 1. Course Creation

Navigate to Membership > Courses > Products. Start by creating at least one course.

Step 2. Click on “+ Create Product”

Begin the process of building your course.

Step 3. Choose a Template

Select a product template, such as a Sprint Course, to kick things off.

Step 4. Start Building

Click “Start Building” to begin designing your course.

Step 5. Name Your Product

Give your course a title that reflects its content. Click “Create Product” to confirm.

Step 6. Add a Category

Use the “+” sign to add a category (e.g., “Training”) to organize your lessons.

Step 7. Customize Your Content

Add lessons, sub-categories, and assessments that fit your course’s objectives.

Step 8. Preview Your Course

Click the preview button to see how it looks from a member’s perspective.

Step 9. Community Setup

Create a group within your community to house the course.

Step 10. Customize Group Details

Add a name, URL, description, and branding to make it unique.

Step 11. Add a Subdomain

Navigate to “Communities > Settings” and set up a subdomain.

Step 12. Login to Community

Access your community platform and log in.

Step 13. Add Course to Community

Within the “Learning” tab, select “Add Course” and integrate your new course.

Step 14. Launch Your Course

Members can now access the course directly, creating a seamless learning experience.

How to Choose the Right Course

Selecting the perfect course to integrate into your community can make all the difference. Here’s how to pick as part of your project plan.

• Assess Personal Goals and Interests: Think about what your members want: their favourite content. For example, a fitness group might benefit from a yoga course, while a business community could enjoy productivity hacks.

• Evaluate Course Content: Ensure the course is relevant, engaging, and high-quality. A photography course with detailed tutorials will resonate more than generic tips.

• Consider Time Commitment: Keep your members’ schedules in mind. Short, impactful courses are often more successful than lengthy commitments.

FAQs Section

Q: Do I need technical expertise to set up courses?

A: Not at all! The CRM guides you step by step, making it easy for everyone.

Q: Can I track member progress?

A: Yes, built-in tools allow you to monitor engagement and completion rates.

Q: Is this feature compatible with all community types?

A: Absolutely! Whether you’re running a hobby group, professional network, or niche community, this feature fits perfectly.

Conclusion: Educate Your Community Today

Free course integration is the ultimate tool for taking your people to a community of experts. It boosts engagement, adds value, and fosters connections that last.

Ready to level up? Log in to your CRM and start creating free courses today! Your members—and your platform—will thank you.

With tools like these, empowering your community has never been easier. Let’s build career in education, and be amazing together.