Courses

Offer free preview lessons

Let anyone open one or more lessons without enrolling, so they can try your course before they buy.

Chosen lessons open for anyone who visits the course, while the rest stay locked until they enroll.

When to use this

  • A paid course, where a sample lesson helps people decide.
  • A members-only course you want non-members to get a taste of.
  • A welcome or introduction lesson that explains what the course covers.

Steps

Open the lesson

Go to Offerings → Courses, open the course, then the Content builder tab. Click the module, then the lesson.

Make it a free preview

In the lesson's ⋯ menu, click Make Free Preview. You'll see "Lesson is now available as free preview", and the lesson is tagged Preview in the sidebar.

Publish the lesson

The lesson must be Published for anyone to see it. Click Publish Lesson if it's still a draft.

Repeat for any other lessons

One or two previews is usually plenty.

To undo, open the lesson's ⋯ menu and click Remove Free Preview.

Tips

  • Pick your best lesson, not your intro. A lesson that gives a real result sells the course better than a welcome video.
  • Put previews early. Members see them in course order, so a preview in module 1 is the most natural.
  • Attachments come too. Files attached to a preview lesson are open to everyone who previews it.

What your members see

On the course page, a Preview Course button next to Sign In / Sign Up for people who aren't signed in, or a Preview free content link under the enroll button for people who are. Preview lessons are marked Free in the lesson list. Inside the player they see "Preview Mode - Only free preview lessons are accessible" with an Enroll Now button. Locked lessons are greyed out until they enroll.