The “Sticky Content” Formula: Designing Courses People Actually Finish

LMSPortals
Jun 19
4 min read

Why Course Completion Rates Are Failing

Online courses are everywhere. From masterclasses to micro-certifications, the market is flooded. But there's a problem: most people never finish them. Industry averages show that only 5% to 15% of learners complete self-paced online courses. That means your carefully designed content is probably being abandoned.

So, what makes a course stick? Why do some people binge a course like Netflix and others drop out after module two? The answer isn't more videos or higher production value. It's strategy. You need sticky content: learning that hooks, holds, and helps.

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The Sticky Content Formula

Sticky content is designed to be finished. It's content that sticks in the learner's mind and keeps them coming back. The formula breaks down into five key principles:

Clear Outcomes
Chunked Content
Compelling Hooks
Active Engagement
Psychological Triggers

Let’s unpack each one.

1. Clear Outcomes: Make the Finish Line Visible

People don’t commit to vague promises. "Become a better writer" is nice, but it's not tangible. Compare that to "Write a publishable 1,500-word article in 14 days."

Your course needs:

Defined Deliverables: What exactly will the learner create or achieve?
Specific Metrics: What skills or results will be measurable?
Fast Wins: What can they achieve in the first hour or day?

When learners can picture success, they push through the hard parts. Without clear outcomes, motivation fades.

2. Chunked Content: Break It Down to Build Momentum

Cognitive overload kills motivation. When learners see a 60-minute video, they often skip it entirely. But give them six 10-minute videos with clear labels? Now they can move.

Design your course with:

Microlearning Modules: Lessons should be digestible in 10-15 minutes.
Logical Progression: Each chunk should build naturally on the last.
Milestone Markers: After every 3-5 lessons, give a checkpoint or recap.

Chunking helps people feel progress. Progress fuels commitment.

3. Compelling Hooks: Grab Attention Early and Often

If your course starts with "Welcome to this course on...," you're already losing them. Every lesson needs a hook—a reason to care now.

Great hooks include:

A burning question: "Why do 80% of resumes get ignored?"
A quick-win promise: "In 5 minutes, you'll know how to double your open rates."
A relatable story: "I failed my first three launches. Here's what changed."

You don't need Hollywood drama, just relevance and urgency. Start every module like a journalist writing a headline.

4. Active Engagement: Make Them Do Something

Passive content is forgettable. Watching a video or reading a slide deck won’t move the needle unless it's paired with action.

Ways to drive engagement:

Quizzes: Not just for recall, but for reflection and self-assessment.
Assignments: Action steps tied directly to the learner’s world.
Peer Review: Let learners give and get feedback—it creates accountability.
Gamified Challenges: Leaderboards, streaks, or achievement badges.

Even asking a learner to journal their thoughts triggers deeper processing. Engagement is the difference between knowing and doing.

5. Psychological Triggers: Design for Real Human Behavior

You’re not teaching robots. You’re teaching distracted, anxious, busy humans. That means you have to play the psychological game.

Leverage these behavioral nudges:

Commitment Devices: Have learners set public intentions or deadlines.
Social Proof: Show that others have succeeded with this course.
Progress Tracking: Visualize their journey—checkpoints, bars, streaks.
FOMO and Scarcity: Use limited-time access or bonuses to motivate action.
Loss Aversion: Remind them what they risk by quitting, not just what they gain by finishing.

Designing with psychology doesn’t manipulate. It respects how humans actually learn and act.

Bonus: The Instructor Matters More Than You Think

People don’t finish courses led by talking heads. They finish courses led by mentors. You don’t need to be flashy or charismatic. But you do need to be present, real, and responsive.

What helps:

Instructor Video Intros: Let them see your face and hear your story.
Real-Time Responses: Comment sections, office hours, or AMAs.
Tone and Voice: Write like a human, not a textbook.

Instructor presence builds trust. Trust keeps learners going when the material gets tough.

How to Audit Your Existing Course

Already have a course? Here’s how to assess stickiness:

Look at Drop-Off Points: Where do people stop watching or submitting?
Survey for Friction: Ask learners what confused or bored them.
Track Completion Rates by Module: Find where momentum stalls.
Revise with the Formula: Add clear outcomes, chunk better, insert hooks, embed engagement, and trigger psychology.

Small changes compound. A better hook in lesson one might lift completion by 15%.

Case Study: A 200% Increase in Completion

One instructional designer applied the Sticky Content Formula to a copywriting course. Before, the average completion rate was 18%. After:

They rewrote the course intro to focus on one deliverable: a landing page that converts.
Broke up modules from 30-minute chunks to 5-10 minute lessons.
Added storytelling and a workbook.
Embedded quizzes every third lesson.
Used a progress bar and emailed streak reminders.

Completion jumped to 54% in three months. Same content. Better design.

The Payoff: Finishers Become Fans

People who finish your course don’t just learn. They buy again. They refer friends. They become testimonials, case studies, and ambassadors.

You don’t need to reach everyone. You need to get more people to the finish line.

Sticky content does that. It's not fluff. It’s a design system that respects the learner's time, energy, and psychology.

About LMS Portals

At LMS Portals, we provide our clients and partners with a mobile-responsive, SaaS-based, multi-tenant learning management system that allows you to launch a dedicated training environment (a portal) for each of your unique audiences.

The system includes built-in, SCORM-compliant rapid course development software that provides a drag and drop engine to enable most anyone to build engaging courses quickly and easily.

We also offer a complete library of ready-made courses, covering most every aspect of corporate training and employee development.

If you choose to, you can create Learning Paths to deliver courses in a logical progression and add structure to your training program. The system also supports Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) and provides tools for social learning.

Together, these features make LMS Portals the ideal SaaS-based eLearning platform for our clients and our Reseller partners.