The TopClass Blog

Members have a genuine desire to learn. They joined your association because they want to improve their skills and advance their career. Even though they want to listen to conference recordings and register for online courses, life gets in the way, so they never get around to realizing those intentions. 

Help members follow through on their good intentions by motivating them to prioritize learning and make space for it in their lives. 

🎓Why intrinsic motivation is essential for learning 

 Professional development requires time, money, and effort. Busy members default to putting off professional development to “a better time.” But that better time never comes unless members are intrinsically motivated to learn.  

Intrinsic motivation is the internal drive to do something primarily for a sense of personal satisfaction and enjoyment. It’s a more effective driver than extrinsic motivation, which is spurred solely by external rewards, like money, grades, or recognition, or the desire to avoid negative consequences. 

 Learners need intrinsic motivation to stay on track with their coursework and professional development plans. Intrinsic motivation is sparked by the learner’s desire for autonomy, mastery, purpose, and relatedness. To increase intrinsic motivation, build these factors into online courses.  

• Autonomy: be self-directed and in control 
• Mastery or competence: feel capable 
• Purpose: do things that matter 
• Relatedness: connect with others 

When learners feel a sense of autonomy, mastery, purpose, and relatedness, they’re more invested in the program and more willing to change behavior. They become engaged and persistent, which helps them retain more knowledge. 

🔥Ignite the intrinsic motivation to learn with your marketing messages 

It’s ultimately up to the member or customer to take action, but if you push the right buttons, your marketing messages will light a fire within. Of course, messages will only be relevant and effective if you target them by audience segment based on an understanding of their interests, needs, challenges, and goals. 

Help members become willing, ready, and able to change 

Intrinsic motivation only spurs action in those who are willing, ready, and able to change. Marketing messages must help members get to the point where they’re willing, ready, and able to do the work required to advance their career or grow their business.  

In marketing messages, contrast a picture of their desired future with their current reality. Make them aware of the discrepancy between their real and ideal lives. Self-assessment quizzes are a fun and illuminating way to show them what they still need to know to get ahead.  

Humans avoid change if possible, so keep emphasizing why change is good for them and how it feels to prioritize change. Share stories from members about how they got to where they are—what they studied and practiced. Tell them: they can do it, it will work, and it is worth it. 

 Address real and perceived obstacles preventing members from committing to education. Get them in the right frame of mind with worksheets, workshops, or webinars on

• Setting goals 
• Planning for change 
• Making a professional learning plan 
• Managing time 
• Overcoming procrastination and distraction 

Offer support, such as meetings with a professional coach, volunteer advisor, or program alum.   

Highlight the course’s immediate and practical impact  

Although it’s tempting to trigger negative emotions, like fear, to motivate members, it’s better to take a positive approach. Let them connect the dots themselves. 

Describe how your program addresses workplace or career challenges and provides skills they can apply immediately. Evoke the sense of mastery they desire. 

Use social proof. Share success story videos and testimonials from previous participants. 

Appeal to the member’s aspirational identity 

Talk to the member’s ego. Motivate them with a better version of themselves. Paint a picture of what they will do and where they will go in their career because of the program. Position it as an opportunity for self-improvement and career advancement.  

Display learning and career paths that give members a sense of direction and progress toward an aspirational goal. Create paths for different stages of various careers.  

Give members the opportunity to meet with a coach or advisor who helps them design a personalized learning path based on a self-assessment and inventory of their interests, goals, and prior knowledge. 

Offer the sense of belonging and community that members desire 

Show how learners connect with like-minded professionals and expand their network when participating in education programs. Prioritize the social aspect of education in your marketing campaigns.  

Put together an alumni network so learners can meet their peers and more experienced professionals in online discussion forums and virtual meetups. Offer individual and group mentoring or coaching sessions. 

Provide flexible learning options 

Live (synchronous) instructor-led programs alongside peers are ideal, but many members prefer more autonomy. Supplement your synchronous learning catalog with on-demand (asynchronous) programs with micro-learning modules, so learners proceed at their own pace when they have time to spare.  

💻Online course features to strengthen and sustain learner motivation  

When designing an education program, keep in mind the four factors of intrinsic motivation: the desire for autonomy, mastery, purpose, and connectedness. 

Help learners become ready and able to learn 

Learners might want to change, but you must help them become ready and able to change, so they prioritize learning in their busy schedules.  

Start every course with an orientation that reviews LMS and course navigation, learning outcomes, study tips, and available support. Walk learners through a study plan worksheet.  

Provide opportunities for practice 

Make learning meaningful by bridging the gap between new information and real-world application. Program design must include regular opportunities for learners to recall, practice, and apply new information until it becomes “sticky.”  

Explain the purpose of retrieval practice so learners understand its necessity. These exercises help them retain what they’ve learned and understand its relevance and application in workplace scenarios.  

Synchronous instruction offers more opportunities for retrieval practice alongside peers. But you can build retrieval practice into asynchronous programs by using interactive videos and quizzes, reflection exercises, and topic-based online discussion forums.  

Give learners a sense of purpose and progress  

 Encourage learners to set clear and achievable goals at the start of the program. Establish their baseline knowledge with a pre-course self-assessment. Constantly make the connection between program activities, program objectives, and the learner’s aspirations. 

Provide progress updates via quizzes and instructor or coach check-ins. Encourage learners to both give and receive feedback. Recognize their achievements with stackable microcredentials and digital badges.  

Build community and encourage peer support  

Make peer collaboration and support the cornerstones of your association’s educational experience. Synchronous instruction has the advantage here. Highlight the opportunity your programs provide for developing relationships with peers. Members can enjoy this benefit without having to travel (and budget for) in-person events. 

Encourage group projects and informal virtual meetups. Offer study groups for members who plan to take credentialing exams.  

 Invite learners to participate in post-program accountability groups. Help them deepen new relationships by creating alumni groups or inviting them to reunite at follow-up programs. 

Awaken the desire to learn in your members. Spark their intrinsic motivation by appealing to their aspirational sense of identity and their desire for autonomy, mastery, purpose, and connectedness. By igniting their intrinsic motivation, you help them become willing, ready, and able to change.