How to Drip Feed Course Content in WordPress With Masteriyo

The failure of most online courses is not due to subpar content but rather a phenomenon known as “binge and bolt”: where a student purchases the course, rapidly completes several lessons on the first day, loses interest, and never returns.

One effective solution is to use drip content. This approach doesn’t give students immediate access to the entire course upon enrollment; instead, it releases lessons gradually, either on predetermined dates or a certain number of days after enrollment. This strategy mirrors how streaming services release episodes, a technique that course creators have successfully adopted.

When implemented effectively, drip content encourages students to return, safeguards against refund scams, and provides a compelling reason for subscribers to remain engaged. However, if executed poorly, it can frustrate learners. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore both perspectives honestly and then provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up drip-fed lessons in WordPress using Masteriyo.

Let’s dive in.

Understanding Drip Content and Its Effectiveness

Drip content, also known as scheduled content or drip feeding, refers to the practice of gradually releasing lessons rather than providing full access upfront. The concept originates from drip email marketing campaigns, wherein subscribers receive messages incrementally instead of a single lengthy email upon signing up. This model applies similarly to online courses.

Why implement drip content? Here are three key reasons:

• Improved Completion Rates. When presented with 40 unlocked lessons, students may struggle to self-motivate. However, receiving a few lessons weekly creates a structured plan, transforming uncertainty about where to begin into a clear path with actionable steps.
• Reduced Refund Rates. This aspect can be uncomfortable to discuss. When a course is fully unlocked on day one, there’s nothing preventing a buyer from completing it swiftly and requesting a refund shortly after. Dripping content inhibits this kind of buy-binge-refund behaviour.
• Enhanced Subscription Retention. For courses that require regular payments, drip content provides members with a tangible reason to maintain their subscriptions each month: the promise of new lessons.

It’s important to note that this strategy is not a magic solution. Drip pacing addresses delivery logistics, not content quality. If the lessons lack engagement, a slower release will only lead to boredom at a more controlled pace.

Drip Content vs Full Access: Understanding the Compromise

Opting for drip content doesn’t suit every course, and to claim otherwise would detract from this tutorial’s integrity. Courses that serve as reference materials may struggle with a drip strategy: for instance, if a learner pays for your course to find a specific technique, making them wait weeks for a particular lesson’s release can easily result in a refund request. Additionally, brief courses typically do not require this approach—when the total material is less than two hours, binge learning is often the goal.

Drip content proves beneficial when dealing with courses that demand a transformational approach: fitness programs, language courses, certification preparation, or any learning path where succeeding lessons depend on mastering previous material.

• Implement Drip Content When: The course spans several weeks, lesson order is crucial, subscriptions are offered, or refund fraud is a concern.
• Skip Drip Content When: The course serves as a reference library, is brief, or caters to an audience expecting immediate access (developers, for instance, are notoriously impatient ).

Still deciding on a platform? Check out the WordPress LMS website guide for a thorough overview before making a commitment.

Pre-Requisites: Free Features vs Pro Features

Let’s conduct a quick review of the tier system, as it is significant: the ability to schedule drip content (unlocking lessons by date or based on enrollment days) is exclusive to the Masteriyo Pro plan. The free version will still allow you to create a full course and includes two simpler pacing options, Free and Sequential, enabling you to pace students at no cost.

The Sequential option is notable even if you have no immediate plans to invest: students must complete each lesson prior to accessing the next, ensuring enforced order without date scheduling. For many courses, this alone offers sufficient pacing.

You will need the following for this tutorial:

• A WordPress website featuring the free Masteriyo plugin.
• A course ready to be populated with lessons. Haven’t created your course yet? Refer to our guide on creating an online course with WordPress before returning here.
• A Masteriyo Pro plan if you wish to use date-based or enrollment-based schedules. The Pro subscription costs $149/year (renewable at $299/year) and includes a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Just so you know, Masteriyo is part of the Themeisle family, the same organisation that operates this blog. For a comparison with leading paid LMS plugins, take a look at our in-depth head-to-head analysis.

Step 1: Install Masteriyo and Activate the Content Drip Addon

1. Navigate to Plugins → Add New and search for “Masteriyo”.
2. Click Install Now, then Activate.
3. Go to Masteriyo → Addons.
4. Locate Content Drip and enable it.

The capabilities within the addon depend on your plan. Free and Sequential modes are available under the free plan, while Date Selection and X Days from Enrollment schedules require a Pro licence. Additional details on what these entail will follow shortly.

Step 2: Select a Drip Mode for Your Course

In Masteriyo → Courses, select your course, click Edit, and navigate to Settings → Content Drip. You will see four options; make your choice based on one per course:

• Free (free plan): This mode imposes no restrictions. Students may leap from lesson 1 directly to lesson 30. This is the default all-at-once access behaviour.
• Sequential (free plan): Each lesson or quiz becomes available only after the previous one is completed.
• Date Selection (Pro): Each lesson unlocks based on specific calendar dates and remains open afterward.
• X Days from Enrollment (Pro): Lessons unlock a specific number of days after an individual student’s enrollment.

As the mode is set for each course individually, you can have different scheduling strategies for different courses. A cohort-specific program can follow the date model while your evergreen introductory course can employ the enrollment days approach.

PRO TIP: Align the mode with your selling strategy. For a fixed-start date cohort course, use Date Selection to ensure everyone unlocks content simultaneously. For an evergreen course that attracts buyers throughout the year, implement X Days from Enrollment so each student enjoys a consistent pacing experience automatically.

Step 3: Assign Unlock Dates for Lessons (Pro)

If you’ve chosen Date Selection, this section is restricted to Pro users, so ensure that your license is active. Access the course Builder, click the edit icon next to a lesson or quiz, and locate the Drip Date setting. Select your desired date, save your changes, and repeat this for each lesson you intend to schedule.

Students will see the lessons in the course outline prior to their release date, but they cannot access them until that date arrives. For a typical four-week cohort course, you might open the first module at launch and release subsequent modules on a weekly basis, ensuring that everyone progresses together.

Step 4: Alternatively, Establish a Day-Count Schedule (Pro)

The X Days from Enrollment option, another Pro feature, is particularly beneficial for evergreen courses. In the course Builder, click to edit a lesson or quiz, enter the desired number in the Drip Days field, and save. For instance, Lesson 2 may be set to unlock after 3 days, while Lesson 3 might follow after 7 days, accommodating the necessary rhythm for your material.

The timing is personalised. Both students enrolling today and those joining in three months will begin with the same accessible lessons and wait the same duration for the subsequent steps. Once set, the schedule runs automatically.

Step 5: Evaluate the Student Experience

Locked lessons do not vanish from the course interface. Students can view the entire curriculum, with future lessons indicated as locked, which functions favourably: the visible roadmap creates anticipation instead of frustration.

Before making any announcements, double-check the course from a student’s perspective. Use an incognito window or a test account to verify that the correct lessons are secured and the locked content displays as intended.

Should everything seem correct, you’re ready to go live.

Troubleshooting and Frequently Asked Questions

Lessons Remain Accessible Despite Scheduled Dates

First, verify the course-level mode; if it’s set to Free, students can access any lesson, rendering your schedule ineffective. Secondly, check for caching issues. Masteriyo suggests excluding the learn, checkout, and account pages (as well as the masteriyo_sessions database table) from caching, as a cached course page might display outdated locked or unlocked lessons.

Scheduling Options Are Not Available

This is typically an indication of tier limitations. The Free and Sequential modes are included in the free plan, but Date Selection and X Days from Enrollment options are accessible only with an active Pro license. If you’ve recently upgraded and still cannot access them, please confirm that the license is activated on the specified site.

Rapid Responses

• Is drip content made available free on Masteriyo? Only the Sequential pacing option is free. The scheduled drip options (by calendar date or days after enrollment) require a Pro plan.
• Can students view locked lessons? Yes, locked lessons remain visible in the curriculum; they just cannot be accessed until the designated time.
• Is it possible to gate lessons based on the completion of specific prior lessons? That requires the Prerequisites addon, which is also a Pro offering. The Sequential mode provides a basic version of this concept for free.

Conclusion

That wraps up the setup process. Here’s a brief summary:

• Drip content releases lessons progressively: either by scheduled dates or days after enrollment.
• This method significantly aids in course completion, minimises buy-binge-refund scenarios, and promotes subscriber retention; however, it’s not suitable for short reference-style courses.
• The free version of Masteriyo accommodates Sequential pacing, while Date Selection and X Days from Enrollment fall under Pro ($149/year introductory rate, renewing at $299/year).
• Only one mode can be assigned per course, but different courses may utilise different modes.

Set it up once, preview it as a student, and watch your course pace itself.

Have you implemented drip content for your course yet, or do you prefer the all-at-once approach? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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