Course Player Customization, Payment Plan Automation & Advanced Survey Strategies for Course Creator

Master course player customization, payment automation, branching surveys, and email optimization strategies for successful online courses.

About Zenler's Educational Live Support Desk

Zenler hosts regular Educational Live Support Desk sessions via Zoom where course creators receive real-time assistance from platform experts. These interactive sessions provide direct access to solutions for technical challenges, feature implementation, and platform optimization strategies.

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Welcome to another Educational Live Support Desk session where we tackle the technical challenges and strategic implementation questions that course creators face daily. Today's session covers essential platform customization, payment automation, email marketing best practices, and an in-depth exploration of branching surveys for sophisticated lead qualification.

Watch the full recording to see all demonstrations and detailed explanations in action: 

Customizing Course Player Buttons and Colors

One of the most common technical issues course creators encounter involves button visibility in the course player. When students can't see navigation buttons, it's usually because the button color and text color are the same or too similar.

Where to Find Button Customization Settings

Navigate to: Site → Branding → Course Player Curriculum

This section controls the visual appearance of your course player, including:

• Link colors
• Text colors
• Curriculum background colors
• Button colors

The Clock System for Margins and Padding

When adjusting spacing around elements, Zenler uses a clock-based system:

The Four Numbers Represent:

• 12 o'clock (first number): Top spacing
• 3 o'clock (second number): Right spacing
• 6 o'clock (third number): Bottom spacing
• 9 o'clock (fourth number): Left spacing

Example: Setting margins to "100, 50, 20, 50" creates 100 pixels top, 50 right, 20 bottom, 50 left.

Margins vs. Padding:

• Margins: Space outside an element
• Padding: Space inside an element

Testing Your Changes Properly

After making branding changes, always test in incognito mode to see what students actually experience. Browser cache can show outdated versions.

Quick Testing Method:

1. Make changes in branding settings
2. Open incognito/private browser window
3. Log in as a student (not admin)
4. Navigate to a course to verify button visibility

Alternatively, press F5 several times while logged in as admin to force a cache refresh.

Automating Payment Plans with Discount Coupons

Payment plans allow students to spread course costs across multiple installments. When combined with discount coupons, they create powerful enrollment incentives.

How Payment Plan Discounts Work

When you apply a discount coupon to a course with a payment plan, the discount automatically applies to each installment without manual intervention.

Example:

• Course price: $400 (4 monthly installments of $100 each)
• Discount coupon: 35% off
• Result: Student pays $65 per month for 4 months

Setting Up Payment Plan Automation

Step 1: Configure Your Payment Plan In your course pricing settings, establish the number of payments and billing cycle frequency.

Step 2: Create Your Coupon Navigate to: Coupons → Create New Coupon

Configure:

• Discount percentage or fixed amount
• Products the coupon applies to
• Usage limits (if desired)
• Expiration date

Step 3: Distribution Share the coupon code or provide a direct checkout link with the coupon pre-applied: yourdomain.com/course/checkout?coupon=YOURCODE

Payment Plan vs. Subscription Distinctions

Payment Plans:

• Fixed number of installments
• Billing stops automatically after final payment
• Example: 4 payments over 4 months, then complete

Subscriptions (Memberships):

• Ongoing recurring billing
• Continues until cancelled
• Can include temporary discounts for initial billing cycles
• Example: Monthly membership at $50/month indefinitely

Temporary Subscription Discounts

For membership subscriptions, configure coupons to apply discounts for specific billing cycles:

Example:

• Discount: 50% off
• Apply for: 2 billing cycles
• Product: Monthly membership ($99/month)
• Result: First 2 months at $49.50, then returns to $99/month automatically

Email Deliverability and Freebie Security

How you deliver digital freebies significantly impacts both email list quality and content security.

The Critical Freebie Delivery Rule

Never deliver freebies on the thank you page alone. Always require email confirmation by delivering freebies via automated email.

Why This Matters

When freebies are accessible directly from the thank you page, people can use fake email addresses (test@test.com, anything@whatever.com) to access your content without providing valid contact information.

The Proper Freebie Delivery Process

Step 1: Upload Your Freebie

• Navigate to: Site → Media Library
• Upload your PDF, video, or digital product
• Click "Share File" icon
• Select "Anyone with a link can download"
• Copy the URL

Step 2: Configure Automated Email In your marketing funnel automation:

• Create welcome email
• Insert freebie link in email text
• Select text → Link → Paste URL
• Save automation

Step 3: Optimize Thank You Page Your thank you page should say:

"Check your inbox for your download link. If you don't see it within a few minutes, check your spam folder."

This validates email addresses—only real addresses receive content.

Leads vs. Students: Critical Distinction

Leads (from Marketing Funnels):

• Signed up through opt-in forms
• Cannot access logged-in site content
• Can only receive emails and access funnel content

Students (from Course Purchases):

• Made a purchase or enrolled in a course
• Can access logged-in areas of your site
• See member-only content

Best Practice: Keep free content users as leads through marketing funnels, not as students through free courses. This maintains clear separation between prospects and paying customers.

Handling Suspicious Email Addresses

If you notice unusual email addresses in your lead list, check your bounce reports after sending broadcasts.

Process:

1. Send email broadcast to your list
2. Check bounce report
3. Identify suspicious addresses that bounced
4. Delete bounced leads from your list

Creating Professional Email Templates with the Email Designer

The email designer allows you to create branded, professional email broadcasts with reusable templates.

Accessing the Email Designer

Navigate to: Email Broadcast → Create → Email Designer

Building Your First Template

Step 1: Choose Starting Point

• Select pre-made template for quick start
• Choose "Start from Scratch" for complete customization

Step 2: Add Content Blocks Click the + button to add elements: Images, Text blocks, Headings, Buttons, Spacers

Adding and Configuring Images

Image Upload:

1. Click + button
2. Select "Image" element
3. Click the image placeholder
4. Choose from media library or upload new

Image Settings:

• Alt Text: Describe the image (important for accessibility)
• Link: Make image clickable
• Alignment: Left, center, or right
• Margins/Padding: Use clock system for spacing

Personalizing with Variables

To add personalized information:

1. Click in text block where you want personalization
2. Click "Variables" button (only appears when text selected)
3. Choose from available variables: First name, Last name, Email address, Custom fields

Example: "Hi {{first_name}}, here's the resource you requested..."

Styling Text Content

Available Options:

• Font size adjustments
• Text color changes
• Alignment (left, center, right, justify)
• Bold (Ctrl/Cmd + B)
• Italic (Ctrl/Cmd + I)
• Hyperlinks (select text → link button)

Background Colors and Spacing

Block Background: Select the entire content block to change its background color.

Margin Recommendations: Keep 20-20 margins (20 pixels top/bottom, 20 pixels left/right) for breathing room. Emails with zero margins appear cramped.

Saving Templates for Reuse

Creating Your Base Template:

1. Design email with your branding
2. Add logo, colors, and standard elements
3. Save as draft
4. Name it "Base Email Template"

Using Your Template:

1. Find template in drafts
2. Click "Clone"
3. Name the clone (e.g., "November Newsletter")
4. Edit content while maintaining formatting
5. Send when ready

Custom Blocks for Repeated Elements

Save frequently used sections as custom blocks:

1. Design the section
2. Select the entire block
3. Click "Save as Custom Block"
4. Name it descriptively
5. Reuse across multiple emails

Understanding Email Deliverability Across Devices

Email rendering varies significantly across devices and email clients, which can create apparent "problems" that are actually normal behavior.

Why Emails Look Different on Different Devices

Email Client Variations:

• Gmail renders differently than Outlook
• Apple Mail displays differently than Android email apps
• Dark mode affects color and contrast

Device Differences:

• Screen size impacts layout
• Mobile vs. desktop display differences

This Is Normal, Not a Bug

Zenler's email designer is tested across major platforms for optimal compatibility, but some variation is unavoidable due to how different email clients interpret HTML and CSS.

Best Practices for Cross-Platform Compatibility

1. Keep Layouts Simple Complex multi-column layouts break more easily across devices. Stick to single-column designs for critical content.

2. Test on Multiple Platforms Before major broadcasts, test on Gmail, Outlook, mobile devices, and check both light and dark mode.

3. Use Plain Text for Critical Information Important details (dates, times, prices, links) should appear in plain text, not just images or fancy formatting.

4. Avoid Complex Formatting Balance aesthetics with functionality—simpler designs render more consistently.

Test Emails vs. Broadcast Emails

Test Emails:

• Sent to 1-2 addresses
• Treated like personal email by providers
• Usually arrive in inbox

Broadcast Emails:

• Sent to larger lists
• May trigger spam filters
• More likely to land in promotions/spam folders

Email providers treat mass sends differently than individual sends.

When to Contact Support

Contact support@zenler.com when:

• Emails consistently fail to arrive
• Formatting problems appear across all devices
• Error messages occur during sending
• Bounces increase suddenly

Include:

• Screenshots showing the problem
• Email client/device where issue occurs
• Your email address and recipients' addresses
• Timestamp and email type (test, sample, or broadcast)

Copying Quizzes Across Multiple Courses

For course creators who use the same assessments in multiple courses, quiz duplication saves significant time.

The Copy Lesson Function

When you copy a quiz lesson to another course, the system creates an independent duplicate, not a linked copy. Updates to the original don't affect copies, and results track separately per course.

How to Copy Quizzes

Step 1: Navigate to the course containing your quiz, then to the specific quiz lesson in the curriculum.

Step 2: Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the quiz lesson and select "Copy Lesson"

Step 3: A dropdown appears showing all your courses. Select the destination course.

Important Note: The course content may take 10-20 seconds to load in the dropdown. Wait for the loading to complete.

Step 4: Once you select the destination course and click confirm, the quiz duplicates to the new location.

Managing Multiple Course Versions

Best Practice: Designate one course as your "master" version. When you need to update the quiz:

1. Update the quiz in your master course
2. Copy the updated version to all other courses
3. Delete old versions from destination courses
4. Document which course holds the master version

Alternative: Course Bundles for Shared Content

If you need one quiz to serve multiple courses with synchronized updates:

1. Create one course containing only your quiz
2. Create separate bundles for each program
3. Add the quiz course to each bundle
4. Update once in the quiz course—changes reflect everywhere

Advanced Strategy: Branching Surveys for Lead Qualification

Branching surveys represent one of the most powerful but underutilized features for sophisticated lead qualification and segmentation.

What Are Branching Surveys?

Unlike linear surveys where everyone answers the same questions in sequence, branching surveys adapt the path based on responses. Different answers lead to different subsequent questions, creating personalized experiences.

Linear Survey: Question 1 → Question 2 → Question 3 → End (everyone follows same path)

Branching Survey: Question 1 → If Answer A: Question 2A → Question 3A → Result Page A → If Answer B: Question 2B → Question 3B → Result Page B

When to Use Branching vs. Linear Surveys

Use Linear Surveys When:

• You need specific information from everyone
• Questions apply universally
• Qualification criteria are straightforward

Use Branching Surveys When:

• Responses determine relevance of subsequent questions
• You're segmenting leads into categories
• Different paths require different follow-up
• You want to deliver personalized result pages and email sequences

Real-World Use Case: High-Ticket Course Qualification

Consider a consultant offering a high-ticket program requiring one-to-one qualification calls. Traditional approach: spend 60 minutes with each prospect.

Problem: With 100 interested prospects, that's 100 hours of calls before any enrollments.

Solution: Replace initial qualification calls with branching surveys.

Benefits:

• 100 prospects complete surveys simultaneously
• No time investment during completion
• Automatic qualification based on responses
• Personalized follow-up emails based on survey paths
• One-to-one time reserved only for qualified candidates

Time Saved: Instead of 100 hours of calls, analyze completed surveys (5-10 hours) and hold calls only with qualified prospects.

Planning Your Branching Survey

Before building, map your survey flow on paper or in a tool like Canva.

Essential Planning Elements:

1. Starting Questions: What determines the initial branch?
2. Branch Points: Where do paths diverge?
3. Question Sequences: What follows each branch?
4. Result Pages: Where does each path end?
5. Email Sequences: What follow-up suits each outcome?

Organizational Naming Convention:

• Q1: Initial Question
• Q2A: Branch A, Question 2
• Q2B: Branch B, Question 2
• Q3A-1: Branch A, Sub-branch 1, Question 3

Building a Branching Survey in Marketing Funnels

Step 1: Navigate to Marketing Funnels → Create → Survey Funnel. Name your survey and click Next.

Step 2: Click "Edit Survey" to access the survey creation interface.

Step 3: Add questions. Choose question types:

• Free Text: Open-ended responses
• Multiple Choice: Select one option
• Multiple Response: Select multiple options
• True/False: Binary choice
• Rating Scale: 1-5 or 1-10 ratings
• Fill in the Blanks: Complete sentences

Step 4: Toggle on "Enable Branching" in survey settings.

Warning: Some features become unavailable with branching enabled.

Step 5: Configure branch logic. For each question where paths should diverge:

1. Click the branching icon
2. Select the answer that triggers the branch
3. Choose where that answer leads (specific question or result page)
4. Repeat for each possible answer

Example: Question: "What's your primary business focus?"

• Answer "E-commerce" → Leads to E-commerce Question Set
• Answer "Services" → Leads to Services Question Set
• Answer "B2B Software" → Leads to B2B Question Set

Creating Multiple Result Pages

Result pages serve as custom "thank you" pages based on survey outcomes.

Setup Process:

1. In survey builder, navigate to Results section
2. Click "Add Result Page"
3. Name it descriptively (e.g., "E-commerce Qualified")
4. Design using page builder
5. Repeat for each outcome

Result Page Content Ideas:

• Personalized thank you video
• Next steps explanation
• Calendar link for qualified leads
• Additional resources
• Clear expectations about follow-up

Result-Based Email Automation

The most powerful aspect of branching surveys is triggering different email sequences based on results.

Navigate to survey automation settings and create email rules:

Rule 1: E-commerce Path

• Trigger: On survey result is "E-commerce Qualified"
• Email Sequence: Send e-commerce-specific nurture emails
• Timing: Immediate welcome, then 3-day drip sequence

Rule 2: Services Path

• Trigger: On survey result is "Services Qualified"
• Email Sequence: Send services-specific content
• Timing: Different cadence based on services sales cycle

Rule 3: Unqualified

• Trigger: On survey result is "Not a Fit"
• Email Sequence: Kind decline with alternative resources
• Timing: Immediate response preserving goodwill

Each automation rule sends completely different content based on how the person navigated your survey.

Using Groups for Organization

Groups don't affect the survey taker's experience—they're purely organizational for your benefit.

Example:

• Group 1: "Industry Questions"
• Group 2: "Budget & Timeline Questions"
• Group 3: "Current Situation Questions"

Accessing Survey Results

Location: Account → Reports → Quizzes and Surveys

Available Data:

• Individual responses per survey taker
• Contact details of respondents
• Completion rates
• Time stamps
• Branch paths taken
• Final result pages reached

Export Options: Click "Export CSV" to download all data for analysis in Excel or Google Sheets.

Individual Analysis: Click on any respondent to see their complete survey journey, including every answer provided.

Welcome and Opt-In Pages

Every survey funnel includes customizable pages:

Welcome Page: Functions as your sales page for the survey itself. Explain why they should complete it, how long it takes, what they'll receive, and your qualification process.

Opt-In Page: Captures contact information after questions are answered, ensuring only serious respondents provide details and the experience feels consultative.

Customization: Both pages use Zenler's page builder for complete design control.

Key Takeaways

Technical Mastery

• Customize course player buttons through branding settings, ensuring proper contrast between button and text colors
• Automate payment plan discounts—coupons apply automatically to all installments
• Deliver freebies via email automation to validate addresses and maintain lead list quality
• Use the email designer with templates and custom blocks for efficient communications
• Copy quizzes across courses using the copy lesson function—each copy is independent

Strategic Implementation

• Test all changes in incognito mode to see actual student experience
• Maintain clear distinction between leads (marketing funnels) and students (paid access)
• Plan branching surveys thoroughly before building
• Use result-based email automation to personalize follow-up without manual effort
• Replace time-intensive qualification calls with sophisticated survey funnels

Support Resources

• Educational Live Support Desk: Weekly sessions with live Q&A
• The Complete Guide to Zenler: Comprehensive video training
• Support Documentation: Searchable guides at support.newzenler.com
• Direct Email Support: support@zenler.com
• Facebook Community: Active group of fellow course creators

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Every Session Covers

• Live platform demonstrations
• Real-time problem solving
• Creative implementation strategies
• Technical troubleshooting
• Best practices from successful course creators

All sessions are recorded with chapter markers for easy navigation.

Conclusion

Success with online course platforms depends on mastering both technical configuration and strategic implementation. Whether you're customizing the course player, automating payment plans, securing freebies while building quality email lists, or implementing branching surveys for lead qualification, each element contributes to a professional, efficient platform.

The branching survey strategy represents a paradigm shift for high-ticket course creators: instead of spending dozens of hours on qualification calls, automate the process while creating a scalable lead generation system.

Remember: the platform provides powerful tools, but their effectiveness depends on thoughtful implementation aligned with your business model and student needs. Use these support resources, test thoroughly, and iterate based on results.

Your course content is valuable—ensure your platform delivery matches that value through strategic configuration and optimization.

Categories: : Live Support Desk