Drip Content (Release Schedules)
Release lessons over time instead of unlocking the whole course at once
By default, every lesson in a published course is available the moment a student enrolls. Drip content lets you stagger that — release lessons one by one over time, either on a per-student timeline or on a fixed cohort calendar.
When to use drip
- Cohort courses where the whole class should move through the same lesson on the same day
- Self-paced courses where you want students to spread out the work and avoid binge-watching
- Subscription content where lessons unlock weekly to keep learners engaged
- Live + async blends where async material should drop the day after a live session
The two modes
Every lesson has its own Release schedule card on the lesson editor with three options:
1. Immediately
The lesson is available the moment a student enrolls. This is the default — every lesson behaves this way unless you change it.
2. After N days of enrollment
Each student unlocks the lesson on their own clock. If a student enrolls on April 1 and you set the lesson to "Unlock 7 days after enrollment," that student sees it on April 8. A different student who enrolls on April 15 sees it on April 22.
This is relative drip. Best for self-paced courses and subscription-style content where each student moves at their own pace.
3. On a specific date
The lesson unlocks for everyone at the same wall-clock moment. Set "Unlock at April 20, 2026, 9:00 AM" and every enrolled student — regardless of when they joined — gets access at that moment.
This is absolute drip. Best for cohort courses where the whole class should hit the same lesson together, and for content tied to live sessions or external events.
Setting it up
Open the lesson editor
Go to your course → Curriculum → click the edit icon on the lesson you want to schedule.
Expand the Release schedule card
Scroll down to the Release schedule card and click the header to expand it.
Pick a mode
Choose Immediately, After N days of enrollment, or On specific date. The collapsed header shows a one-line summary of the current setting so you can scan a long lesson list quickly.
Fill in the timing
- For after-days: type a number from 0 to 3650.
- For on-date: pick a date and time. The picker uses your browser's local time.
Save the lesson
Click Save at the top of the editor. The lock icon next to the lesson in the curriculum sidebar updates immediately.
What students see
In the lesson list:
- A lock icon appears next to the lesson title
- A small caption underneath says "Unlocks in 5 days" (relative drip) or "Unlocks April 20" (absolute drip)
- Clicking a locked lesson shows a friendly placeholder telling them when it'll be ready, instead of the lesson content
When the unlock date passes, the lock disappears and the lesson behaves normally.
Drip never blocks a student who's already started a lesson. If you set a lesson to a future unlock date after a student has begun it, they keep their access — drip only restricts initial entry.
Combining drip with other features
- Prerequisites + drip — you can require both: "this lesson unlocks 14 days after enrollment AND only after the student passes the previous quiz."
- Class targeting — drip applies regardless of which classes you've targeted. The targeting decides who sees the lesson; drip decides when.
- Free preview — preview lessons ignore drip entirely. They're always visible to non-enrolled visitors.
- Live lessons — set the unlock date to match the live session start time so students can't open it early.
Tips
- Plan releases against your calendar. It's easier to set 12 weekly absolute dates upfront than to remember to flip the switch each Monday.
- Use relative drip for evergreen courses. New enrollees get the same paced experience as the people who joined six months ago.
- Communicate the schedule. Put the unlock plan in the course description so students know what to expect.
- Don't overdrip. Locking 80% of a course can feel like a paywall. Keep the first few lessons immediately accessible so new enrollees feel momentum.
Related
- Creating Courses — overall course-building workflow
- Class targeting — restrict a course to specific classes
- Lesson progress — what students see for locked lessons