Online courses require more time and effort by the students. Communicating with them about this might help them set up a schedule they can use to manage their time for course work and personal time or work related matters.

When assigning Discussion Boards,it is good to give prompt feedback to posts,and encourage expanding on the students thoughts

Showing the students that you are a real person who is interested in their education.

An Instructor should know how the course is laid out and should also know how to solve  techanical Problems that might arise