This exploratory experimental study investigates the impact of motivational strategies based on the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction, and Volition (ARCS‐V) model on online learners' academic performance, motivation, volition, and course interest. The research was conducted over an 11‐week semester with 122 undergraduate online learners within two groups. One group received a traditional e‐course, while the other group was offered the course with extra motivational strategies derived from the ARCS‐V model. The results revealed that the group who used motivational strategies showed significantly higher gains in motivation, academic performance, and course interest scores. However, there were no significant differences between the groups regarding the volition. Furthermore, the motivation and interest variables were measured with Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction subscales of the ARCS‐V model. In terms of interest variable, there was only a statistically significant difference on the Attention subscale. Regarding motivation variable, the results also showed a statistically significant difference on the attention, confidence, and satisfaction subsections of the ARCS‐V model. The findings of the present study offer insights into ARCSV model‐based research by examining the effects of the model as a valid and reliable framework for online learning environments. The implications and directions for future research are then discussed. Practitioner Notes/ Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Learning motivation is the most vital factor that influencing effective and efficient learning process.The attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfactionARCS model of motivational design has been used myriad times to design motivational instructions in a wide range of educational settings (from traditional to computer‐assisted instruction and distance education).Few studies address the online learners" motivation through the attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction, and volition (ARCS‐V) ‐based motivational strategies. What this paper adds to this: A quasi‐experimental study was conducted in online learning environment to research the effects of the ARCS‐V ‐based motivational strategies.The impact of the ARCS‐V ‐based motivational strategies on online learners" academic performance, motivation, volition, and course interest was investigated.The results showed that the ARCS‐V ‐based motivational strategies had positive effects on online learners' regarding to academic performance, motivation, volition, and course interest. The implications of study findings for practitioners: This research provided evidences for effects of the ARCS‐V motivational strategies on online learners.Online learners who took the ARCS‐V ‐based motivational messages had positive effects regarding to academic performance, motivation, volition, and course interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]