One question that almost all freelance writers ask themselves is – should I take any copywriting courses? Why?
Writing just for the fun of it, or that you feel like writing is one thing, but earning a living or adding to your finances from writing is another.
Copywriting is a unique type of writing that is in high demand, even in hard financial times. Businesses of all shapes and sizes rely on copywriting for all types of their marketing efforts. Of course, they are paying for it. But, this unique type of writing requires unique writing skills, and that is where copywriting courses come in quite handy.
As one expert site notes, “a copywriting course breaks down the fundamentals of writing copy in the context of marketing and other business materials. Unlike editorial writing or other forms of writing, copywriting is geared toward persuasion and influence, guiding website visitors along the buyer’s journey.”
Taking a copywriting course or courses can help any writer get the specific knowledge she/he needs to actually be competitive in one or more writing fields. It could be a more general field like content writing or advertising copy. Or, it could be a more specific field like technical or legal writing. A general or a specific copywriting course or a course bundle can certainly help with that.
Most of these courses are currently available online through specialized writing and/or educational sites. Some of these sites even offer a certified set of courses, that are verified through an exam or exams.
The key with any course or courses a prospective writer might decide on should have one key goal. That is becoming a better writer who will have a better chance of getting a steady flow of writing jobs.
Becoming a better (copy)writer through copywriting courses
As with any writing, there are certain general things a prospective writer should have in mind when deciding on taking a course or courses. Copywriting is no exception.
As the above-cited source notes, the best way to write great content is to just start writing. Copywriting requires a continuous writing flow and the possibility to write on a number of different topics. Sometimes, you may need to shift your subject focus even in a single working day.
Taking a copywriting course could be the right step to empower a writer to do so.
As some sources note, “copywriting requires a certain amount of experience, education, and expertise. It’s unlikely that you will land a lucrative copywriting job on your first try without learning the best practices of copywriting. Taking an online course is one way to develop the skills you need to be an effective copywriter.”
Of course, available copywriting courses vary widely in their target audience, quality, and compensation. You may look at beginner’s courses or a specialized or advanced course that will enhance writers’ knowledge.
On the other hand, there is the question of course quality and possible compensation for such a course. These days, there is an abundance of both free and paid copywriting courses available. And the possible quality is not necessarily tied to whether it is a free course or the one you would have to pay for.
There is quite a number of industry experts that will offer quality information for free. At the same time, some paid courses are not worth the trouble. But as a rule of thumb, the quality is in many cases more on the side of paid courses. Of course, the key will primarily lie with what kind, of course, a prospective copywriter is looking for.
Courses for copywriting beginners
As with all courses, here you can make a division between free and paid copywriting courses you may consider. Here are some of the more quoted free solutions:
- Gary Halpert’s Boron Letters – Actually, this is a book that is also available for free online. It represents an excellent study on customer psychology and how to influence it. Halpert also provides a model to structure your (copy)writing for maximum readability.
- Conversion Copywriting 101 by CopyHackers – This is a free video that discusses the fundamentals of copywriting as presented by a number of experienced experts. The video also covers writing for landing pages, Google Ads, and crafting headlines.
- Hubspot Academy Copywriting – Hubspot is an American developer and marketer of software products for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. At the same time, it offers various marketing and writing courses for free. These include lessons on content marketing, contextual marketing, email marketing, to name a few. Their courses range from 50 minutes to 4 hours per course.
- Become A Copywriter Pro from Ground Up by Eduonix – The course comprises 16 lectures presenting essential knowledge from various experts in the field. The course begins by explaining what copywriting is, before delving into what it means to be a good copywriter. Other sections of the class include “Finding your voice” and “Writing with clarity.” The course duration is four hours.
- The Landing Page Conversion Course by Unbounce (Oil Gardner, co-founder) The Landing Page Conversion covers multiple marketing topics designed to help you understand how to persuade readers to take action. These could include making inquiries or purchases. Students get eleven emails with video tutorials and teardowns of real examples. It covers how to write Call-to-Actions, landing page copy, lead capture forms, among others.
Paid beginners’ copywriting courses
As you might expect, paid copywriting courses for beginners provide more detailed and substantial information, but can widely vary in price. Here is a brief list of recommendations.
- The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting by American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI). At $495 this is somewhere in the middle ground price-wise. Still, many consider it ideal for beginners that are looking to create a copywriting career. At the same time, it is a course that can be of good use even for some more advanced writers.
- Peep Laja’s Conversion Coaching Program by Peep Laja ($78). The goal of Laja’s course is how to attract high-paying clients. The program focuses on developing e-commerce copywriting skills to persuade potential customers. It is an actual live coaching session. Besides the videos, participants have to attend webinars and complete assignments too. There’s also a live Q&A each week to get feedback.
- SEO Copywriting Certification by SuccessWorks ($995) The course involves combining traditional copywriting skills with search engine optimization. The price is probably due to the fact that the course lasts three months and those who enrolled get lifetime access to all lessons.
- Creative Circus Copywriting Program by Creative Circus. This course is geared primarily to those writers looking for a career in advertising. Prospective students would be able to build a copywriting portfolio. Among others, classes include
Professional Practices, Introduction to Copywriting and Long Scripts. You can get a price quote on request.
Specialized educational sites like Udemy and Skillwise are also a good choice for beginners. They offer a wide range of beginner courses as single learning units, or as bundles. For example, Skillwise offers Copywriting Mastery Bundle (four courses with 219 lessons) for $14.
Courses that improve skills
The AWAI SuccessWorks, and Unbounce courses above are also a good source for copywriters already in the field who want to refresh their knowledge and learn something they already weren’t aware of.
Here are some other courses, that can come in quite handy for writers who are already familiar with the basics:
- The Well-Fed Writer courses – This writer-oriented site covers a wide variety of commercial writing. From corporate writers, copywriters, to marketing writers. The blog posts available on the site are the most useful tool for writers of all levels.
- Kopywriting Kourse’s Free Copywriting Course – As the title implies, it is a value-oriented course. It has a mixture of videos and text-based summaries in its 8 different lessons. Some of the content is unique to this class. As one review states, it uses the AIDA formula for copywriting, which discusses how to better engage with readers. It has actionable strategies that come across as fresh. In addition, the free Kopywriting Checklist download is a PDF that is packed with lots of great advice. It walks you through the entire step of copywriting, which is valuable for those times when you aren’t sure where to start writing.
- Khan Academy’s Pixar in a Box: The art of storytelling – This is an engaging and valuable course that highlights some of the writing processes that Pixar uses to create its award-winning stories. This information can be used to employ more storytelling techniques in your copywriting assignments.
- Masterclass: Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing ($15 monthly) – Malcolm Gladwell is a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker and an accomplished book author. He frequently writes about social sciences, psychology, and sociology. He can provide some valuable information to writers who want to concentrate on these fields.
Concluding remarks
The list of copywriting courses is growing larger by the day. The choice is enormous, and very often prospective students have to go by trial and error. For beginners, getting to know what copywriting is and what it involves somewhat rules out the rule of thumb. Writers who already in the field will already know what they are looking for.
If unsure, or if some courses seem too pricey, sticking with course sources like Skillwise and Udemy could provide a solid and at the same time affordable solution. Searching through writing websites by oneself can also provide some valuable insights about copywriting courses.
