We are seeing a shift towards an economy where skilled professionals are paid more. It’s the reason so many content writers have found successful careers without any formal degree in writing or journalism. Which makes one wonder; where should someone learn content writing? Well, the answer is an online content writing course. Content writing courses have flooded the online ecosystem, but only a few of them are good. Thus, we discussed how to choose a course on content writing. Additionally, we have compiled five free online content writing courses. Yes, none of these courses is paid, but they teach you a lot about content writing.
How to choose an online course?
We believe in teaching you how to find courses in the future instead of just spoon-feeding you information. This is how you can choose an online content writing course: –
Determine if the platform is legitimate. The courses we have hand-picked for you are free of cost as well as from trusted sources. But, in the future, when you are investing in a paid course, make sure that the platform is legitimate. You can check it by going through their website and reading their free content (if they don’t have some, then it becomes difficult to assess the effectiveness of the course).
- Google the instructor. Most courses have a brief introduction about the instructor or the institute. But, to ensure the legitimacy of the instructor, google them. Before you start learning from an instructor, it is crucial to ensure they are not an impostor and their work is up to the mark.
- Read the reviews, both good and bad ones. Only a few of us scan all the types of reviews. Thus, check the five-star reviews as well as the one-star reviews. Read the two-, three-, and four-star reviews, too, so that you have a balanced view of the course.
- The one-star reviews let you know the course is lacking. Since not one course can teach you everything, you can decide whether this flaw is a dealbreaker for you or not. The five-star reviews will tell you what people loved about the course and whether that is what you require from the course.
- And ensure that there are at least 1000 reviews available. An extensive set of people’s opinions makes sure that there is the least amount of bias of any sort.
- The time of the course matters. If you are someone who has a time crunch, you would much rather prefer a short course. People often enroll in a course, forget about it, and abandon it (guilty of doing that). If you have time and would like a longer course on content writing to understand each complexity, you prefer a longer course.
- Lastly, if you only have certain pockets of time available to attend courses, on-demand courses are better. On-demand courses have pre-recorded videos that you can watch anytime and anywhere. Otherwise, some courses are conducted via live classes. In this blog, we have tried to include only on-demand courses since that suits everyone.
5 Free Courses On Content Writing
Secret Sauce of Great Writing By Shani Raja (Udemy)
Shani Raja is a writer who wrote for prominent magazines like Wall Street Journal. He has designed this course with Udemy, where he delivers industry secrets. According to him, these secrets set elite writers apart from writers. He rests his writing principles on four pillars: –
- Simplicity (keep the sentences simple and avoid complex words)
- Clarity (the message of your blog or writing should be clear and should prevent any fuzziness or confusion)
- Elegance (the writing should feel elegant instead of shoddy)
- Evocativeness (the writing irrespective of the type should evoke some feelings or the other)
This course on content writing gives you tips and tricks to include all aspects of Shani Raja’s elite writing. Moreover, it will also help you spot your weaknesses and flaws and correct them.
13,974 Udemy users have rated this online content writing course 4.6, which is a pretty good rating and a large enough pool of people to ensure the least amount of bias. The duration of the course is 41 minutes, perfect for people who dislike large courses. Click here to check it out.
Diploma in Effective Writing Skills (Alison)
But if you are looking for a longer and deeper content writing course online, this course is perfect for you. The publisher of this course is NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning). They are funded by the Indian Ministry of Human resources and Development and are formed by a coalition of IITs and IISC. Thus, this course’s quality is top-notch.
The aim of this course on content writing is to increase the effectiveness of your writing. Anybody can write content, but what sets apart highly paid writers and amateurs is their ability to effectively communicate their ideas. Thus, it will help you write content with precision and give you the tools to write it confidently.
The course has taught 12,572 students and is rated five stars. The course is on-demand with pre-recorded videos and has 10-15 hours of content for you to learn. Thus, you are getting 10-15 hours of content free in this course; it’s a steal deal. Get it now, from here.
Content & Copywriting 101 – How to Quickly Profit from Both! By Felicity Kay (Udemy)
Why have we included a copywriting course? Well, as content writers in this competitive world, you have to do more than just write content. You have to learn how to add elements of copywriting to write clickable titles and avoid clickbait titles. Moreover, if you decide to become a freelance writer, you need copywriting skills to sell your writing services. Thus, in our blog for a course on content writing, we decided to include a copywriting one.
Felicity Kay has been a writing professional for 15 years and has been a professional journalist and academic and literary writer. Thus, she teamed up with Udemy to make a course that teaches people how to write based on her experience as a professional writer.
The course is made for freelance content writers and gives concrete advice on making a profit from writing. Apart from people who want to start freelance content writing or copywriting, stuck freelancers can also join the course to resolve the issues they are facing currently with their clients.
It has 7204 students and a rating of 4.2 stars. For people who are looking for a short course, this course is perfect for you since the duration of the online content writing course is only 30 minutes.
SEO Training by Eric Schwartzman (Udemy)
After you have learned content writing from the above online content writing courses, the next step is to optimize them for SEO. Learning SEO on top of excellent writing skills can set you on a path to success in this era of content marketing. If you want a quick read to understand the importance of SEO, you can check our blog.
If you understand the importance of SEO as a writer, then this course is for you. Eric Schwartzman is a web marketing professional and has an extensive career spanning 20 years. Owing to his career, he is perhaps the one mentor who is fit to teach SEO. Thus, this course is his partnership with Udemy to train writers worldwide and equip them with the knowledge they need.
The only requirement of the course is that you have an internet connection, know the basics of operating a PC, and understand English. In case you are wondering who the course is made for, it’s made for social media managers and entry-level writers. The course is hands and has various examples to help you along your journey of learning SEO. With this online SEO content writing course, you will be able to rank websites, blogs, and even someone’s LinkedIn profiles, and instead of chasing customers, the customers will come to you.
It currently has 2999 ratings with an average rating of 4.3 stars. An impressive number of 63,691 students have this free SEO content writing course online. The course length is long (9 hours and 29 minutes), but the value you receive from this is massive. Thus, despite your inhibitions regarding long courses, enroll in this one here.
Craft Your Cover Letter By Udacity
You can learn content writing and SEO from the course, but eventually, you want to land a job or client. In both cases, you need a cover letter, and you can learn how to write one with these courses.
The course is quite comprehensive and teaches you the A to Z of crafting the perfect cover letter that not only showcases you in the best light but shows you the best fit for that job role.
Moreover, the course also has interactive quizzes to keep you engaged throughout the course. Plus, the course is taught by industry experts, so you can ensure that the knowledge is legitimate. The approximate duration to finish the course is one day. You can check the course out on udacity.com.
Conclusion
To sum it up, we saw how to learn content writing you should choose an online content writing course and then discuss briefly five content writing free online content writing training courses. And remember, skills matter more than free content writing certification. And knowing the resources isn’t enough. You have to take action to reach your potential. Thus, to learn content writing online, you have to dedicate time religiously every day. We hope you found the blog helpful and that it helps you in your journey as a content writer.
