Increasing online competition and advances in search technology mean writing content More than a solid grasp of English.
Great content that performs well takes into account a variety of marketing factors that even the most seasoned writers are not necessarily familiar with.
Before you start writing content, you need to consider:
- How you will optimize your articles using keywords, topic relevance, internal linking, and more.
- how will you writing for a diverse audience.
- How will you ensure that all your writing has a consistent tone and style.
- should you Hire a writer Who is an expert on the subject, or a writer who is an expert in writing online content. In some industries, it’s hard to find both.
- How much would you pay your writer?
- How many articles you can write and publish per week.
- Who manages the content in terms of responding to comments, making sure links are not broken, etc.
- In terms of marketing, analysis report You will use it to draw conclusions about the success or failure of each piece.
- How will you fit in different content types – Videos, infographics, eBooks, polls, reviews, interviews, and more.
It’s safe to say that if you want to write successful content and get a lot of attention, getting some training in writing and marketing might be a good idea.
Fortunately, getting the training you need doesn’t have to mean breaking out of your budget.
There are tons of free online courses that can help you learn everything you need to know about getting links and sharing your business needs.
Read on for some of my and friends’ favorites!
Top 8 Free Online Courses for Content Marketing and Writing
Disclaimer: I have not taken all of the courses listed below, but I have taken some and I know of at least one person who has recommended others.
They also received many positive reviews from hundreds of others who attended the course.
Without further ado, here are some of the best.
Skill sharing course
Skill sharing Allows you to start for free for 14 days and then is charged $96.00 per year.
All courses in Skillshare are free once you pay for membership.
If you don’t want to buy a membership, the courses below can be purchased individually for $10-20.
Still, I’m adding them to the list because you can complete many courses for free with a 14-day trial.
1. Content Marketing: Blog Growth
This course is organized by Eric ShawCEO of Single Grain and founder of Growth Everywhere.
This 80-minute course will teach you various blog writing styles, how to brainstorm a topic, and then develop your notes from a brainstorming session into a full-blown blog post. He even goes into great detail on how to create an engaging headline and featured image.
This is a great beginner course for business owners and marketers with a 95% positive rating.
By the end of the course, you’ll write an original blog post to share, hopefully the first in a successful content marketing strategy!
2. Become a Better Blogger: Content Planning
this is a course Andrea Goulette Ford Corgibytes, a team of expert developers who not only provide maintenance services, but also start-up courses!
Ford was an unfamiliar name to me, but her loyal following seemed to swear by her advice, so I tried the course and was impressed.
She has worked with government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and more.
The subject seems fairly simple, but the plans can be very complex. She helps you create a library of resources for future reference, and she makes sure you leave after planning three months of online content.
Udemy Courses
Udemy is probably the most popular route for online marketers when it comes to taking free courses.
They have free options (both mentioned below) as well as paid options, and offer over 32,000 courses, 18,000 instructors, and more than 80 course languages.
3. Content Marketing for B2B Businesses
This course is best for B2B companies, but it’s worth mentioning that it’s one of the few good Udemy courses that are free.
The course consists of William FlanaganThe CEO and founder of Audienti, which is great because it uses actual scenarios that Flanagan has handled in his own business as well as his clients.
The course is divided into six parts, including creating interesting, relevant content, publishing content for conversion, and getting content in front of an audience.
4. WordPress for Beginners: Create a Website Step by Step
It may seem unconventional, but part of content marketing is knowing how to take advantage of all that WordPress has to offer.
This is important for both SEO and user experience.
The course covers posts and pages, content editors, media files, categories and tags, content widgets, and the more confusing little options you have.
This is a basic course, best for beginners, but it’s necessary if you have any doubts about what WordPress can offer.
Coursera courses
Coursera courses are on the rise.
The educational platform partners with top universities and organizations around the world to make it easy for anyone to sign up (similar to Udemy, but more expensive and in partnership with universities).
Coursera also has one of the largest libraries of all the different categories, so it’s one of my favorite platforms.
5. Professional content strategy
This course is divided into four sections: “Attracting an Audience,” “Managing Content,” “Growing Content Reach,” and “Securing Content Impact.”
The course ends with a final capstone project where you can use the knowledge you have acquired in the first four courses to design a content strategy package.
The course says it’s designed for entry-level, for-profit, nonprofit, volunteer, and government businesses, and it’s a great way to learn some of the basics of content marketing and how it relates to business strategy throughout.
This is an introductory course that you will complete in about four months if you spend about two hours a week in class.
The best part is that it’s completely free, although you can choose to complete the program with a verified certificate from Northwestern University for $49.00.
6. High Impact Business Writing
It’s the only course on the list that isn’t free, but 8 hours of videos, readings, and quizzes are just $35, which is pretty cheap for a Coursera course at UC Irvine.
This course is unique because it is one of the few options that focuses on the actual act of writing rather than content marketing.
It teaches you how to write and communicate effectively in the business world.
Of course, a lot of this is writing for online audiences and online publications (though it does involve writing business proposals, memos, etc.). If your pursuit is to improve your writing skills, this single course is a great choice.
This course is part of a 10-course series called Professional Success Specialization, which you can choose to study from the link above.
General website courses
If you pay close attention, you will find that different institutions and businesses on the web often offer courses taught by their professionals. Here are two of my favorites:
7. Inbound Authentication for HubSpot
This course doesn’t focus on writing or content marketing, but it’s worth mentioning if you’re interested in how these two areas can help with your overall online strategy.
You can learn everything from creating landing pages, closing sales, and more.
HubSpot is one of the leading marketing resources on the web, featuring some of the best content on their five blogs, so their courses are unquestionably top-notch.
After passing the course, you’ll earn a personalized badge and certificate that can be displayed on your website, email signature, LinkedIn profile, and more.
8. Online Marketing Academy: The Rules of Content Storytelling for Digital Marketers
Just like Skillshare, Online Marketing Academy offers a free trial so you can try any course you want.
They have 70 different content marketing courses to choose from, categorized by beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
The Content Storytelling course is unique because it helps you understand the basics of storytelling and how to get creative to make your content more engaging.
Creativity is something many businesses lack, so if you want to get out of your comfort zone, this is a cool course.
in conclusion
Good content writers are in high demand, and we don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.
You can even earn a full-time income from content writing if you take the time to understand the ins and outs of your business.
The list above is a great starting point if you want to expand your content writing skills, but it’s by no means an all-encompassing list.
More resources:
Featured image: Gaudi Lab/Shutterstock
