Learning a creative skill has never been more accessible. An endless array of copywriting courses, videos, and blogs promise to make you a six-figure copywriter in no time flat.
Master SEO! Market yourself like a pro! Grow your network!
If you’re just testing the waters in the world of copywriting, it can all be a bit dizzying. Where do you start? How do you know a copywriting course will be worth your time?
We’re here to help. As you scout for resources to deepen your skills and jumpstart your copywriting career, there are a few key points you should keep in mind when you consider signing up for a class or certification.
Though approach and scope may wildly differ from one resource to another, the best copywriting courses have these four things in common.
The course is built around specific learning outcomes.
Perhaps you had a professor in college who seemed to just stand up in front of the class and, like, expound. After his expert, yet incoherent, ramblings, you may have left class in a daze, wondering what, exactly, you were meant to learn.
Lots of “learning” resources are like that. They expound, they show off, they sound great, but they don’t exactly teach you anything. They don’t give you a tool you can use for yourself.
A truly valuable copywriting course structures itself around a learning outcome. The creators of the course have spent time mulling over the skills you’ll need to pursue your copywriting goals, and they’ve built the course with the purpose of instilling those skills in you. These courses should tell you at their outset, “By the end of this course, you will have learned ___________.”
In this way, they follow one of the most important rules of copywriting: to begin with the end in mind.
Courses built around learning outcomes give you a metric by which to gauge your own understanding of the material, of the hard skills that you will practice to distinguish yourself in your field.
After all, what good is a course that doesn’t make it clear what you’re good at, and what you need to work on?
The course is created by real professionals with real experience.
The thing about copywriting is that everyone does it. People write texts, emails, reminders, grocery lists, Facebook statuses, and bad blogs all day long. In a way, everyone is a copywriter.
But that doesn’t make just anyone an expert. And don’t be fooled by the online smoke and mirrors. Anyone can make themselves seem like the Mark Cuban of freelance copywriters.
The top copywriters didn’t get there by accident.
Before signing up for an online copywriting course, investigate the instructors. Who have they worked with? What have they been a part of? What makes them a true professional, rather than a well-branded poser?
Maybe they’ve worked in the agency world and left their fingerprints on recognizable campaigns across the country. Maybe they’ve mastered SEO and helped brands boost their visibility online. Perhaps they legitimately have built a freelance career from scratch and want to show you the ropes.
You get the gist. Make sure the person you’re learning from has walked the walk and isn’t just talking the talk.
Believe it or not, many entities who offer copywriting courses have outsourced copy to low-level copywriters grinding it out on freelance websites. It’s tough to tell, but if the course you’re considering displays its team of creators on its website, that’s a strong indication the course wasn’t outsourced.
The course is available 24/7, on your time.
If you’re like thousands of aspiring freelancers out there, you’re pursuing this passion around several other obligations — your family, your job, your second job, etc. As soon as you make time for yourself, something pops up to snatch that time away from you. We get it.
A copywriting course that offers real value will make itself available to you on your time. That’s because the architects of the curriculum understand what you’re working through, and they want you to succeed. They may offer lessons through videos, modules, self-guided lessons, or other flexible tools that conform to your schedule.
If the course offers an inflexible schedule, then once you get behind, you’ll stay behind—maybe irrevocably. Then there you are with a hole in your wallet and a sense of dejection hanging over your head.
You leave the course with something to show for it.
It may sound gimmicky to “gamify” your new skills through some sort of certification or credential, but that’s not the case. A rigorous and substantive copywriting course should celebrate your success with a badge of honor that proves your value to potential employers.
Such credentials establish that you are more qualified than other copywriters in the market. Employers can perform their own background checks and investigations to see that you’re not just pulling the wool over their eyes by over-inflating your abilities.
Ultimately, a course willing to offer a certification is willing to stake its reputation on your new writing skills. Its instructors stand by the course’s standards. That means a lot to the people who might hire you.
Join us at the Content Workshop
At Content Workshop, we want to help you make it. We’re professionals in the creative industry who have worked with educational experts to build the EDU learning platform just for you.
Our Copywriting Course Bundle gives you everything you need to write better copy and master supporting skills like SEO and Google Analytics. Our other bundles walk you through the steps you’ll take to build and grow your business, expand your network, find clients, and create the life you dream of.
We’ve built our courses to empower you with the skills that make a real difference to the people and businesses you write for. You’ll come away with a certification you can brag about and use to distinguish yourself from the pack.
Want a peek? Check out our ebook How to Land an Advertising Copywriting Job, where we’ll show you how to start your portfolio from scratch and land more jobs.
And be sure to check out the Giggin’ Podcast to hear straight from the creators of our EDU platform.
