Best Copywriting Courses for 2020

Need to up your copywriting game? In this guide, we’ve covered some of the best copywriting courses online that will help you become a better copywriter.

Copywriting is the art of writing in a way that gets people to do something. Not everyone has a bachelor’s degree in English, but someone with good writing skills can take a course and learn the essentials of copywriting. The beauty of working as a copywriter is that you can work from anywhere. Do you like to travel all summer long? As a copywriter, that is absolutely possible.

The wonderful thing about the internet is that there are good copywriting programs you can take online in your free time. In this post, we’ve listed some of the best copywriting courses currently available online:

1. AWAI’s Copywriting Course

American Writers and Artists, Inc. (AWAI) bills itself as being the world’s leading supplier of copywriter training materials. They also provide graphic design, travel writing and photography home-study courses. You have 30 days to examine the materials and return them in “unmarked” condition in order to get a refund if you are not fully satisfied. The cost of the introductory course is $497, but you can try it for 30 days for just under $100.

The “Master’s Program” to copywriting costs well over $1,000. Here the syllabus is clearly explained, module by module. They do state there are audios and videos that have been added to the program.

Course Topics

• Business-to-business copywriting
• Catalog copywriting
• Writing for the self-improvement market
• Writing for non-profits
• Writing for the health market
• Writing for the Christian market

2. Copywriting secrets – How to write copy that sells (Udemy)

Udemy offers a course on copywriting secrets. The instructors are Len Smith and Sean Kaye. The former is a marketing expert who worked for many years for IBM in Paris, selling IBM’s wares to the European market. He currently has some high-power clients, such as Vodaphone, Lloyd’s, Price Waterhouse and BBC. Kaye has more expertise in technology. Although not required to do so, Smith promises to respond to any questions you may have within 24 hours.

The course is aimed at all levels of copywriters and provides training in many different aspects of the work, such as an overview of sales copy, writing white papers, press releases, business-to-business writing and case studies. The author states that there are a lot of real life examples within the course material.

As is typical for Udemy courses, the $89.99 full price is currently marked down to $10.99. Included in the course is three hours of video, two articles, 44 resources, mobile and TV access and a certificate of completion. Students rated the course an average of 4.4. One user noted that he left the course with the skills to understand how to structure the copy, how to find SEO keywords and had amassed a toolkit of online resources that help copywriters.

The author also has an introductory course on copywriting, an SEO course, a course on building niche websites and a course on writing white papers on Udemy as well.

Course Topics

• Sales copy structure
• Beginner mistakes
• Press releases
• Case studies
• Writing for video
• Samples and links

3. IDM Award in Digital Copywriting

The Institute of Data and Marketing (IDM) is a London-based group that provides training to improve marketing efforts. IDM provides online and in-person courses on different aspects of marketing. The advanced digital copywriting coursework is suitable for a professional with a bit of experience in the field. The course is entirely online and taught in real time. The course lasts for 10 weeks and includes practice exercises and online coaching. The introductory digital copywriting course is only offered in London, and the fee is just over a thousand pounds. The advanced course offered online is also the same price.

In the online advanced course, one will learn how to write copy for digital audiences that is clear and has sound structure. You will learn how to have a strong and persuasive written voice as well as how to optimize copy for search engines. One will learn to work through multiple digital platforms and learn to critique copy.

The instructor is Tim Tucker, a copywriter and strategist in digital content. He has expertise in both business-to-business and business-to-customer marketing as well as with governments and non-profits. He began his career as a magazine journalist and editor. There are no reviews of these courses.

Course Topics

• Digital copywriting
• Style, tone and voice
• Writing for SEO and search advertising
• Copywriting emails
• Blogging and other social media

4. SEO Copywriting Certification from Success Works

SuccessWorks is a company that has been teaching heavy-hitter Fortune 50 retail companies, news organizations and financial services companies about SEO before Google was even born. There is actually both an online SEO copywriting course and certification as well as one for just business-to-business SEO copywriting. They state that their SEO certifications and courses are the only industry-approved online training programs.

The coursework costs $995 and provides lifetime access. There are eight modules in the program that comprise 130 pages of information. Also available is an extensive educational podcast library that spans four years. Each month, fresh podcasts are added and users are notified of the uploads. There are also bi-monthly conference calls where users can pose questions. The owner personally answers all emails. The course can be completed in three weeks, and there is a 72-hour money back guarantee.

The instructor is Heather Lloyd-Martin, an SEO pioneer. A few reviews found online by students revealed that people were happy with the material and impressed with the emphasis on doing a full appraisal of your own company and the competition before doing any writing, including the competition’s website. Also, Martin is praised for having SEO copywriters think of 10 reasons why customers should buy from your company and using that as a starting point for many articles. Finally, users praised her for updating her podcasts immediately when Google made changes to their search formula.

Course Topics

• Background research
• Keyword tips
• Providing customer value
• Using key phrases in a website-wide, structured manner
• Using Google’s free tools
• Where to place key phrases in the copy

5. The Complete Copywriting Course : Write To Sell in 2019 (Udemy)

One more Udemy offering promises to be the complete coursework for beginning copywriters. It was created by a team called “Code Star.” It appears that the main teacher is named Tamsin Henderson. Henderson is an independent copywriter who found success by devouring every book on the topic. The course promises to provide templates, real life examples and practice exercises that will help students become effective copywriters. A goal of the course is for students to learn how to gently, but powerfully nudge customers to act in ways that writers will find ethical.

Currently, the $199.99 course is being offered for $10.99. It has three hours of video content, 20 resources, lifetime access, mobile and television access and a certificate of completion. Students rate the course as a 4.6. Many comments praised Tamsin as an inspiring instructor who provided tools and templates to make writing copy easy.

Another student praised the pocket guides to different aspects of copywriting, such as press releases, case studies, emails and web copy but cautioned against getting too caught up in Henderson’s formulaic means of creating copy. Writing needs to be creative and fresh and not follow the same formula over and over.

Course Highlights

• Copywriting fundamentals
• Gently creating customer value
• Formulas
• Headlines
• Pocket guides
• Best resources

As you can see, it really depends upon your pocketbook as to what course is best for you. If you have around a thousand dollars or more to spend on a training or certification, both the Successworks and IDM certifications seem to have a lot to offer. This author’s preference was the latter course because one of the two industry approvals cited by SuccessWorks was from AWAI. Perhaps an employer can be convinced to foot the bill for the training.

The Udemy offerings appear to provide a solid foundation for new writers who would like to learn the basics for a small sum. Of the two, this writer felt more drawn to the Len Smith course because it was by a seasoned professional. The course by the Code Star team, with templates for general copywriting sounded too cookie-cutter for professional work if your goal is to make more than hack pay. Frankly, the introductory AWAI course, with its poor and unconvincing copy to entice anyone to buy, would be a last choice.