If you wish to build your content writing skills, this article contains details of the top free online courses for content writing on the internet. Content writing happens to be one of the most efficient foundations of marketing since the rise of new media.
Statistics show that most people love writing. This could be the reason why they say “content is king”. Everyone appears to be a writer, however, not everyone is a good writer. Good content writers create quality articles that are free from plagiarism.
In addition, new technologies and trends keep coming up every time and as a good content writer, you need to keep up with the trends. You cannot keep up with the new trends if you do not acquire the skills that the market requires. This is the reason why we have compiled the top free online courses for content writing for you in this article.
The highlights of the article are contained in the table of contents below. You can take a look at it.
What is Content Writing?
Content writing is a form of online writing that involves planning, writing, and editing web content, primarily for digital marketing purposes. In other words, it involves creating articles that appear on websites typically for selling or promoting a particular product.
Clients provide content writers with the outline with which they work. The outline that the client provides explains the task and any SEO requirements including the keyword and its related keyphrase.
The duty of the content writer is to create a compelling article that will target a webpage using the outline. Content writing is different from journalism or traditional copywriting. This is because content writing is created to get influence on the webpage. However, you can learn how to write a problem statement as an extra skill on your own which will help you not just create this for clients but also use it to figure out the flow of your content when there is no direction from the client.
On the other hand, content writing has a close relationship with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In content writing, you will have to write closely focused articles that will contain a set of keywords that online readers search for.
If you wish to write high-quality content, you will ensure that the keywords appear in the right density. Additionally, the texts will be non-plagiarized, clear, and aimed at promoting the product. However, poorly written content will not rank high on search engines.
How can I learn content writing at home?
If you like writing and you have been doing it for quite some time now, you can as well learn how to write online from the comfort of your home. You do not need a certification whatsoever to start writing. However, acquiring a certification in content writing will help to boost your resume and increase your chances of landing a well-paying job in the field.
Below are the steps you should take to learn content writing at home:
1. Choose your niche
The first step in content writing is by choosing an area that you love and then write on it. When you choose a niche you like, you will not find it difficult making any research on the topics to write on.
Here are some niches that you can choose from:
- Finance
- Travel
- Fitness and diet
- Education and opportunities
- Health and wellbeing
- Family, relationships, and parenting
- Yoga and meditation
- Cooking and nutrition
- Leadership and careers
- Crafting, knitting, or other creative hobbies
2. Create a website or blog
After choosing your niche, the next thing to do is to create a website or blog so that you can start writing in order to gain an online presence.
If you want to get a free blog to write on, check WordPress or Wix, or Medium. You may still set up a website for yourself to gain a wider presence online, get new customers, and generate money.
3. Write a sample work
Create a portfolio on how to write and publish content on your website or blog. As you write and publish content on your website or blog, make sure that you share your success with family and friends in order to gain site visitors that you can convert to returning customers.
4. Pitch yourself everywhere
Now that you have started writing very well in your niche, you can seek more work elsewhere. There are several online platforms where clients publish jobs for freelancers. You can check these platforms for jobs. It will help you to build your portfolio as a content writer and gain a reputation.
Additionally, you can check up on companies and websites that require the services of content writers. Here is how you can go about this:
- Create a short write-up explaining what you do. You never can tell whom you will come in contact with any time any day that will need a writer.
- Reach out to companies and volunteer to write for their website. You can also offer to create sponsored content about their products and services for your website.
- Join networking groups online and in-person to build connections with other freelance writers. It’s common for available jobs to be shared in these communities
- Pitch online and print magazines. Contact their editors and tell them about certain articles you will like to write.
- Check up on freelancing platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com to get content writing jobs. Choose the jobs that you can do so as to gain more experience in the field
- Read and comment on other blogs you like. It will help you to know other content writers that you can share ideas with and they may even link you up to well-paying clients
- Make sure that your LinkedIn and other social media accounts are duly updated and include links to your published works for employers to see
5. Check writing job boards
As you write and develop yourself, you can check up on specialist job boards so as to get high-paying clients. You can check the job boards including IWriter, BloggingPro, and The Writer Finder
6. Gather testimonials from your clients
The more you write high-quality content for clients, it will help you to build a reputation. As you build these reputations, your clients will always give you nice feedbacks that serve as testimonials. You can ask them to send their feedback via email or use the testimonial function on LinkedIn to leave a comment. Afterward, you publish great client testimonials on your website or blog for new customers to see.
How much can I earn as a content writer?
In the U.S.A., the average salary that a content writer earns per year ranges from $58,857 to $69,847. The salary that you will earn as a content writer varies depending on your education, certifications, additional skills, and the number of years that you have spent in the profession.
With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.
Free Online Courses for Content Writing
What are the top free online courses for content writing?
If you wish to gain more content writing skills that will help you to create high-quality non-plagiarized content, the top online courses for content writing below are a sure bet for you. They include:
- Fundamentals of Digital Marketing by Google
- Become a Better Blogger by Skillshare
- Content Writing certification by Hubspot
- SEO Training by Udemy
- Writing for the Web by Open2Study
- Content Marketing – Certification Course by the University of California (Coursera)
- Ninja Writing: The Four Levels Of Writing Mastery (Udemy)
- Writing Tools & Hacks: Copywriting/ Blogging/ Content Writing (Udemy)
- Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization by Northwestern University (Coursera)
- Content Marketing Masterclass: Create Content That Sells (Udemy)
- Copywriting secrets – How to write copy that sells (Udemy)
- Free Content Marketing Courses Online (LinkedIn Learning)
1. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing by Google
This course is designed by Google to teach the basics of Digital Marketing. It is composed of 26 modules and designed by expert trainers in Google. Each module has lessons and the lessons are made up of videos and transcripts.
Upon completion of each lesson, you will take and pass a quiz before you can move over to the next lesson. You will also write an assessment once you complete a module before moving over to the next module.
Once you complete this course, you will take and pass a final assessment afterward, you will be awarded certification. Successful completion of the course will help you to understand digital marketing. The knowledge will help you to become a better content creator.
It is accredited by Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University.
2. Become a Better Blogger by Skillshare
This free online course is recommended for bloggers and social media influencers. It is made up of twelve videos with each of them having 57 minutes duration. The videos will teach you the basics of how to become a professional in blogging.
Meanwhile, new users on the platform get free and unlimited access to this course every month. The course is administered by Andrea Goulet (Co-Founder & CEO of Corgibytes).
3. Content Writing certification by Hubspot
Content Writing Certification course by Hubspot will teach you the latest trends in content writing. You will learn effective content strategies that you can apply to convert your site visitors.
In addition, you will learn how to plan, promote, and use analytics to monitor content. This top free course for content writing will teach you everything you need to know. You will even learn how to check your monetization thereby making you a pro in the field.
Upon completion of the course, you will take an assessment before you can acquire certification.
4. SEO Training by Udemy
Udemy will teach how to write compelling content as well as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Content writing deals with SEO. Without SEO, the content will not rank very well on search engines, thus it will not target readers online.
The SEO training on Udemy is a free course. Eric Schwartzman administers it. If you wish to take your content writing skills to the next level, learn SEO training by Udemy.
5. Writing for the Web by Open2Study
Writing for the web by Open2Study is one of the top free online courses for content writing. The course is administered by Frankie Madden who is a senior user experience consultant at Stamford Interactive.
Moreover, this free course will help you to become a better content writer and strategist. The course will also teach you the latest trends in content writing for you to create high-quality and relevant content that you can repurpose to get convert site visitors.
You will be awarded a certificate upon successful completion of the course.
6. Content Marketing – Certification Course by the University of California (Coursera)
This content writing course is offered by UC Davis in collaboration with Copyblogger. The course is taught by Sonia Simone (Chief Content Officer at Rainmaker Digital).
You will learn how to segment your audience and how to implement your content marketing plans so as to turn your visitors into leads.
This top free online course for content writing contains assignments and quizzes. Upon successful completion, you will be awarded a certificate. The duration of this course is five (5) weeks.
7. Ninja Writing: The Four Levels Of Writing Mastery (Udemy)
This course will teach you how to become a professional content writer. You don’t need to have experience in content writing before taking this course because it will teach you the basics.
Ninja writing will teach you all the four levels such as narrative, paragraphs, sentences, and words. In addition, the course will teach you how to create blogs and marketing copies that will target customers. The course comprises over 50 lectures and 11 downloadable materials that you can have access to at any time.
At the end of the lessons, you will be assigned assessments. It will take you just 4 hours to complete the course. Once you complete this course, you will become a pro in content writing.
8. Writing Tools & Hacks: Copywriting/ Blogging/ Content Writing (Udemy)
This course will show you the best tools that you can use to create non-plagiarized and typo-error free content. You will also learn about hacks that will help you to meet deadlines and write high-quality content.
The tools contained in this lesson will give you ideas on how to write compelling content and create killer headlines for your content marketing campaign.
In addition, the course contains 32 lessons, 1 article, and 4 downloadable materials that you can access at any time.
The duration of this course is 1 hour 30 minutes.
9. Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization by Northwestern University (Coursera)
This content writing course is designed for professionals that focus on generating ideas that will target an audience. It is offered by Northwestern University on Coursera.
The course will teach you the techniques and tools needed to write compelling content that will capture the interest of your target audience.
You will also learn how to create content for different digital platforms.
The duration of the course is 4 months.
10. Content Marketing Masterclass: Create Content That Sells (Udemy)
This free online course does not have any requirements for signing up. It will teach you how to write a clear marketing copy.
Additionally, you will learn the different ways on how to drive traffic on your website through email marketing, SEO best practices, campaign creations, content promotions, and how to use social media to create brand awareness.
The course instructor Brad Merrill is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Merrill Media. He has helped a number of startups and established companies in reforming their content marketing strategies to get results.
The duration of the course is 3 hours 30 minutes.
11. Copywriting secrets – How to write copy that sells (Udemy)
Copywriting secrets by Udemy will help you to create compelling articles that sell. Through this course, you will learn how to write content that will appeal to readers and convert them into returning customers. It will also teach you the right tone that will guide you while writing for your audience.
Additionally, you will learn the tactics to master B2B communications through copies that have a clear call to action.
Len Smith is the instructor for this course. The instructor possesses over 20 years of experience in copywriting and has tutored more than 99,000 students in the art of copywriting.
It will take you 3 hours to complete this course.
12. Free Content Marketing Courses Online (LinkedIn Learning)
This top free online course for content writing that is self-paced focuses on social media, podcasting, newsletters, etc. It is made up of 59 lessons that are divided into tips and techniques together with assessments.
Furthermore, the course has an online and offline option. You may choose to take it online or offline. You have free access to the video lessons and other materials for the first month of signing up for the course.
Conclusion
You can become a content writer or get better at content writing when you sign up for any of the top free online courses for content writing that we have for you in this article. The skills you will gain will help you to write compelling content for your marketing campaigns that will generate high conversions for you.