How to tell if a paid training course is worthwhile
It is possible to learn excellent copywriting skills by extensively studying free resources but a paid training course can give you things no free resource will: access to feedback from a legitimate expert, truly useful information that goes beyond the beginner level, and sometimes even access to a network of real clients.
Unfortunately there are a lot of training programs that don't actually offer all of these things--and some that don't offer any. These are the cheap courses you see online, often sold for $50 or less, and they are usually just a series of overly simple videos made by someone who has a moderate amount of experience and is trying to diversify their income. They can be useful for absolute beginners, but often the information is stuff you can find for free if you're willing to spend enough time reading expert blogs.
So how do you determine which training programs are actually worth it? You have to start by asking some questions about the courses you've seen:
1) Who is teaching the course?
How much experience does the person have? And don't just believe the words on their sales page. Actually research this person's work. Figure out exactly how successful they are. If they've only ever made a middling income copywriting do you really want to learn from them? Or do you want to hold out and find a course by someone who has made six figures in a single year from copywriting alone? I'm pretty sure we all have the same answer.
Looking at a teacher's past work also helps you evaluate their teaching and writing style to see if they're actually someone you'll be comfortable working with. Ideally you want to find a teacher who will really help you find and develop your natural writing voice, not one who will try to shove you into a tiny box for a specific type of marketing.
2) What exactly are they teaching?
Does the course actually go beyond the copywriting 101 phase? Do they walk you through writing different types of content or just different types of pitches? Are they teaching the course in a series of one hour videos with brief assignments between them or is the course more intensive? Can you work at your own pace or is there a strict schedule?
The course you end up choosing should be the one that will teach you everything you want to learn at the speed you want to learn it at. Creating a list of everything you want to know before you start looking at potential courses is a good idea.
3) What else is offered?
Most paid online courses come with some sort of community aspect. What does this look like in the course you're considering? Do they have a forum where people can critique each other's copywriting? Does the teacher actively give you feedback as well? How much opportunity is there for connecting with your classmates and your teacher on a more permanent level?
Some paid online courses also come with other things you need to set up a copywriting business, like access to quality web hosting. Others offer continued support either through a permanent forum or through a set amount of post-class business coaching.
4) How much does the course cost?
If you're serious about copywriting you should be willing to invest a significant amount of money in professional training, but you should also carefully evaluate whether or not a course is worth the money before you buy in. A course that costs several hundred dollars but doesn't actually give you access to professional feedback isn't worth it.
There is also the simple truth that most of us don't have as much money as we'd like to invest in training. Going into debt for a training course may be worthwhile but you need to weigh your options carefully before you do it, and be sure that you're actually going to benefit from the knowledge you're paying for.
Have you ever considered taking a paid training program to improve your copywriting skills? What programs are you interested in taking?
Unfortunately there are a lot of training programs that don't actually offer all of these things--and some that don't offer any. These are the cheap courses you see online, often sold for $50 or less, and they are usually just a series of overly simple videos made by someone who has a moderate amount of experience and is trying to diversify their income. They can be useful for absolute beginners, but often the information is stuff you can find for free if you're willing to spend enough time reading expert blogs.
So how do you determine which training programs are actually worth it? You have to start by asking some questions about the courses you've seen:
1) Who is teaching the course?
How much experience does the person have? And don't just believe the words on their sales page. Actually research this person's work. Figure out exactly how successful they are. If they've only ever made a middling income copywriting do you really want to learn from them? Or do you want to hold out and find a course by someone who has made six figures in a single year from copywriting alone? I'm pretty sure we all have the same answer.
Looking at a teacher's past work also helps you evaluate their teaching and writing style to see if they're actually someone you'll be comfortable working with. Ideally you want to find a teacher who will really help you find and develop your natural writing voice, not one who will try to shove you into a tiny box for a specific type of marketing.
2) What exactly are they teaching?
Does the course actually go beyond the copywriting 101 phase? Do they walk you through writing different types of content or just different types of pitches? Are they teaching the course in a series of one hour videos with brief assignments between them or is the course more intensive? Can you work at your own pace or is there a strict schedule?
The course you end up choosing should be the one that will teach you everything you want to learn at the speed you want to learn it at. Creating a list of everything you want to know before you start looking at potential courses is a good idea.
3) What else is offered?
Most paid online courses come with some sort of community aspect. What does this look like in the course you're considering? Do they have a forum where people can critique each other's copywriting? Does the teacher actively give you feedback as well? How much opportunity is there for connecting with your classmates and your teacher on a more permanent level?
Some paid online courses also come with other things you need to set up a copywriting business, like access to quality web hosting. Others offer continued support either through a permanent forum or through a set amount of post-class business coaching.
4) How much does the course cost?
If you're serious about copywriting you should be willing to invest a significant amount of money in professional training, but you should also carefully evaluate whether or not a course is worth the money before you buy in. A course that costs several hundred dollars but doesn't actually give you access to professional feedback isn't worth it.
There is also the simple truth that most of us don't have as much money as we'd like to invest in training. Going into debt for a training course may be worthwhile but you need to weigh your options carefully before you do it, and be sure that you're actually going to benefit from the knowledge you're paying for.
Have you ever considered taking a paid training program to improve your copywriting skills? What programs are you interested in taking?
Aspiring copywriters: if you need 1:1 advice from an experienced copy chief, head over to my Phone a Friend page.