These days, along with many, I’ve become super conscious about my lifestyle choices.
I’m pointing to the fact that for the past two months or so, most of us have been working and doing everything from home.
It’s the safest thing to do, that’s for sure.
But there are also good sides to it. I can wake up an hour later. I won’t have to deal with a busy commute. And I spend less.
There’s also more time for new hobbies like baking and watercolour painting.
But then again, I move less because I spend less time outdoors and I’m snacking more because I usually work in the dining area (which happens to be not far from the fridge).
So I decided to make little changes to my lifestyle that could reinvigorate my overall health and well-being.
I’m not a sporty person and intense exercises overwhelm me, so I started to do yoga by following online tutorials.
I’ve tried going cold turkey on carbs before. Although I did lose a few kilos, I felt spent and weak for the whole time.
So I decided to switch to eating balanced meals, while also practising intermittent fasting. Meaning, I only eat from midday to 6 pm every day.
Taking things in moderation has so far been effective for me. I’ve been doing it for a month now.
And I’ve managed to reach as well as maintain my ideal weight.
In addition to that, doing yoga has helped me massively in being more focused and calm.
But that’s just me. It may or may not work for you. We all have different body types, nutritional needs and personalities.
There’s just no one size fits all method to achieving your lifestyle goals. And the same goes for copywriting.
If you want to become a copywriter, there are hundreds of ways to become one, and hundreds of courses available.
What you need to do is find one that’s suited for your needs, level of expertise and experience (just like what this blog post explains).
But guess what? We’ve done the hard work for you.
Copywriting School Options
London College of Communication: Confident Copywriting One-Day Course
This one-day course is aimed at those who want to brush up on copywriting skills but don’t have time to take a longer programme.
While having prior experience is ideal, the course is also open to people looking to make their first big break as a writer.
The course mainly tackles techniques that professionals use to create compelling messages and the importance of delivering good copy across digital channels.
So if you’re interested in using social media as a tool to engage with your users and convert them, then you’ve come to the right place.
If you also want to hone your skills further when it comes to writing emails and drip campaigns, as well as newsletters, this one-day course might also appeal to you.
Topics covered include:
- How to create effective and powerful copywriting
- Delivering copy across various platforms and channels
- Targeting your specific audience
- Persuasive techniques
Course outcomes:
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Review, edit and improve your own writing
- Boost your powers of persuasion in writing
- Write faster and better
- Apply the tools and tricks of the writing trade to your working life
The course is currently being taught online, and runs from 10 am to 5 pm, with a two-hour break in between. There’s also an option to attend classes in person in their Elephant and Castle training centre.
It’s priced at £440. And led by industry expert, Ron Finlay, who previously worked as the chief executive of top 10 PR agency, Fishburn Hedges. He has also been in the communications industry for 30 years.
University of the Arts London: Online Short Copywriting Course
If you’ve got more time on your hands and are willing to spend six weeks to learn the nitty-gritty of copywriting, then this sounds like a match for you.
The course focuses on commercial copywriting and will suit the needs of those who already have an understanding of copywriting basics but want to learn more about developing a tone of voice.
In a span of six weeks, you’ll have access to over six online lessons, tailored assignments and writing exercises. You’ll also dip your toes into tackling briefs so that you can effectively write for print, web and social media.
Topics covered include:
- Types of copywriting – to sell, inspire or inform
- Working with a brief and identifying key messages
- The target audience
- Headlines and punchy copy
- Creating narratives
- Finding fresh and interesting angles
- Names and Endlines – The flotsam and jetsam of the copywriter’s art
- Long copy – Why it ain’t dead yet, buddy
- Writing for design – the stuff on the back of cornflake packets
- Writing scripts for TV and the Internet
Course outcomes:
By the end of the course, you should have:
- Reviewed, edited and improved your own writing
- Boosted your powers of persuasion in writing
- Learnt to write faster and better
- Applied the tools and tricks of the writing trade to your working life
- Answered a real advertising brief with confidence
The course will be led by Andrew Imrie. He has 35 years of experience in copywriting and has worked for reputable agencies like Loews, Euros and J.Walter Thompson.
There will be live sessions with Andrew and all lessons will be recorded. The course is priced at £465.
College of Media and Publishing: Accredited Copywriting Course
What makes this course more appealing than others is the fact that you’ll get a professional certificate upon completion.
The course quality is endorsed by ABC and Certa Awards, and you’ll receive a CMP level 4 diploma afterwards. It’s not as weighty as having a bachelor’s or master’s degree on paper.
But in the copywriting game, how good you look on paper isn’t as important as your practical skills in crafting compelling copy and making clients happy.
So who would highly benefit from this course? It’s mostly for copywriters who want to enhance their existing skills and understand more of the marketing and sales side of things.
It’s also a course that most companies use for training staff. It’s recommended for journalists and writers who want to retrain as well.
Although this is mainly targeted towards people with experience, the curriculum seems beginner-friendly too.
Topics covered include techniques in writing:
- Webpages, blogs and social media
- Advertisements, brochures, leaflets and sales presentations.
- Direct mail and emails.
- SEO articles and pay per click ads
- Press releases and advertising features
Course Outcomes:
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:
- Craft copy that engages readers and persuades them to act
- Adapt your writing to different markets and formats
- Write effective copy for websites, blogs and social media
- Develop brand names and write effective sales copy
- Understand how copywriting integrates with SEO
The course is flexible and can be completed at your own pace, and is priced at £494.50, or four monthly payments of £123.62.
As a copywriting course learner, you will work 1-2-1 with either Justine Holman, Lucy van Biljon or Nick Glaves. They are all professional copywriters and copywriting consultants with many years’ experience.
Falmouth University: Professional Writing MA
If you’ve already got a bachelor’s degree and want to take your professional writing skills to the next level, then this is a fantastic copywriting school with a wide range of teaching areas.
The curriculum is two-fold.
You’ll learn about the commercial side of things, from tailoring your writing to different markets and industries, to learning the basics of not only copywriting but also feature writing for magazines, non-fiction writing and screenplay writing.
You’ll also learn about the business side of things, primarily focusing on how you can effectively monetise your work.
Topics covered by the year-long course include:
- Story, Structure and Form
- Professional Contexts
- Inhabiting Narrative: Character, World and Genre
- Business & Editorial Writing
- Non-Fiction
- Novel
- Scriptwriting
- Independent Project and Contextual Essay
Course outcomes:
- After completing the course, you’ll be able to:
- Learn the ropes of professional writing
- Prepare for your writing debut
- Know the steps involved in getting published locally and internationally
- Find out how to secure placement and ongoing work with leading publishers, media organisations, copywriting agencies, magazines and newspapers
Instructors include seasoned, published writers and industry professionals, with experience in areas like narrative and technology, game design, film directing, screenwriting, playwriting, journalism, young adult and children’s writing, and creating award-winning short films.
The 45-week course is taught through a range of assignments, live briefs, projects and essays. The fee is £8500 for UK and EU students and £16,000 for international students.
The Creative Copywriter Academy: Freelance Copywriter Kickstarter Course
If you’ve got a natural flair for words and are looking to have a career as a fully-fledged freelance copywriter, this is the course for you.
Our completely online course is divided into eight different parts, and is designed to help you find your niche, build your portfolio from scratch and eventually set up shop.
You can complete it at your own pace. Most people finish it within two weeks to two months.
The course is also extremely in-depth. You’ll get methodologies, formulas and recipes broken down into digestible lessons, plus videos, written materials, PDFs, tasks and downloads that make the whole experience interactive even if it’s online.
Topics covered include:
- How to become a successful freelance copywriter from start to finish
- How to write like a professional copywriter
- How to market yourself, win projects and make money online
- How to tackle all the main copywriting gigs (with actionable, replicable steps)
- Branding and marketing fundamentals
- How to set yourself up as a freelancer
- How to build relationships with clients in order to lock down longer-term ongoing revenue
- How to build a website, LinkedIn profile and stand-out portfolio
Course outcomes:
At the end of the course, you’ll be able to:
- Be confident in your copywriting skills
- Build your portfolio from scratch after completing 86 ‘Present, Practice and Produce’ tasks
- Effectively create a proposal that will help you charm potential clients silly and win projects
- Sort out the finances and legals of your new freelance copywriting business
- Get to grips with advanced techniques like conversion copywriting, sales psychology, SEO copywriting, storytelling
- A certificate of completion will be awarded to those completing the entire curriculum.
The course is led by our CEO, Konrad Sanders and TCC’s expert team members who have pitched and won works from leading brands such as Adidas, TikTok, Hyundai and Thomson Reuters.
Joining the course means you’ll also be part of a community where you can share your work, get feedback from the TCC team and interact with other people who are also taking the course.
At $290 (reduced from $1197 for a limited time), the course is good value for money considering what you’ll learn from both the art and science sides of copywriting.
Key Takeaways
I hope you’ll find these five copywriting school options useful. Take time to reflect and assess what’s right for you.
When doing so, keep in mind that there is no one size fits all course for copywriting.
Everything depends on:
- the amount of time you want to spend
- the level of expertise you already have and you want to achieve
- the amount of money you’re willing to spend
- the approach you’re most comfortable with
- whether you want to receive a diploma or accreditation
I know that the perfect course for you is out there somewhere. May you find the right one and may you have epic copywriting escapades ahead.
Hugs,
Sam