When starting a career as a copywriter, you may be seeking out additional training to hone your skills. This makes perfect sense as it is a competitive industry in which extra qualifications can seriously help you to stand out. However, it can be hard to tell which courses are the best to take with so many options on the market. Don’t stress – let us help you! Here are six of the best copywriting schools and their programmes…
6 of the best copywriting schools
If you're looking to make a serious commitment to your future as a writer, here are some of the best copywriting schools and their courses to consider:
1. Falmouth University, UK – Professional Writing (MA)
If you are looking to expand your professional writing skills and already have a bachelor’s degree, then you might want to consider a copywriting masters. This MA in professional writing is a fantastic course with a diverse range of teaching areas. With a commercial focus, you will learn how to write both flexibly and effectively, but also with a business-minded approach throughout to ensure you can monetise your work.
The course is taught entirely by practising editors and writers, meaning you’ll be able to benefit from their real-world experience. You’ll be shown how to tailor your writing to fast-moving, competitive markets in a range of sectors, from copywriting to non-fiction, magazine features to screenplays. It will enable you to forge a successful, viable career with the necessary ability to cope with the tough demands of writing. The course is taught through a range of assignments, live briefs, projects and essays.
2. Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milan – Creative Advertising (MA)
Want to expand both your writing skills and cultural experiences? This international course in creative advertising is a fantastic way of getting both under your belt and means you can also learn a second language while you’re studying. The course is taught in English and is specifically aimed at students who already have a first-level academic diploma or BA degree. The course has been developed in partnership with New Zealand’s Media Design School and has a strong orientation towards teaching students about contemporary advertising.
Both experts and leading companies will challenge students through creative briefs and workshops to come up with copywriting that stands out in a competitive market. It adopts key modern advertising processes and methodologies.
Students are taught best practices and will gain a strong understanding of how to incorporate strategy into writing, while also utilising consumer insight, story-telling and research. The goal is to teach students how to produce innovative advertising campaigns across a variety of media platforms. This course is largely taught through practical application and includes an intra-curricular internship for students to apply their skills.
3. Centennial College, Toronto – Professional Writing (Graduate Certificate)
This graduate certificate in professional writing is geared towards turning students into effective, versatile communicators who can provide relevant and thoughtful content for their audience while sticking to effective project management techniques.
Students are taught how to adapt their writing style to a range of professional settings and styles, which will include web copywriting, content marketing, writing for social media, digital storytelling, and speech writing.
The course gives students the chance to build a comprehensive portfolio of work, which will also include a variety of formats (i.e. newsletters, websites, brochures, presentations, etc). The training you will receive is well-rounded, allowing you to take on a variety of writing roles once you have finished the course.
4. London College of Communication, UK – Confident Copywriting (one-day course)
If you want to brush up on your skills but don’t have time to take a longer programme, then this intensive one-day online copywriting course is a great way to hone your techniques and brush up on what it takes to become a copywriter. Courses run from 11am to 5pm for one day at a time in Elephant & Castle, London. You can book yourself onto a course throughout the year, with each one taking place on a different day of the week. Alternatively, there's a longer 6-week copywriting course online.
The course is taught by Ron Finlay, who is a respected industry expert. He will show students how to connect with customers by using words on a range of platforms, from e-mail to newsletters to social media. The course is intense and will show you the many key tricks and tools for effective copywriting. You will participate in both creative and practical exercises to learn how to write like the experts, with an understanding of what it takes to deliver fantastic copy across a range of platforms.
By the end of the course, you will be able to edit, review and improve your writing, as well as write better and faster. Time is money as a copywriter, and this can be a hugely beneficial skill. You’ll also learn how to improve your persuasive powers, and ways of applying everything you have learnt to your working life.
5. The Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing, UK – Copywriting Courses (short courses)
A copywriter school for professionals, at IDM you'll find a wide variety of copywriting courses available that will help you build effective, compelling copy, no matter what the required medium is. IDM has trained more than 70,000 delegates from over 28 countries and has awarded over 1,500 different qualifications in digital marketing. They have also run in-house training programmes over 28 countries for more than 11,000 marketing professionals.
Their copywriting courses include ‘Briefing and Evaluating Creative Work’, ‘Copywriting for Digital’, ‘Copywriting for Social Media and Blogs’, ‘Copywriting: An Introduction’, ‘Writing for Content Marketing’, ‘Copywriting for Not-for-Profit’, ‘Copywriting for Web and E-mail’ and ‘Copywriting Masterclass’. These short courses are typically one to two days in length and rank in different levels of complexities. You will need to be able to attend classes in central London, which are held throughout the year.
The skills you will gain are diverse and it is important to consider before taking a course what it is you’re specifically looking to develop. This is a great way of finding your focus and enabling you to have a clear specialism. You can find out more about what you will learn, who the courses are suited to, and what pre-requisites you will need to have on the IDM website.
6. The Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK – Principles of Great Copywriting (one-day course)
This one-day copywriting course is ideal for junior or aspiring copywriters, marketing professionals or communications practitioners. It will teach you the key principles of good copywriting, offer techniques for creating compelling headlines, teach you the best practice for combining words, show you how to tailor copy for specific audiences, and help you to see the variety of challenges presented by different media.
The courses run throughout the UK, with dates available in London, Birmingham and Manchester. The course director is Phil Woodford who was previously an advertising creative director and is a skilled copywriter. He has a range of experience to share with students. Class sizes are small and will involve no more than 15 people. You can learn at three different levels – introductory, advanced and masterclass.
Main image credit: University of the Fraser Valley
Image credits: Tim Green, JasonParis, Open Data Institute