If you want to use content marketing to attract and build your audience, you need to know your stuff. Content marketing is a buzzword these days. It is the best marketing technique for you if you don't have a massive budget for increasing your brand exposure and acquiring traffic that converts.
\r\nLet's take a look at six free enrollment writing classes that can help you become a master content marketer.
\r\nThis is a course on the online learning platform Skillshare that teaches you how to regularly create quality content by capitalizing on digital marketing trends. This course was created by Andrea Goulet Ford of BrandVox, a company that helps business leaders develop a business personality.
\r\nIn this course, you'll learn how to develop a content strategy for your blog that sets you apart from your competitors. If you're new to Skillshare, you can get one month free of unlimited access to its courses.
\r\nIf you're looking to become a certified content marketer, you might want to give this course a try. It shows you how to create a scalable content marketing strategy for your business that helps you to turn your visitors into leads and customers.
\r\nThe course gives you a detailed explanation of every aspect of content marketing, including content planning, creation, repurpose, promotion and analytics. Besides learning, you can also evaluate your skill set by taking an exam consisting of 60 questions.
\r\nSearch engine optimization and content marketing are closely integrated. Content marketing is a technique of creating and distributing valuable content to acquire leads, whereas SEO makes sure that your content is more accessible to your ideal audience that enables you to generate leads. To become a master content marketer, you'll need to have a thorough understanding of SEO. Mastering SEO will also give you an added advantage over your counterparts.
\r\nOne of the easiest ways to master SEO is to enroll in the SEO course on Udemy by Eric Schwartzman. The course is entirely free for anyone who wants to learn the basics of SEO. It's the perfect choice for social media managers, executives and entry-level content marketing employees.
\r\nQuick Sprout, founded by Neil Patel, is a one-stop hub for learning online marketing. Quick Sprout University offers an extensive library of videos where you can learn every aspect of online marketing, including content marketing and SEO. The content marketing course is sorted by Beginner and Intermediate.
\r\nThe best thing is that the course walks you through the recommended practices in content marketing, which you can implement right into your content strategy to attract more leads and convert them into customers. Moreover, you can enroll in any course at Quick Sprout University without creating an account or submitting your email address.
\r\nTo consistently produce high-quality content that attracts your ideal audience, you'll need to constantly hone your content marketing skills. By enrolling in the above courses, you'll learn techniques to brainstorm potential content ideas, create compelling content, and repurpose it to acquire leads and customers.
\r\nAhref offers 10 free tutorials that teach you how to grow your blog (or website) beyond 100,000 monthly visitors and convert them into paying customers. Tutorials include the compound effect of content marketing, how to analyze the traffic potential of a keyword, creating content ideas and how to optimize articles.
\r\nThe course can be accessed on Ahref’s website as modules, or YouTube as a video series.
\r\nIf you have a library card, you can access a wealth of materials on Lynda.com. This is a platform supported by LinkedIn that offers courses on a variety of business topics, including software development, design and web development.
\r\nLynda's content marketing courses include content marketing for social media, content marketing foundations and how to improve SEO for your website, among many others.
\r\nAs a content marketer, there are several key skills you should have to be a competitive player. Some of the most important skills to have include:
\r\nKevin Geary, CEO at Digital Gravy, said these four skills are critical to becoming a leading content marketer,
\r\n\"To be a master content marketer you have to know how to research topics so you can write on them in-depth while still being interesting, you have to be able to write while keeping search in mind, and you have to understand how to write persuasively so that your content marketing efforts actually generate conversions,\" Geary said. \"It's all four of those skills wrapped into one.\"
\r\nBrett Downes, creative director and founder of Haro Helpers, said he regularly tells people that if you want to master content marketing, enhance your writing skills,
\r\n\"If you could pick just one skill to succeed as a content marketer, becoming a qualified writer might be it,\" Downes said. \"Even if you’re able to pick content creators, you’ll still require editing skills, or the skills to write a strategy document or a press release. You also may need to write emails, job descriptions, or even captions in a pinch.\"
\r\nHaving a strategic planning mind is essential if you want to succeed as a content marketer, according to Emily Deaton, a financial journalist at LetMeBank.
\r\n\"Successful content marketers use the time to create a content marketing strategy before creating a single bit of content,\" Deaton said. \"That's because understand each company has its individual branding, which will dictate what type of content they publish and who their target audience will be.\"
\r\nHew Blair, chairman and buying director at Justerini & Brooks Ltd said master content marketers need to have the ability to learn, and learn fast.
\r\n\"Content marketing moves fast. If you don't like change and can't adapt fast enough, you may never be satisfied as a content marketer,\" Blair said. \"On the upside, if you like learning new things, you’ll find your curiosity to be a major competitive advantage. It's an idea to try to learn a new skill, or a new software project, or a new content marketing tactic every few months. Smart marketers are constantly evolving.\"
\r\nAdditional reporting by Kiely Kuligowski
\n","docType":"article","guid":"articles_8ec98db893229f3f3c743390f813bb7a","lastModified":"2020-12-08T12:21:00.000Z","published":"2018-05-28T07:00:00.000Z","structuredData":null,"subtitle":"These free online courses teach you to write strong, optimized content for the web.","template":"v1","title":"6 Free Classes to Help You Become a Master Content Marketer","type":"article","author":{"avatar":null,"bio":"Hello, I'm Syed Balkhi, a 27 year old award-winning entrepreneur with a strong 8 figure online business. I was recognized as the top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by the United Nations.\r\n\r\nI was born in Karachi, Pakistan. At age 12, my family immigrated to the United States. Ever since I can remember, I have been extremely competitive which makes me hustle at everything that I do.","name":"Syed Balkhi","image":null,"slug":null,"social":{"facebook":"https://www.facebook.com/syedbalkhi/","linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/syedbalkhi/","twitter":"https://twitter.com/syedbalkhi","website":"https://optinmonster.com/"},"status":"enabled","title":null,"type":"New BDC Member","user":{"imagePath":"https://staging.business.com/images/uploads/user/profile/66b8e989f3cf40fb191706035467ef8c66bc4.jpg","profile":{"company":"OptinMonster, WPBeginner, WPForms, MonsterInsights, and List25","jobTitle":"CEO","website":"https://www.wpbeginner.com/"}}},"breadcrumbs":null,"channels":{"primary":{"name":"Marketing","slug":"marketing"},"sub":{"name":"Marketing Solutions","slug":"marketing-solutions"}},"meta":{"robots":"index, follow","description":"If you want to use content to attract and build your audience, you need to know your stuff. These free courses can help you become a better content writer.","title":"6 Free Content Marketing Courses - business.com"},"parsedContent":{"toc":[{"id":"free-content-marketing-courses","title":"Free content marketing courses"},{"id":"what-skills-should-a-content-marketer-have","title":"What skills should a content marketer have?"}],"json":[{"component":"p","children":["If you want to use content marketing to attract and build your audience, you need to know your stuff. ",{"component":"Link","props":{"href":"https://www.business.com/articles/content-marketing-technology-tools/?q=content+marketing"},"children":["Content marketing"]}," is a buzzword these days. It is the best marketing technique for you if you don't have a massive budget for increasing your brand exposure and acquiring traffic that converts."]},{"component":"p","children":["Let's take a look at six free enrollment writing classes that can help you become a master content marketer."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"free-content-marketing-courses"},"children":["Free content marketing courses"]},{"component":"h3","children":["1. ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Become-a-Better-Blogger-Content-Planning/1670991637?via=browse-popular-entrepreneurship","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Skillshare – Become a Better Blogger: Content Planning"]}]},{"component":"p","children":["This is a course on the online learning platform Skillshare that teaches you how to regularly create quality content by capitalizing on digital marketing trends. This course was created by Andrea Goulet Ford of BrandVox, a company that helps business leaders develop a business personality."]},{"component":"p","children":["In this course, you'll learn how to develop a content strategy for your blog that sets you apart from your competitors. If you're new to Skillshare, you can get one month free of unlimited access to its courses."]},{"component":"h3","children":["2. ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://certification.hubspot.com/content-marketing-certification-course","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["HubSpot – Content Marketing Certification Course"]}]},{"component":"p","children":["If you're looking to become a certified content marketer, you might want to give this course a try. It shows you how to create a scalable content marketing strategy for your business that helps you to turn your visitors into leads and customers."]},{"component":"p","children":["The course gives you a detailed explanation of every aspect of content marketing, including content planning, creation, repurpose, promotion and analytics. Besides learning, you can also evaluate your skill set by taking an exam consisting of 60 questions. "]},{"component":"h3","children":["3. ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.udemy.com/search-engine-optimization-for-business/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Udemy – SEO Training"]}]},{"component":"p","children":[{"component":"Link","props":{"href":"https://www.business.com/articles/free-seo-tools/?q=seo"},"children":["Search engine optimization"]}," and content marketing are closely integrated. Content marketing is a technique of creating and distributing valuable content to acquire leads, whereas SEO makes sure that your content is more accessible to your ideal audience that enables you to generate leads. To become a master content marketer, you'll need to have a thorough understanding of SEO. Mastering SEO will also give you an added advantage over your counterparts."]},{"component":"p","children":["One of the easiest ways to master SEO is to enroll in the SEO course on Udemy by Eric Schwartzman. The course is entirely free for anyone who wants to learn the basics of SEO. It's the perfect choice for social media managers, executives and entry-level content marketing employees."]},{"component":"h3","children":["4. ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.quicksprout.com/university/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Quick Sprout University"]}]},{"component":"p","children":["Quick Sprout, founded by Neil Patel, is a one-stop hub for learning online marketing. Quick Sprout University offers an extensive library of videos where you can learn every aspect of online marketing, including content marketing and SEO. The content marketing course is sorted by Beginner and Intermediate."]},{"component":"p","children":["The best thing is that the course walks you through the recommended practices in content marketing, which you can implement right into your content strategy to attract more leads and convert them into customers. Moreover, you can enroll in any course at Quick Sprout University without creating an account or submitting your email address."]},{"component":"p","children":["To consistently produce high-quality content that attracts your ideal audience, you'll need to constantly hone your content marketing skills. By enrolling in the above courses, you'll learn techniques to brainstorm potential content ideas, create compelling content, and repurpose it to acquire leads and customers."]},{"component":"h3","children":["5. ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://ahrefs.com/academy/blogging-for-business","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Ahref’s Blogging for Business"]}]},{"component":"p","children":["Ahref offers 10 free tutorials that teach you how to grow your blog (or website) beyond 100,000 monthly visitors and convert them into paying customers. Tutorials include the compound effect of content marketing, how to analyze the traffic potential of a keyword, creating content ideas and how to optimize articles."]},{"component":"p","children":["The course can be accessed on Ahref’s website as modules, ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLGCSC1C2OQ&list=PLvJ_dXFSpd2tbI3mYhAO8oZ2NYMrJuNPq","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["or YouTube"]}," as a video series. "]},{"component":"h3","children":["6. ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.lynda.com/Content-Marketing-training-tutorials/2379-0.html","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Lynda"]}]},{"component":"p","children":["If you have a library card, you can access a wealth of materials on Lynda.com. This is a platform supported by LinkedIn that offers courses on a variety of business topics, including software development, design and web development."]},{"component":"p","children":["Lynda's content marketing courses include content marketing for social media, content marketing foundations and how to improve SEO for your website, among many others."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"what-skills-should-a-content-marketer-have"},"children":["What skills should a content marketer have?"]},{"component":"p","children":["As a content marketer, there are several key skills you should have to be a competitive player. Some of the most important skills to have include:"]},{"component":"h3","children":["Research, creative writing, SEO and sales copywriting"]},{"component":"p","children":["Kevin Geary, CEO at ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://digitalgravy.co/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Digital Gravy"]},", said these four skills are critical to becoming a leading content marketer,"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"To be a master content marketer you have to know how to research topics so you can write on them in-depth while still being interesting, you have to be able to write while keeping search in mind, and you have to understand how to write persuasively so that your content marketing efforts actually generate conversions,\" Geary said. \"It's all four of those skills wrapped into one.\""]},{"component":"h3","children":["Writing"]},{"component":"p","children":["Brett Downes, creative director and founder of ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.harohelpers.com","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Haro Helpers"]},", said he regularly tells people that if you want to master content marketing, enhance your writing skills,"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"If you could pick just one skill to succeed as a content marketer, becoming a qualified writer might be it,\" Downes said. \"Even if you’re able to pick content creators, you’ll still require editing skills, or the skills to write a strategy document or a press release. You also may need to write emails, job descriptions, or even captions in a pinch.\""]},{"component":"h3","children":["Ability to plan strategically"]},{"component":"p","children":["Having a strategic planning mind is essential if you want to succeed as a content marketer, according to Emily Deaton, a financial journalist at ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://letmebank.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["LetMeBank"]},"."]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Successful content marketers use the time to create a content marketing strategy before creating a single bit of content,\" Deaton said. \"That's because understand each company has its individual branding, which will dictate what type of content they publish and who their target audience will be.\""]},{"component":"h3","children":["Be a quick learner"]},{"component":"p","children":["Hew Blair, chairman and buying director at ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.justerinis.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Justerini & Brooks Ltd"]}," said master content marketers need to have the ability to learn, and learn fast."]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Content marketing moves fast. If you don't like change and can't adapt fast enough, you may never be satisfied as a content marketer,\" Blair said. \"On the upside, if you like learning new things, you’ll find your curiosity to be a major competitive advantage. It's an idea to try to learn a new skill, or a new software project, or a new content marketing tactic every few months. Smart marketers are constantly evolving.\""]},{"component":"p","children":[{"component":"i","children":["Additional reporting by Kiely Kuligowski"]}]}]},"resource":null,"sponsorship":{"sponsorType":"no-sponsor","name":null,"thumbnail":null,"bio":null,"slug":null,"status":null,"social":{"website":null,"linkedin":null,"twitter":null,"facebook":null}},"thumbnail":{"path":"https://staging.business.com/images/content/5b0/59c8f51ee47510a8b4598/1500-0-","caption":"Indypendenz/Shutterstock","isBlurred":false},"bestPicks":null},"related":{"relatedArticles":[{"title":"Your Guide to Creating a Small Business Marketing Plan","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/sample-marketing-plan-outline-and-template/","slug":"sample-marketing-plan-outline-and-template","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5f3/3e1765a215eb62d8b4567/1500-0-","dek":"Follow these templates and guidelines to get started on creating your business's marketing plan.","lastModified":"2020-08-12T12:28:00Z","published":"2018-03-02T13:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Using Lean Strategies to Achieve Team Synergy and Efficiency","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/lean-strategies-team-efficiency/","slug":"lean-strategies-team-efficiency","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5be/480e49c658a51108b458c/1500-0-","dek":"Learn more about lean manufacturing strategies and how to implement them in your business.","lastModified":"2018-11-08T08:00:00Z","published":"2018-11-08T08:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"PowerShell: Everything You Need to Know","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/powershell-everything-you-need-to-know/","slug":"powershell-everything-you-need-to-know","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5b8/998581039eb8f738b457b/1500-0-","dek":"What you need to know to unlock Microsoft PowerShell's full capabilities.","lastModified":"2018-09-05T17:00:00Z","published":"2018-09-05T17:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How to Create Content That Actually Increases Organic Traffic","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/content-that-increases-organic-traffic/","slug":"content-that-increases-organic-traffic","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5a1/5c20c1039eb0b348b456c/1500-0-","dek":"When you offer genuinely valuable content for your audience, your site will benefit too.","lastModified":"2017-11-22T08:00:00Z","published":"2017-11-22T08:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Make Your First Trade Show a Success","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/first-trade-show-checklist/","slug":"first-trade-show-checklist","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5ac/ffbf651ee47e0158b4587/1500-0-","dek":"This checklist of 22 essential elements will help you pull off a successful event.","lastModified":"2018-04-12T07:00:00Z","published":"2018-04-12T07:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"The Power of Facebook Messenger as a Marketing Tool","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/facebook-messenger-marketing-tool/","slug":"facebook-messenger-marketing-tool","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5a0/b856b92a3a40c728b4569/1500-0-","dek":"See how to make this messaging app an invaluable part of your brand's marketing strategy.","lastModified":"2017-11-14T08:00:00Z","published":"2017-11-14T08:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Running a Facebook Contest? 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