You may be considering enrolling in a copywriting course because you want to change your career. Or perhaps you work in a related field and just want to gain new skills that are currently in high demand.
As an English to Croatian translator, I work with words every day. I’ve read an abundance of marketing texts throughout my career as a translation and localisation professional. Yet, I wanted to understand better how the original text is created, to experience the writing process first-hand, and then see if I could add this as my new service in the future.
I am a firm believer in continual professional development (CPD). Anything you learn will help you in some way – it doesn’t necessarily have to be profitable right away. For example, I took an extensive course in web design years ago. I’ve never wanted to become a web designer, but I can still apply all that knowledge in my localisation work (translators are usually terrified of code and tags, but they are not that scary for me anymore).
In short, you should think of any high-quality course as an investment. And CMP’s copywriting course has provided me with great value for money. Let me tell you a bit more about it!
Reasons to choose the College of Media and Publishing copywriting course
I picked this course for these reasons:
- It was recommended by people in my professional network. I first heard about the College of Media and Publishing from copyeditors and proofreaders (the CMP offers other courses as well). Since word-of-mouth recommendations are usually the most valuable ones, I took them seriously and decided to research them myself.
- The College of Media and Publishing is accredited and reputable. All the CMP’s courses are endorsed under the Quality Licence Scheme, and successful learners will receive the Quality Licence Scheme Certificate of Achievement. On top of that, the college’s hundreds of positive reviews reinforced my positive impression.
- They offer frequent sales. If you subscribe to the CMP’s newsletter or visit their site often enough, I’m quite sure you’ll find a decent discount. The full price of the course is approximately £495. Even if you buy it for a reduced price, I believe that the course itself is worth the full price.
The structure of the CMP copywriting course
The CMP’s online copywriting course is divided into 20 lessons that you can complete at your own pace, whenever it suits you. You’ll first learn the basics of copywriting. It is the craft of writing that persuades people to take action and ultimately convinces them to buy a product or service.
The course then explains the terminology and teaches you how to carry out successful research on different subjects. Even though I knew most of this already, it’s always good to review what you’ve already learned.
Naturally, most of the course focuses on copywriting techniques applied to different types of content. You’ll be able to learn what makes good copy, how to create ads and direct mails, how to effectively use email marketing, how to write texts such as press releases, sales pitches, leaflets, brochures, SEO articles, social media posts and blogs, newsletters and much more.
All in all, the structure was designed very carefully, so you’ll be able to feel the progress. Every lesson has a clear purpose and will allow you to feel that you’re actively acquiring new knowledge and skills.
Even though I found the occasional lesson technical and “boring” (such as industry codes of practice), I still thought they’re necessary and useful. Not everything has to be appealing and interesting to have a place in your learning journey. I always remember all those “boring” lectures I had at university too. I’m still grateful I had to take them because I wouldn’t be the same person and professional without them.
Assignments and feedback
Each of the lessons has an assignment, either a quiz (just a few modules) or a written assignment that’ll be marked by your tutor. I was honestly impressed that I got so much feedback. And here, I have to give a big shoutout to my amazing tutor and experienced copywriter Lucy. She was extremely detailed in her feedback on each assignment I submitted. She really took the time to read my work carefully and gave an objective commentary, both positive and negative. There were times where I picked a wrong angle for my copy. She pointed it out and then gave advice about how I can modify it in order to write what’s expected. Those situations where you fail or don’t perform at your best are frustrating, but they are absolutely the best possible opportunities to learn and progress.
Is a copywriting course worth it?
As this is my first copywriting course, I can’t talk about other copywriting courses. And there are a lot of them (and I mean A LOT) out there! I have subscribed to and followed various “star” copywriters who offer their own courses. My impression is that they offer a lot of practical advice, but could lack the structure that an educational institution can provide you with. With the CMP’s copywriting course, I felt it was perfectly rounded. In short, I loved its old-school teaching methods, with a great, in-depth mix of theory and practice.