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Online Creative Writing courses

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Writing Exercises: From the Blank Page to Everyday Practice

Engage in creative writing exercises that document and generate ideas, and transform it into a regular practice.

Writing a Novel Step by Step

Learn the keys to writing a novel and stimulate your imagination with practical exercises that connect you with your inner world.

Travel Journaling: Document Feelings and Memories

Learn to create travel journals that document your thoughts and feelings through writing, observation, and scrapbooking.

Reading for writing

Reading is a crucial ability for any writer. improve your reading to improve your writing..

Creative Writing for Beginners: Bringing Your Story to Life

Learn how to sketch with words and use the details of your imagination to write a memorable story.

Illustrating and Writing a Children's Book

Discover the world of picturebooks and learn how to tell stories with text and images.

Introduction to Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Discover how to develop your ideas and build literary worlds with writing structures and techniques that can transport your readers.

Short Story Writing: Create Fiction from Personal Experience

Learn how to write stories that captivate readers by building a narrative with elements of fiction.

Script Writing for Movies and Television

Discover a creative method to start telling your audiovisual stories.

Creating and Publishing a Children's Story from Scratch

Learn to develop and launch a children's story step by step, from the initial idea to the publication plan.

Creating Children's Stories

Delight young readers with stories inspired by their day-to-day life and awaken the writer within you.

Creative Writing: Unlocking and Inspiring Ideas

Explore the different ways of telling a story and develop a writing habit through simple exercises.

Memoir Writing: Write a Personal Story for a Universal Audience

Learn how to write a compelling personal narrative by exploring different literary devices and story structures.

Narrative Techniques for Children’s Books

Learn the basic components of a story to create tales for children.

Introduction to Narrative Writing

Learn everything you need to know to start writing memorable stories, step by step.

Cookbook Writing: Tell Stories Through Recipes

Take readers on a journey of culture and flavor by creating a cookbook that combines recipes with storytelling.

Writing a Psychological Thriller

Learn creative writing techniques to bring mysterious stories to life that grab the reader’s attention from the first page.

Psychology of Characters in Stories

Learn to bring fictional characters to life with psychological writing resources and tell stories in the media of your choice.

Disclosure: MyeLearningWorld is reader-supported. We may receive a commission if you purchase through our links.

The 10 Best Online Creative Writing Courses (2023 Rankings)

Published on: 03/22/2023

By Fatima Mansoor

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With the best online creative writing courses, you can learn the techniques and skills you need to become a better writer.

Do you feel like your writing has hit a plateau?

Are you struggling to convey your ideas and bring your stories to life?

Are you tired of staring at a blank page?

It is normal for writers to feel stuck, discouraged, and doubt their writing skills.

In the past, the solution was to enroll in a creative writing class at your local college or join a writing group. But these options are often either expensive, time-consuming, or inconvenient — or all of the above.

These days, though, there are lots of great creative writing courses online that let you learn from some of the world’s top experts all from the comfort of your own home.

You can learn how to write compelling stories, craft convincing dialogue, create vivid characters, understand structure and pacing, and much more, while enjoying the flexibility, convenience, and affordability of online learning.

Whether you’re looking to become the next bestselling author or you just want to write for fun, these courses will give you the tools you need to take your writing to the next level.

We’ve reviewed and ranked the best online creative writing courses based on a number of key criteria, including content, instructor credentials and experience, price, student reviews, and more.

This guide is fully updated for 2023 to include the best current course options so you can make an informed decision for investing in your writing passion.

Disclosure:  Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost for you, we might get a commission if you click the link and purchase.

How We Chose the Best Online Courses for Creative Writing

With hundreds of online creative writing classes out there, we wanted to help people like you find the ones that are truly the best of the best.

We reviewed dozens of creative writing courses online, and ranked them based on the following criteria:

• Curriculum quality– We carefully reviewed the curriculum of each course to make sure it was up-to-date and comprehensive.
• Instructor reputation– We checked the background and reviews of the instructor to gauge whether or not they had the experience and expertise needed to teach a great creative writing course.
• Student reviews– In addition to forming our own opinions of these courses, we also looked carefully at the reviews and ratings left by other students to get a feel for what others had to say.
• Value– Finally, we compared the cost of each course to the quality of instruction to determine which ones had the best value for what was being offered.

After going through this in-depth process, we came up with a list of what we believe are the 10 very best online creative writing courses available today.

What are the Best Online Creative Writing Classes?

Here are our picks for the top creative writing courses online in 2023…

1. Creative Writing Bootcamp: Start a Brand New Story (Skillshare)

Skillshare offers a One-Month Free Trial . After that, a Skillshare subscription is around $165 per year for unlimited access to all courses. See our Skillshare review  for more info.

14 video lessons, 1 hour

This course is designed to help aspiring authors of all skill levels launch their creative writing careers. Myla Goldberg, a renowned author, teaches this course, covering everything from character and plot development to dialogue writing.

Students will participate in various interactive activities and writing prompts throughout the course to evaluate their current performance and navigate their way upwards. Each lesson builds on the previous one, guiding students through creating a completely new story from start to finish, from idea generation to writing captivating opening lines.

Students can take advantage of Myla’s guidance on overcoming writer’s block, her insights into the publishing industry, and how to get their work noticed by agents and publishers.

2. Creative Writing: Crafting Personal Essays with Impact (Skillshare)

Skillshare offers a One-Month Free Trial . After that, a Skillshare subscription is around $165 per year for unlimited access to all courses.

11 video lessons, 1+ hours

This course by Roxane Gray gives you the tools to tell your story with impact. It will help you craft compelling personal essays whether you’re looking for an introduction to essay writing or an experienced writer needing a refresher course.

You’ll learn how to brainstorm essay topics, structure your essays for maximum impact, and revise your work so it’s polished.

The course also emphasizes the importance of storytelling and using specific, vivid details to bring essays to life. It will give you useful strategies for engaging your target audience and making a lasting impression, whether you write for personal or professional reasons.

Overall this course comprises a step-by-step process for writing a personal essay that captures your unique personality. You’ll also develop the skills and self-assurance you need to keep writing and hone your craft.

3. The Creative Writer’s Toolkit: Writing a Character Study (Skillshare)

5 video lessons, about 30 minutes

If you’re looking for rigorous training related to character development, this course will be the right fit for you! It is taught by a famous Wattpad writer, Lindsey Summers, who provides a detailed guide in translating vague ideas into interesting characters.

Over the course of 5 insightful video lessons, Lindsey will discuss the core aspects of character development, such as using an archetype in the right context and using character flaws to drive the story.

Whether a novice or an aspiring author, you can sign up for this course to study character creation and upskill yourself to use unique approaches in different scenarios.

4. Teaching Writing For Television (Masterclass)

Plans starting at $15/month billed annually

30 video lessons, about 6.5 hours

Shonda Rhimes’ Masterclass course on writing pilot scripts is another empowering and informative course.

Rhimes has been working in television for over 20 years and has created some of the most popular shows on TV today, including How to Get Away With Murder, The Catch, Grey’s Anatomy, etc. Her experience working with writers of various genres qualifies her to teach you how to write a catchy pilot script.

The course covers everything from developing your idea into a pitch to writing your first draft.

Rhimes walks you through each step of the process, providing clear instructions and examples from her own experiences and those of other writers with whom she has collaborated over the years. All these real-life examples give you a good head start, shed light on common pitfalls, and accelerate your growth as compared to learning on your own. She also gives you time estimates for each section of your script so you can plan accordingly.

This course is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about writing television shows but is intimidated by the process or lacks access to an experienced professional who can provide feedback on their work.

5. Creative Non-Fiction Writing – You Can’t Make This Stuff Up! (Udemy)

Regularly priced at $19.99

27 lessons, 1 hour and 50 minutes

If you’re a writer who’s fond of writing biographies, history, and philosophy, this course will make you a pro at the non-fiction genre. Led by the mastermind of the non-fiction genre, Trace Crawford, this course will teach you the primary concepts of creative non-fiction writing.

You will learn to develop story plots, use literary devices to make content more impactful, and structure a narrative. Trace believes comprehending practical aspects of the non-fiction genre makes you an outstanding writer. Topics such as primary and secondary research and navigating ethical concerns when writing about people and events are all crucial to convey your work to the target audience.

Apart from the core concepts, this course includes skills such as pitching, submitting work to publishers, and using the right medium to create your brand in the market.

In essence, this course is an excellent opportunity to learn non-fiction writing, whether you want to pursue it as a side hustle or a profession.

6. Secret Sauce of Great Writing (Udemy)

Do you feel like your mediocre writing is holding you back? Look no further than the “Secret Sauce of Great Writing” course on Udemy by former Wall Street Journal editor Shani Raja!

Shani teaches you the insider secrets to great writing that only a seasoned professional could know. He discusses the four main ingredients of great writing: simplicity, clarity, elegance, and evocativeness. With his years of experience in the industry, Shani knows exactly what it takes to write content that hooks your readers.

You’ll also get the chance to brush up on some basics, such as sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, style, tone, and storytelling. With Shani’s guidance, you’ll become a pro at writing informational and commercial content.

7. Creative Writing Specialization (Coursera)

Included with 7,000+ other courses with Coursera Plus subscription ($59/mo).  Try Coursera Plus free for 7 days.

About 10.5 hours of video lessons

Are you a budding writer yearning for a community that values the art of creative writing and supports your journey of self-expression? This Creative Writing Specialization on Coursera is the perfect course for you.

You will learn different forms of creative writing, such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. What makes this program unique is the exceptional instructors who are experts in their fields and passionate writers.

The program’s peer review process enables participants to share their work with other writers and get regular feedback. Such interactive lessons foster a sense of belonging and the opportunity to grow no matter your proficiency level.

You’ll also learn how to create engaging stories that capture readers’ attention, write poetry, develop characters, develop intriguing dialogues, and write descriptive settings that readers can relate to.

The program’s main learning outcomes include gaining a deep understanding of the different genres of creative writing and developing the necessary skills to write effectively within each genre.

You’ll also learn practical tips on how to get published and build your portfolio.

Overall, this specialization on Coursera is more than just an online course; it’s a community of writers who understand the struggles and joys of creative expression.

Students have the option to audit the course for free. However, you’ll have to pay a fee if you want a certificate upon completing the class.

8. Writing Your Story (CreativeLive)

Plans starting around $13 per month

26 video lessons, 5+ hours

Another area of non-fiction writing is memoirs. Many people are willing to write about their personal experiences and memorable moments. This is where Joyce Maynard comes in and sheds light on the skills needed to write a profound memoir.

The primary motive of this course is to discuss the outline of memoirs and the right methodology to inculcate drama, relevance, and authenticity. Joyce teaches how to organize your writing and use sensory devices to make your memoirs engaging.

Overall, this course gives you all the knowledge needed to pen down your personal perspective. You’ll be able to write a memoir that strikes a chord with the audience and leaves a lasting impression.

9. Grammar Lion: A Grammar Refresher (Grammar Lion)

100+ lessons

Essentially, this course covers the fundamental English grammar lessons to enable budding writers to polish their language and avoid frequent mistakes. After all, a competent writer must be proficient in grammar.

Students will learn parts of speech, sentence structure, and punctuation. They will also learn how to compose sentences and paragraphs and rectify common grammar mistakes.

Apart from grammar, you will also improve your analytical and critical thinking abilities via various case studies, which can be useful in both academic and professional situations.

This is the perfect course for anyone wishing to enhance their communication and writing skills in general.

Overall, these lessons will provide the foundation necessary to write with clarity, precision, and assurance.

10. Creative Writing: How to Start a Writing Habit (Skillshare)

Skillshare offers a One-Month Free Trial . After that, the  Skillshare price is around $165 per year for unlimited access to all courses.

7 video lessons, about 11 minutes

Becoming a proficient, creative writer requires effort, determination, and guidance. If you are just getting on the bandwagon and looking for a well-defined roadmap, this course on Skillshare will be a worthwhile investment.

A renowned writing coach, Whitney Strong, offers actionable advice to help you hone your creative thinking skills and gives you direction to develop a writing habit.

Strong encourages students to maintain a notebook from the beginning of the course. In this way, one can establish a writing routine that fits their lifestyle and goals and learn techniques for writing down impactful ideas.

The abundance of practical advice by Strong makes this course stand out. She does not only focus on the methodology of writing engaging stories or dialogues but also emphasizes conceptual learning.

She discusses abstract concepts and provides students with specific writing exercises and prompts to help them overcome common writing obstacles and develop their writing voice. Whitney also shares her writing experiences, providing insights into the creative process and the challenges that all writers face.

The course is appropriate for writers of all levels, from novices looking to improve their skills to seasoned writers looking to establish a writing practice.

A Final Word on the Best Online Creative Writing Courses

With so many great online creative writing classes, it’s easier than ever to study from acclaimed authors, receive insightful comments, and interact with a community of professional writers who share your interests.

Remember, most of these course providers offer free trial periods, giving you a great chance to check out classes at no cost to see which ones you like best.

Have any questions about our guide to the best online creative writing courses? Leave a comment below to let us help.

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Top 5 Best Creative Writing Courses

Want to jump straight to the answer? The best creative writing course for most people is Masterclass : Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing or Coursera : Creative Writing Specialization.

Creative writing courses help develop your writing skills, build conscious writing habits, and teach you how to build a professional portfolio for your writing career. Most creative writing courses offer educational and practical assignments that help you advance your creative writing abilities. 

Whether you’re a complete beginner or just want to sharpen your creative writing tools, the courses below have you covered.

The Top 5 Best Creative Writing Courses 

• Masterclass : Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing – Best for writing development
• Coursera : Creative Writing Specialization – Best for experiential learning
• Udemy : Complete Creative Writing Course – Best for portfolio creation
• Gotham Writers : Creative Writing 101 – Best for building a writing habit
• Reedsy Learning : Understanding Point of View – Best for beginners 

Continue reading for our in-depth reviews on the five best creative writing courses to help you become a better writer today. 

Masterclass: Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing – Best for Writing Development 

If you’re an experienced writer looking to develop your writing abilities, the Masterclass course Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing is an excellent option for you. 

This course compiles advanced material that Atwood simplifies with 23 slow-paced video lessons that span across about four hours. 

Author of The Handmaid’s Tale and instructor of this creative writing course, Atwood takes you on a journey of the creative writing process from getting started to getting published. Her first-ever online class will teach you to develop your writing with advanced material and personal advice. 

Whether you already have a first draft or a half-written book, this in-depth course teaches all about core writing elements. Atwood discusses how to write a compelling story, create structure, develop nuanced characters, keep your readers interested, and how to stay motivated while writing—helping you turn your work into a masterpiece. 

The best part about this specific creative writing course is how participatory it is. You get access to a class workbook that includes additional writing assignments you can complete after each lesson, as well as helpful resources for writers. 

The course also comes with a community hub for all students to interact with each other. The community page gives you a place to discuss lessons, share your work, get feedback, and network—creating a sense of classroom-like community. 

The structure of the Masterclass course is easy to navigate, with all 23 lessons being split into three to five sections and are around 10 minutes long each. 

Lessons one through 16 are about the general elements of writing, like story and plot, structure, characters, and point of view. Lessons 17 through 23 discuss the business side of writing, including getting published and working within different genres. 

Masterclass offers one membership fee to receive access to every class on its website. The fee is $10 per month, billed at $120 per year.

A Masterclass membership gives you access to more than 180 classes, audio-only lessons, offline viewing, downloadable instructor guides, and new classes added every month. 

Masterclass also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all subscriptions.

Coursera: Creative Writing Specialization – Best for Experiential Learning 

Not every creative writing course offers practical and interactive assessments, but the Creative Writing Specialization courses offered by Wesleyan University for Coursera stands out because of its experiential learning experience. This is a set of five courses within one larger specialization, all leading to a capstone project.

As a creative writing course with extensive hands-on projects, each specialization will teach you how to master a different writing technique that successful writers use in the three major writing genres. 

There are more than 113,000 students already enrolled in this set of courses, and for a good reason. The course structure has helped many people understand the short story, narrative essay, and memoir genre. 

What makes this course so experiential is during the last lesson, where you have the chance to write and edit your own original story. 

Using the elements and techniques you learn throughout the five courses taught by different instructors, you will draft a short story, narrative essay, or memoir. With the help of your peer readers and instructors, you will revise, rewrite, and complete the story in whichever genre you choose. 

Each course within the overall Specialization focuses on a different element for each genre. During this course, you will learn the craft of plot (course one), crafting characters (course two), settings and descriptions (course three), and style (course four) before you put these skills to the test and write your story in course five. 

Even though this Specialization is more in-depth, it’s still flexible, as you can take each of the first four courses in any order (ending with the course five capstone). It’s also 100% online, so you don’t need to show up to a classroom, and you can access all course material via a desktop or mobile device. 

The Creative Writing Specialization currently takes one month to complete at 10 hours a week, which you should keep in mind. However, Coursera lets you set and maintain flexible deadlines, even though you cannot change the course duration to be any shorter than it already is. 

Currently, Write-Bros, Scrivener, and Scribophile are sponsors of the Creative Writing Specialization course and are offering discounts for all students who complete their assessments.

Upon completing your first assignment, you receive an 80% discount from Write-Bros, a 30% discount on your first purchase from Scrivener, and a 30% off membership pricing for Scribophile’s online writing community. 

You can enroll in the course for free to read and view the course content. However, if you want access to all courses in the Specialization and receive a certificate upon completion, you need to sign up for Coursera Plus. Coursera Plus offers both monthly and annual subscriptions. The cost is $59 per month or $399 per year with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

With each Specialization course, you get access to shareable course certificates, course videos and readings, practice quizzes, graded assignments with feedback, graded quizzes with feedback, and graded programming assignments. 

Coursera also offers financial aid and a seven-day free trial of Coursera Plus.

Udemy: Complete Creative Writing – Best for Portfolio Creation 

If you want to learn about the four writing genres and create a strong portfolio with your writing samples, the Complete Creative Writing course by Udemy is an excellent option. 

Creating an outstanding portfolio can be difficult for many writers, especially beginners, but this course will help you create a digital portfolio in just five concise sections. 

Instructed by teacher and author Trace Crawford, this course delves deep into the world of fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction. In the fifth and final section, you’ll learn how to create a digital portfolio.

Including the introduction, the course has 162 lectures and a running time of about 12 hours. By the end of this course, you will understand the ins and outs of all things creative writing. 

Crawford breaks down the course into four subsections: Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Creative Non-Fiction. You will receive a writing journal prompt for every lesson, 145 downloadable resources, and a certificate of completion. Each subsection offers between 20-50 lectures that range between one and four hours in length in total.

The final course section focuses only on the digital portfolio. Many creative writing courses don’t touch on portfolio creation, even though it’s an essential aspect of a writer’s career. These lectures will leave you feeling ready to pursue a career in writing. 

This course is also flexible, as you can complete it at your own pace and receive lifetime access for one price. If you have the time, you can complete this course within a day or two, which is helpful to retain as much information as possible. 

The course comes with 37 online quizzes, 145 downloadable resources, and journal prompts. You also receive a daily writing assignment, a lesson covering the course content, and a practical application project. 

Crawford aims to further develop and perfect your voice by teaching you about the four genres. You will also learn about writing techniques, writing concepts, how to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your writing projects, and of course, you will build a portfolio. 

The regular price is $109.99 for the Complete Creative Writing course, and Udemy often has discounts throughout the year. This specific course usually goes on sale each month, so look out for this. 

Udemy also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Gotham Writers: Creative Writing 101 – Best for Building a Writing Habit 

Are you struggling to build a writing habit and don’t know where to start? The Creative Writing 101 six-week course by Gotham Writers is an excellent place to start. 

This level one online six-week class focuses on slowly building a writing habit while teaching you about the show and tell of writing, individuality, fiction, nonfiction, and how to get better at the craft. 

This course is unique because each class size is limited for students to get enough personal attention from the instructor. There are a maximum of 16 students in each Creative Writing 101 class, which is 100% online. 

Creative Writing 101 helps you slowly build a writing habit by encouraging you to complete daily observation exercises and free writing. These writing activities help stimulate the brain and create a way to write freely without the burden of writer’s block. 

The course also offers weekly writing assignments that the instructor grades and provides feedback for, which will help you feel more confident about your writing abilities as you progress through the course. 

Because this course is online, Gotham Writers provides the Lounge feature for all students to meet weekly for a one-hour live chat. The Lounge is open 24/7 for all students to chat and get to know each other, network, and discuss feedback. 

You also get access to a weekly planner, class roster, guidelines, and syllabus. The notebook, booth, library, and blackboard are other essential features that store lectures, assignments, resources, and student feedback.  

The course layout is the most similar to an online classroom, especially for collaboration purposes, making it easy to navigate and complete tasks. Each class session lasts for a week, and you have the flexibility to complete tasks at any time of day during the week. 

Gotham Writers offers this course online, on Zoom, or one-on-one (either in NYC or long distance) for different prices. 

• Online: $319 
• Zoom: $319 
• One-on-One: $1,195

There is also a $25 registration fee that you pay once per term. All course dates are listed on the website and are subject to availability.

Reedsy Learning: Understanding Point of View – Best for Beginners 

Beginners need to start somewhere, and there’s no better place to start than enrolling in the free Reedsy Learning course, Understanding Point of View. 

Taught by TEDx speaker and author Gabriela Pereira, this course focuses on the technical element of point of view, which challenges many writers in the beginning stage. If this sounds like you, you will be delighted to hear that this course is free and gets delivered to your inbox every morning for 10 days. 

This is a quick and easy 10-day course. Each lesson is just five minutes, and Pereira takes you on an immersive journey through the challenges of establishing the correct point of view in your creative writing. 

This course will familiarize you with each primary POV, including first, second, and third person. With the help of practical writing exercises, you will complete the course understanding how to master each point of view within your writing. 

During this course, you will also learn: 

• The differences between third-person limited and third-person omniscient 
• The strengths and weaknesses of second person 
• How to work with multiple points of view
• Epistolary and Journal forms 

To enroll, include your name, email address, and time zone so that Pereira can deliver each lecture to your inbox on time. You can start each morning on the right foot by completing a quick five-minute lesson and go about your day, making it a simple course for the complete beginner to follow and get used to writing each day. 

Reedsy Learning offers this and many other free online courses to help you establish your career and transform your writing skills. 

How to Find The Best Creative Writing Course For You 

There are a few factors that go into finding the best creative writing course for you. Sometimes it can be challenging to choose the right course, especially since there are many different goals you may want to achieve. So we put together this methodology of the three most essential elements to consider before investing in a creative writing course. 

Schedule and Flexibility

The first thing to consider before investing in a creative writing course is the flexibility of your schedule. Consider the duration of each writing course, as some can go for days, weeks, or even months. 

The Complete Creative Writing Course by Udemy is a flexible option, as it allows you to go at your own pace and offers 12 hours of content you can complete in as little as a day or two.

However, some courses aren’t as flexible with timing, such as the Creative Writing Specialization by Coursera and Wesleyan University—which takes one month to complete. 

Make sure you check whether the timing is flexible, or you might need to change your schedule to fit in with your studies. 

Payment Method

Each course offers different prices depending on the duration, topic, and how in-depth the content is. Some writing courses have a subscription-based payment method, while others are one-off payments for lifetime access. 

It’s crucial to look for lifetime access, as you don’t want to invest in a course that will expire, and you lose all access to the materials. The course Understanding Point of View by Reedsy Learning is a free course perfect for beginners or anyone who isn’t sure where to start. 

You can enroll in a free course to learn the ropes of online studying, or you can choose one that offers a one-off payment, as most of the courses on this list. We wouldn’t recommend paying for a subscription unless you are dedicating a few months to learning or are interested in multiple courses from the same company. 

Learning Community 

A learning hub or community page can help you reinforce the learning materials, network, and build on your overall learning experience. Courses like Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing by Masterclass and Creative Writing 101 by Gotham Writers offer community hubs or lounges for students to interact and connect. 

Although not required, a central hub is essential for building a community and connecting with other writers. It can make your learning experience feel more like a classroom, even when it’s online. 

You might even complete the course with a few fellow writer friends along with the knowledge you obtained from the writing course. 

The Top Creative Writing Courses in Summary 

Overall, the Masterclass and Coursera courses are our top two recommendations for the best creative writing courses on the market today. 

With workbooks, learning hubs, video content, and downloadable resources, you can learn how to become a successful and confident writer using the courses reviewed in this guide.

Privacy Overview

The 19 best online writing classes led by famous authors, including Malcolm Gladwell, Neil Gaiman, and Judy Blume

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• Strong communication and writing skills will help you succeed in any profession.
• Online classes are an affordable way to learn writing tips and receive feedback on your work.
• All the classes on this list are taught by award-winning writers with decades of experience.

Good writing skills can take you far (just take it from a business major who wormed her way into an editorial career). Strong written communication skills can help you land a job or move up in your career , but good writing doesn't come easily or instinctively to everyone. As with any skill, you won't get any better at writing simply by reading books or watching videos about it.

Online classes from e-learning platforms like MasterClass and Skillshare are affordable, flexible ways to not only learn the proper strategies but also practice and receive feedback on your writing. And who better to learn from than actual published authors, writers, and editors?

The following classes are all taught by accomplished, award-winning writers who have decades of experience in communicating ideas, telling stories, and captivating audiences. Some specialize in fiction, while others employ storytelling tricks to make even the driest facts shine.

If you see the word "creative" in the title, don't immediately dismiss the class. All the courses have valuable lessons to learn for making your writing more effective, whether you're in a creative industry or not.

19 writing classes taught by experienced authors, writers, and editors:

Neil gaiman's masterclass on the art of storytelling.

The teacher: Award-winning writer Neil Gaiman (" The Sandman ," " Coraline ," " American Gods ") has dabbled in everything from novels and comic books to film and audio theatre. The course: Gaiman covers the fundamentals of storytelling, from finding your voice to fleshing out your characters. The price: $180 ($15 per month) for an annual MasterClass membership.

Joyce Carol Oats' MasterClass on the Art of the Short Story

The teacher: Joyce Carol Oates is the author of over 58 novels (" We Were the Mulvaneys ," " Blonde ," " The Accursed "), as well as countless short stories, essays, and articles. She is also a former professor of creative writing at Princeton University .

The course: Oates' class helps students finetune their storytelling instincts for short story writing, from learning how to observe the world around them to nailing down structure and form.

The price: $180 ($15 per month) for an annual MasterClass membership.

Judy Blume's MasterClass on Writing

The teacher: Judy Blume's beloved children's books (" Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret ," " Superfudge ") have sold millions of copies, and Blume has written over 25 novels. She's also the recipient of the 2004 National Book Foundation medal for distinguished contribution to American letters, as well as numerous other awards.

The course: With a focus on writing for young readers, Blume's course dives into developing ideas, creating plot structure, and even pitching book ideas to editors, and even dealing with issues like rejection or censorship. The price: $180 ($15 per month) for an annual MasterClass membership.

N.K. Jemisin's MasterClass on Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

The teacher: NK Jemisin, a Hugo Award winner for three consecutive years for her " Broken Earth " trilogy, is an an acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author. The course: Jemisin's course, geared towards sci-fi/fantasy writing, teaches students how to build a believable world from scratch (including macro and micro details), create characters that truly feel relatable even in fantastical settings, and find a literary agent. The price: $180 ($15 per month) for an annual MasterClass membership.

Creative Nonfiction: Write Truth with Style

The teacher: Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992 and is the author of eight books, including New York Times bestseller " Rin Tin Tin " and " The Orchid Thief ," which was later adapted into Spike Jonze's "Adaptation," (in which Meryl Streep portrayed Orlean). The course:  The best nonfiction makes facts compelling and interesting to read, but it's not easy to do this. This course takes students through Susan Orlean's writing process, from finding a topic to making final edits, and helps them polish their own creative processes. The class project is a 1,000-word profile on someone you find mysterious.  The price: Free with 14-day Skillshare trial; $8.25 per month or $19 per month after trial ends.

Malcolm Gladwell's MasterClass on Writing

The teacher:  Malcolm Gladwell has written for "The New Yorker" since 1996. His fascinating books, which include " The Tipping Point ," " Blink ," and " Outliers " reveal the most unexpected insights into our world. "The Tipping Point" was named as one of the best books of the decade by Amazon customers, The A.V. Club, and The Guardian, and was Barnes & Noble's 5th bestselling nonfiction book of the decade. 

The course: In 24 lessons, you'll learn how to find, research, and write stories that capture big ideas. This is Gladwell's first-ever online class, where he analyzes his own works to reveal his unique creative process. He also answers select student questions during virtual office hours. 

Roxane Gay's MasterClass on Writing for Social Change and Creative Writing: Crafting Personal Essays with Impact

The teacher: On top of writing bestselling memoirs like " Bad Feminist " and " Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body ," Roxane Gay is a professor and New York Times columnist , making her as experienced an author as she is an educator. The course: If you want to see change in the world, strong storytelling skills can help you get there. Gay's MasterClass teaches you how to tap into your identity, figure out your voice, and write about emotionally hard subjects with care, so that you can get people on board with the broader visions you have for improving the world.

Roxane Gay also teaches a short Skillshare class on crafting impactful personal essays from start to finish. You can read a review of it here .

The price: $180 ($15 per month) for an annual MasterClass membership. Free with 14-day Skillshare trial; $8.25 per month or $19 per month after trial ends.

Daniel José Older's Storytelling 101: Character, Conflict, Context, Craft

The teacher:  Daniel José Older is the bestselling author of the " Bone Street Rumba " urban fantasy series and the YA novel " Shadowshaper ." "Shadowshaper" was a "New York Times" Notable Book of 2015 and named one of Esquire's "80 Books Every Person Should Read." Older's short stories and essays have appeared in the Guardian, NPR, and a number of other sites.  The course:  This short 40-minute class breaks down the fundamentals of narrative storytelling and what makes a story different from a mere anecdote. Learn the "4 C's" of storytelling and see them in action in one of the teacher's own short stories. The fun final project is to write a short story about something that happened on a single block in your hometown over the course of one hour.

The price: Free with 14-day Skillshare trial; $8.25 per month or $19 per month after trial ends

Steven Heller's The Designer's Guide to Writing and Research

The teacher:  Steven Heller writes the Visuals column for the "New York Times Book Review" and is the editor of the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design. A former "New York Times" art director , he is the author, co-author, or editor of over 170 books on design and popular culture , and also regularly contributes to design publications.  The course:  Geared towards designers, this course illuminates the parallels between writing and design. You'll learn about the professional importance of research and writing to designers today, best practices for developing your voice, and creative ways to communicate. The final project is a 500-word essay on an object in your wallet, bag, or pocket. 

David Sedaris’s MasterClass on Storytelling and Humor

The teacher: If you want to inject your writing with a dash of comedy, David Sedaris — "The New Yorker" essayist and author of " Me Talk Pretty One Day ," " Calypso ," and " The Best of Me " — is one of the best people to teach you how to do it.

The course: Beyond covering tips and tricks for writing eye-grabbing openings and endings with huge payoffs, Sedaris also gives his advice on finding humor in the darkest moments of our lives.

Amy Tan's MasterClass on Fiction, Memory, and Imagination

The teacher: Most known for her bestselling novel " The Joy Luck Club " (which spent 40 weeks on the "New York Times" bestseller list), Amy Tan is an inspiration to anyone who's started exploring their writing voice later in life — she started at age 33 and published her famed debut novel a mere few years later. Tan went on to write many other books, including " The Bonesetter's Daughter " and " The Kitchen God's Wife: A Novel ." The course: With a focus on utilizing your most powerful memories, this course teaches you how to find your voice as well as sharpen your story with compelling beginnings and endings. The price: $180 ($15 per month) for an annual MasterClass membership.

Shani Raja's Writing With Flair: How To Become An Exceptional Writer

The teacher: Shani Raja  is a former Wall Street Journal editor who has written for The Economist, Financial Times, and Bloomberg News. He has also taught advanced writing skills to professionals and edited for leading global companies like Microsoft, IBM, and PwC. The course:  Another bestseller from Shani Raja, this course promises to "dramatically improve the quality of your writing in as little as days or weeks" through a few key principles. Both new students and experienced writers have benefitted from the course, which teaches you how to sharpen your words and command the reader's attention.

Raja also has a Udemy course on the four levels of writing mastery .

The price: Both of Raja's Udemy courses are $109.99 each.

Margaret Atwood's MasterClass on Creative Writing

The teacher: Of " The Handmaid's Tale " fame, Margaret Atwood has been titled the "Prophet of Dystopia" for works such as " Oryx and Crake " and the "Handmaid's Tale" sequel, " The Testaments: A Novel ." The course: Atwood's MasterClass "covers the general points of interest for writers — how to get started, handle the middle of a story, develop characters, craft dialogue, and address writers' block — as well as more specific queries, like research and maintaining historical accuracy," according to Insider senior reporter Mara Leighton. You can read her full review of the course here . The price: $180 ($15 per month) for an annual MasterClass membership.

Simon Van Booy's The Writer's Toolkit: 6 Steps to a Successful Writing Habit

The teacher:  Simon Van Booy's short story collection " Love Begins in Winter " won the 2009 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. He has written two other short story collections as well as three anthologies of philosophy, and his work has been translated into over a dozen languages throughout the world. In 2013, he founded Writers for Children, a project that helps young people build confidence in their storytelling abilities through annual awards. The course:  Writing should be approachable and fun, not torturous. By optimizing your space for your writing style, creating a daily writing routine, and acting on inspiration, you can build a long-term writing process to rely on for years to come. This short video course teaches you how.

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's Finding Your Writing Voice: How to Express Your Unique Self in Your Work

The teacher:  Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is a former Entertainment Weekly writer and current TV columnist for BBC Culture who has also written for The New York Times Book Review, Fast Company, New York's Vulture, and The Verge. She wrote the New York Times bestseller " Seinfeldia: The Secret World of the Show About Nothing that Changed Everything ." The course: You don't have to lose your unique personality when you write; in fact, it's what will make your writing stand out in the crowd. Using pop culture icons like Beyoncé and Britney Spears, the class discusses different voices and explores ways to take chances with your writing. 

The price: Free with 14-day Skillshare trial; $8.25 per month or $19 per month after trial ends.

Salman Rushdie’s MasterClass on Storytelling and Writing

The teacher: Winner of the Man Booker Prize, Salman Rushdie is known for his mystical world-building and genre-bending plotlines as seen in books like " Quichotte ," " Midnight's Children ," and " Shame ."

The course: Rushdie provides tips on creating fleshed-out characters, believable surrealist worlds, and an air-tight plot. This is a great course for those who have lots of fantastical ideas but struggle to ground them into a cohesive story.

Clare Lynch's Writing With Confidence: Writing Beginner To Writing Pro

The teacher: Dr. Clare Lynch is a former Financial Times journalist who teaches academic writing and professional communication at the University of Cambridge. She has written for organizations like Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, and UBS and is the author of the business-writing blog Good Copy, Bad Copy .  The course: Learn powerful principles that can be applied to all types of writing, including emails, speeches, news writeups, and even presentations. The course takes you through fundamentals from techniques to beat writer's block to lessons on getting readers hooked and creating a clear, persuasive angle. 

The price: $109.99.

Joyce Maynard's Writing Your Story

The teacher: The author of 17 books (including novels and memoirs), Joyce Maynard has worked as a "New York Times" reporter and a contributor to outlets like NPR and "Vogue." Her books include " Labor Day ," " The Good Daughters ," and " Under the Influence ."

The course: Focusing on memoir writing, Maynard explains the difference between simply retelling events that happened to you and exploring your journey as a protagonist. She also covers some of the biggest questions that come up when writing about yourself, from what to cut to dealing with fears of judgment so that you can present a narrative that's authentic to readers.

The price: $89 for the course, or $11 per month for a CreativeLive membership.

Wesleyan University's Creative Writing Specialization

The teachers :   Salvatore Scibona was named one of "The New Yorker's" "20 under 40: Fiction Writers to Watch" and is the author of 2008 National Book Award finalist " The End ," the research for which he conducted while on a Fulbright Fellowship. 

Amy Bloom , author of two "New York Times" bestsellers and three collections of short stories, has written for "The New Yorker," "The New York Times Magazine," and "Vogue," among many other publications, and has won a National Magazine Award for Fiction. Her work has been translated into fifteen languages.

Brando Skyhorse is an Associate Professor of English at Indiana University in Bloomington who won the 2011 PEN/Hemingway Award and the 2011 Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction for his debut novel " The Madonnas of Echo Park ." 

Amity Gaige is the author of three novels, " O My Darling ," " Sea Wife ," and " Schroder ," which was shortlisted for The Folio Prize in 2014. To date, "Schroder" has been published in eighteen countries.

The course:  This specialization created by Wesleyan University consists of four courses (each taught by a teacher listed above) and covers elements of three major creative writing genres: short story, narrative essay, and memoir. It culminates in a challenging capstone project in which you'll draft, rewrite, and complete a substantial original story in the genre of your choosing.  The price: Free with 7-day Coursera trial; $49 per month to keep learning after trial ends.

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596 Best Creative Writing Classes in 2024

Showing 596 courses that match your search.

2024 Youth Summer Camp: Sci-Fi/Fantasy ONLINE

Story Studio Chicago

Over the course of one week, writers will generate their own science fiction and fantasy pieces and workshop them with the help of their peers. They will learn the differences between the genres and read the works of notable authors.

Website: https://www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/youth/2024-you...

Categories: Book, Fiction, Fantasy, and Science Fiction

Start date:

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

8-week Writing Sprints: A Generative Class

Sackett Street Writers

Writing Sprints is an exercise-intensive course designed to “unstick” writers struggling to start or continue new projects, boosting writing productivity. The course relies heavily on writing exercises (for both fiction & nonfiction writers). This class is for writers of all levels looking for inspiration and motivation.

Website: https://sackettworkshop.com/writing/2024/03/05/8-week-wri...

Categories: Book, Fiction, and Nonfiction

September, 2024

Prerequisites: A writing sample is recommended for this class.

The Secret Life of Scenes Workshop with David Biespiel

Attic Institute

Do you feel your writing gets bogged down in announcing, recounting, and summarizing? What you need is some scene-making medicine. Work with Attic Institute founder and two-time Oregon Book Award winner David Biespiel to learn the keys to explain less and dramatize more.

Website: https://atticinstitute.com/node/2830

Categories: Book, Fiction, Nonfiction, Screenplay, and Short Story

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2024 I Love to Write Camp

Kansas City Writers

Explore the creative writing process without worrying about your grade! These workshops include experience with free writing of many types of writing and techniques to help your writing come alive.

Website: https://www.kansascitywriters.com/workshops-for-kids.html

Categories: Fiction and Kids

Open all year round

Healing a Heart: Writing Your Way to Hope

Rockvale Writer's Colony

In this four-part class we'll explore the art and magic of writing as a healing process in a collaborative and supportive environment. Together, we will share our stories, read a variety of essays and short fiction in order to identify how others have utilized the written word to heal themselves.

Website: https://rockvalewriterscolony.org/workshops/november-8-10...

Categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Book, and Essay

November, 2024

Fall Virtual Workshop

Futurescapes

Futurescapes is an intensive, exclusive workshop, offering writers an unparalleled chance to work with top authors and agents in speculative fiction (science fiction, horror, fantasy, paranormal).

Website: https://futurescapes.ink/fall-workshop

Categories: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Book, and Fiction

October, 2024

Prerequisites: You may submit any original written work for your application.

Teen Summer: Say It Like You Mean It

Whether characters are arguing, bantering, betraying secrets, or confessing their guilt, dialogue can be one of the most challenging parts of writing a scene. In this workshop, we’ll learn about the various ways you can use dialogue in your writing, such as to advance the plot or develop characters.

Website: https://grubstreet.org/workshop/teen-summer-say-it-like-y...

Categories: Screenplay, Short Story, Book, Kids, and Nonfiction

August, 2024

The Poetry of Play

Writers.com

In this class, we’ll enjoy a rollicking good time by responding to poetry’s call to do just that. Students will read a wide variety of playful poetry, then experiment with in-class writing prompts designed to awaken freedom and enjoyment.

Website: https://writers.com/course/the-poetry-of-play

Categories: Poetry, Book, and Short Story

January, 2025

The Art of Live Storytelling

Ever dreamt of captivating an audience with your storytelling, condensing your writing into a sharp pitch, or confidently speaking in public? This course is designed for you. Uncover the craft of powerful storytelling using the classic "pity, fear, catharsis" framework and contemporary engagement techniques.

Website: https://grubstreet.org/workshop/the-art-of-live-storytell...

Categories: Nonfiction, Essay, and Fiction

Prerequisites: For writers age 13 - 18 ONLY.

Writing Experimental Essays

The aim of this class is to open up your writing by embracing this experimentation with form and structure. You’ll learn about the lyric essay—braided, collage, and hermit crab and more.

Website: https://grubstreet.org/workshop/writing-experimental-essa...

Categories: Nonfiction and Essay

Teen Summer: DIY Comic Book Making

You love comics, and graphic novels, and you like to doodle, but perhaps you’ve never finished a multi-page comic story? Or, you are a veteran comics creator and want to draw a new one! Now’s your chance to create a mini-comic during one week this summer.

Website: https://grubstreet.org/workshop/teen-summer-diy-comic-boo...

Categories: Book, Short Story, and Nonfiction

Teen Summer: From Story to Screen: Intro to Screenwriting

In this screenwriting and film workshop, we will learn Aristotle’s poetics, character work, scene writing, and dialogue. Further, we will immerse ourselves in clips from movies and short films and discuss how they relate to our learning techniques.

Website: https://grubstreet.org/workshop/teen-summer-from-story-to...

Categories: Kids

What are the 5 best creative writing classes?

Congratulations! Deciding to learn how to creative write is often the hardest step of all. Now it's time for a choice that's almost just as difficult: picking which creative writing class you want to take in a market that's getting more crowded by the day.  

That’s why we built this directory of the best creative writing courses — so that you can more easily filter through all of the selections out there. But in case you don't have time to dive into them all, here are five of the best creative writing classes for you to take a look at. 

1. Reedsy Learning

💲 Cost: Free 👨‍🏫 Type: Email lessons

If you’re struggling to find time for creative writing classes, Reedsy Learning is for you. These bite-sized lessons are emailed to you once a day for ten days and can be read in five minutes or less. But don’t let their compact size fool you — each lesson is packed with practical tips, links to additional resources, and enough exercises to keep your skills sharp. There are also courses on editing, marketing, and publishing for when you’re ready to take your creative writing to the next level.

2. Gotham Writers’ Workshop

💲 Cost: $165 - $409 (plus registration fees) 👨‍🏫 Type: Video lectures, live Zoom classes, assignments, critique

The largest adult-education writing school in the US, Gotham Writers has been helping budding authors hone their skills since the 1990s. Based in New York City, they offer in-person classes as well as a variety of online options for students all over the globe. With self-paced courses, live Zoom lectures, write-ins, and several free events per term, Gotham Writers emulates the university feel wherever possible.

💲 Cost: $0 - $109 👨‍🏫 Type: Lectures (videos, slides, and text)

Founded in 2010, Udemy is a massive online open course (MOOC) platform, created to provide an alternative to in-person, university learning. Their primary audience is made up of professionals and students — some of their courses even offer credit toward technical certifications. Their creative writing courses are broad and geared mainly toward beginners, through there are some intermediate courses that get into specific niches.

💲 Cost: $0 - $998 👨‍🏫 Type: Video lectures, online assignments

Another MOOC, edX was started as a collaboration between Harvard and MIT, but these days boasts classes from a wide variety of respected universities. Like Udemy, some of their courses also offer college credits. edX’s courses are weekly, consisting of short videos, interactive learning exercises, and online discussion groups. Their writing courses cover everything from novels to stand-up comedy to digital content. There are also related courses in journalism, composition, and grammar, among other specializations.

5. Coursera

💲 Cost: Free (Creative Writing Specialization) 👨‍🏫 Type: Video lectures, online assignments

One last MOOC for our list, this time founded by several Computer Science professors from Stanford University. But don’t let its history fool you — Coursera offers humanities classes as much as science and technology. In addition to general courses, Coursera also offers specializations, a series of courses that work together much like what you’d find in a university.

I have a long list of creative writing courses. Now what?

If you've narrowed down a list of writing classes in English you like, then it's time to commit to one of them. But how do you know which is the right fit for your needs and lifestyle?

Before committing to one of them, we recommend considering some of these questions.

• What skill levels does the writing course cover?
• What’s the price of the writing course? Does it match your budget?
• How long does the writing course run for?
• Who is the instructor of the course? Can you verify their credentials?
• Is the writing course remote or in-person?

More creative writing resources

Whether you’re a new or established author, there are always evergreen resources out there to how to get a headstart on creative writing! 

Free online materials

• Creative Writing Prompts (resource)
• Book Title Generator (resource)
• Character Name Generator (resource)
• Plot Generator (resource)
• How to Write a Novel (blog post)
• How to Write a Book Proposal (blog post)
• How to Edit a Book (blog post)

Recommended books

• For writers in the UK:  Writers' & Artists' Yearbook  
• For writers in the US:  Writer’s Market 2020

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Online courses in creative writing

Part-time study in creative writing

Develop your creativity with an Oxford University short course or award programme.

Need an extra push to finish your novel, poem or play? Completely new to the world of creative writing? Want to improve your analytical reading skills? No matter where you are in your writing journey, or where you are in the world, there is a part-time course to suit you.

Short online courses

Our short online courses in creative writing include live-time weekly classes, day and weekend schools and flexible online courses.

Credit earned from our short online courses is transferable towards our Certificate of Higher Education - a part-time undergraduate course in which you study a main subject discipline but also undertake study in other academic subjects.

Browse short online courses in creative writing

Diploma in Creative Writing

Our two-year, part-time Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing allows you to strengthen your ability in four major areas of literary activity — prose, poetry, drama and analytical reading — as well as the chance to specialise in the medium of your choice. You can now opt to take this course mostly online.

Find out more about the Diploma in Creative Writing

Upcoming courses

Fantasy literature.

• Sat 08 Jun 2024
• 9:45am – 5:15pm

Advanced Creative Writing (Online)

• Mon 09 Sep 2024 – 22 Nov 2024

Advanced Writing Lives (Online)

Fiction by victorian women: george eliot, elizabeth gaskell (online), writing lives (online).

Literature, creative writing and film studies

Online courses in literature, rita mccormick, tessa fenley, student spotlights.

Creative writing workshops can take your writing to the next level. The chance to experiment with your writing in a community is invaluable, and getting live feedback on your work will propel you through your writing career. But with so many online writing workshops out there, how can you tell which ones are worth taking?

There are plenty of writing workshops where writers get less than what they bargained for. Finding the right group of writers to workshop with is a slow process—no different than dating or finding a therapist. Where can you find the best online writing workshops for you?

Consider this your go-to guide for navigating the internet of online creative writing workshops. We’ll talk about different workshopping models and how they might work for you, and we’ll also look at how to get the most from your fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writing workshops.

But first, we ought to define this particularly nebulous aspect of creative writing education. What is a creative writing workshop?

Looking for the best online writing workshops?

If you’re looking for the best online writing workshops, look no further. Writers.com has been running online creative writing workshops since 1995. View our upcoming calendar to view the best writing workshops for you!

You can also navigate our courses by category:

• Short Story
• Personal Essay
• Lifestyle and Wellness
• Single-Day Zoom Sessions

What is a Writing Workshop?

People use the phrase “writing workshop” differently in different contexts, although it’s a rather vague term that writers use inconsistently. Here are some common ways you might see the term used:

• Online , a workshop is a complete writing course, including both lecture materials and opportunities for feedback from fellow students.
• In universities and MFA programs , a workshop is the aspect of a writing workshop where students give feedback to one another to improve their writing overall.
• At some online writing schools , a workshop is specifically a single-day Zoom-based workshop.

That said, “writing workshop” is a rather nebulous term that has a lot of applications. A workshop is any space where writers come to grow as writers. In short, a writing workshop is an open-ended term that describes different styles of creative writing education.

What is a writing workshop? An open-ended term that describes different styles of creative writing education.

For the purposes of this article, we are addressing multi-week online writing classes, as well as single-day webinars that have a workshopping component. Basically, we’re looking at any type of online learning space where students share their work, receive feedback, build new craft skills, and engage with a writing community.

Here’s what online writing workshops might look like, as well as tips for finding the best ones!

12 Things to Look For In the Best Online Creative Writing Workshops

Are you thinking about enrolling in a creative writing workshop? The best online writing workshops have these 12 things in common:

1. The Best Online Writing Workshops Have Well Respected Teachers

At most online writing schools, the instructor is the person who sets the syllabus, writes the workshop, and gives feedback to students. As a result, a good writing teacher makes all the difference in online writing workshops.

You want to be excited to learn from an instructor.

In addition to being a great writer and teacher, a great workshop instructor will be community-oriented, empathetic, and capable of tailoring their teaching to your writing needs.

Before you enroll in a writing workshop, do some research on the writer teaching it. Most professional writers and teachers will have a website, where you can peruse their work, degrees, and teaching history.

Some questions you might ask:

• Does the instructor have a terminal degree? (M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D., etc.)
• What do prior students say about this instructor?
• Does the instructor have a significant publication history?

On terminal degrees—they’re not necessary for running good creative writing workshops. But, they do indicate a certain level of craft training and teaching experience. Many terminal degree programs require students to learn how to teach creative writing. While you don’t need an M.F.A or Ph.D. to publish or teach writing, they certainly help.

Most importantly: are you excited about this instructor’s work? Do you like it? Do you connect with it? You want to be excited to learn from an instructor. They’re not just teaching craft, they’re teaching you their approach to crafting good writing.

2. The Best Online Writing Workshops Have a Clear Description

Enrolling in creative writing workshops involves a certain level of trust. If you haven’t taken a class with the organization before, you might not know how they run their classes or what you’ll get out of working with them. Writing programs should honor their side of the bargain by telling you exactly what you’ll get from their writing workshops.

Writing programs should honor their side of the bargain by telling you exactly what you’ll get from their writing workshops.

The descriptions for online writing workshops should tell you the following:

• What will you learn and write during the workshop?
• Who’s teaching the workshop, and what have they accomplished?
• How will your time be spent while taking the workshop?
• Who is this for? At what stage of your writing should you be in?

It helps to know what you’re looking for from your workshop. If you have certain goals in mind or ways you want to grow as a writer, be clear about these goals, and don’t spend money on workshops that simply won’t fit your needs. (That said, it can also be fun to enroll in random workshops and learn new writing skills—you’d be surprised what you’ll learn from a class that has nothing to do with your projects.)

If the description of the writing workshop aligns with your goals and needs, it should be a good fit. And, if you’re on the fence, it never hurts to ask the program administrators before you enroll. They’ll be glad to hear from you!

3. The Best Online Writing Workshops Prioritize the Student

Creative writing workshops place your experience front and center. The goal of a workshop is to expand your learning, work, and writing journey. If a writing course doesn’t promise to uplift your writing life, why would you take it?

If a writing course doesn’t promise to uplift your writing life, why would you take it?

A good writing school will acknowledge the risk involved in taking an adult writing workshop. Since online schools can’t confer college credit, and since you probably haven’t interacted with the workshop instructor before, you’re spending your time and money on a program that you haven’t used before.

So, why wouldn’t that school prioritize you ? You want to be confident that your writing, your creativity, and your time will be valued, otherwise you’re wasting your money on an experience you hardly learned from.

Check to see if the program itself has a student promise before you enroll in their writing workshops. If it doesn’t seem like the school will center your learning and growth as a writer, don’t take the risk—there are plenty of other schools to choose from.

4. The Best Online Writing Workshops Give Constructive Feedback

The feedback you receive in creative writing workshops will often prove the most valuable aspect of the course. Because most workshops are run by writers with Masters or Doctoral degrees, they’ve spent a fair amount of time giving and receiving feedback in competitive and community settings. As a result, they know a ton about the craft skills that make for good literature, and they know how to transmit those skills to their students.

Most importantly, a good writing instructor will tell you what you’re doing well in your writing.

The feedback you receive in online writing workshops will vary by the scope of the workshops and the backgrounds of the instructors. You might receive feedback on:

• Where the writing is effective
• Word choice that isn’t clear to the reader
• Ideas that can be expanded or shortened
• Sentences that are too long or too short
• Corrections in spelling and grammar
• Opportunities to improve the writing structure
• Feedback related to the elements of fiction , nonfiction, or poetry

Most importantly, a good writing instructor will tell you what you’re doing well in your writing. When you write a really great simile , have well developed characters , or find a moment of deep insight, your instructor will highlight this.

While it’s good to know what needs to be improved, writers can’t begin to improve until they also know what works in their poems and stories. This is how you build a foundation for good writing: start with what works, and sculpt from there. Writing workshops are the best spaces to build this foundation!

5. The Best Online Writing Workshops Focus on Craft

The best online writing workshops are centered around the craft of writing. Unlike English and composition classes, which focus on grammar, literacy, and the mechanics of language, creative writing workshops look at using these mechanics to write compelling, effective stories. And, in a writing workshop, you don’t just use the rules, you get to break them!

In a writing workshop, you don’t just use the rules, you get to break them.

The craft elements you focus on will vary based on the kind of course you’re in. If you’re taking poetry writing workshops, for example, you’ll focus on employing effective literary devices and studying different forms of poetry .

Likewise, in novel writing workshops, you might study elements like plot , point of view , and the art of storytelling .

Good writing workshops will break down great literature into the components that make it great, allowing you to read like a writer and employ these craft skills in your own work. And, learning the craft of creative writing helps you with everyday tasks, like sending emails or expanding your vocabulary.

6. The Best Online Writing Workshops Respect Your Creativity

The workshop is a space of unfettered creativity. Writers get to share their ideas, their experiences, and their creative, collaborative minds in the same space, making workshops the place to experiment with ideas. Of course, this is only possible if the workshop respects your creative authority.

We don’t “earn” the title of “writer,” we simply are writers, and a good writing course will uphold your integrity and creative vision, no matter where you are in your writing journey.

What does respect for your creative authority mean? It means that no one judges, criticizes, or condemns you for your writing and ideas. The best writing workshops will:

• Help you explore your ideas, rather than impose ideas upon you.
• Teach you the ropes of writing craft without telling you what to write.
• Show you what you’re already doing well in your work.
• Point out opportunities where the writing can be expanded, restructured, or clarified—in ways that help you carry out your creative vision.

Most importantly, this is true no matter how “new” you are to creative writing workshops . Whether you’ve submitted the first poem you’ve ever written or your thousandth, you deserve the same level of respect as everyone else in the room. We don’t “earn” the title of “writer,” we simply are writers, and a good writing course will uphold your integrity and creative vision, no matter where you are in your writing journey.

In a writing workshop, you may encounter many different ideas, but you also encounter the freedom to accept or reject those ideas. It’s your writing. You get the final say!

7. The Best Online Writing Workshops Create Community

What is a writing workshop without community? Writing can be a lonely practice, but a writing community makes all the difference. The best creative writing workshops foster a sense of community. In fact, many writers have come away from our courses with friends and writing partnerships that last for years and years!

A writing community can give you the motivation to create, the license to experiment, and the potential to learn even more about the craft of writing.

A writing community can give you the motivation to create, the license to experiment, and the potential to learn even more about the craft of writing. Because we all have very different literary backgrounds, we all have studied different authors and elements of the writing craft. When we write in a community, we naturally share what we’ve learned with one another, creating a culture of growth and inspiration.

Additionally, a strong writing community creates valuable feedback. When you write alongside people who know and enjoy your work, it is much easier to give and receive feedback, especially when these writers know what you’re trying to accomplish.

Many well-known authors throughout history have been a part of valuable writing communities, such as The Beat Poets, Stratford-on-Odeon, and these famous writing groups . Writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and when you enroll in community-oriented online writing workshops, you foster the kinds of relationships and connections that can sustain your literary career.

8. The Best Online Writing Workshops Motivate You to Write

Because writing is often solitary, it can be hard to motivate yourself to get work done. Taking online writing workshops pushes you to put words on the page.

Sometimes, the biggest barrier is beginning, but creative writing workshops will spark your writing practice.

For one thing, these classes cost money, and when you’re spending money to write and learn about writing, you’re more likely to actually write and learn about writing.

But, it’s not just the monetary transaction that motivates writers in adult writing workshops. Your course might provide you with:

• Creative writing prompts
• Daily journaling assignments
• Helpful revisions
• Inspirational readings
• Ideas to combat writer’s block
• Different approaches to writing

Some writing workshops are even designed to motivate you, such as our class Write Your Novel! The Workshop With Jack . Sometimes, the biggest barrier is beginning, but creative writing workshops will spark your writing practice.

9. The Best Online Writing Workshops Jumpstart a Writing Habit

Because writing workshops require you to submit work every week, students will have to set up a consistent writing practice in order to meet these deadlines. Not only does this prepare you for your life as a published author (where deadlines are less flexible), but this also helps you master a key aspect of the writing life: a consistent writing habit.

To make the most of creative writing workshops, try to find time to write every day.

Writing every day isn’t just good advice, it’s essential to building a writing life. Writers who want to build careers out of their work, or at the very least publish books some day, will have to dedicate time every day to their work. When you engage with language each day, you build the skills necessary to write good books, and you also keep yourself creatively motivated. This is true especially for the days that are hardest to write on.

Of course, most of us lead very busy lives. How do we steal time as artists? Here are some ideas:

• Write with your morning coffee.
• Keep a journal on your phone during work and lunch breaks.
• Write on your commute to and from work. If you’re driving, keep an audio journal, where you write by speaking into your phone’s recorder.
• Write on your phone while running on the treadmill.
• Put pen to paper while taking a bath.
• Journal for 15 minutes before you go to bed.

These ideas won’t work for everyone, and it all depends on your schedule and lifestyle. Nonetheless, to make the most of creative writing workshops, try to find time to write every day. It’s best to write at the same time every day, but if your schedule doesn’t allow this, sneak time wherever you can. Balancing a career, a family, and a writing life isn’t easy, but when the work calls, you’ll find time to answer!

10. The Best Online Writing Workshops Broaden Your Literary Horizons

As writers, it’s important for us to know our literary history. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to read every piece of classic literature to start writing—in fact, many books published in the 19th century could never be published today.

If you want to publish your own work some day, it’s important to know what else is being published today.

But it does mean knowing the craft skills that went into both classic and contemporary books. It especially means having a sense of the contemporary literary zeitgeist. If you want to publish your own work some day, it’s important to know what else is being published today.

The best creative writing workshops broaden your literary horizons. When you read classic literature, you get a sense of the foundations of contemporary writing, and the ways that writers before us expanded the possibilities of literature as a whole. When you read contemporary literature, you get a sense of today’s publishing landscape and what people are looking for in the writings of today.

(If you plan to publish books by querying literary agents , reading contemporary work is crucial, because you need to have good comps in your query letter . Comps are books that have been published recently and are similar, in some ways, to your own.)

Now, this doesn’t mean you need to write like other authors. In fact, far from it. It’s better that you learn to write like yourself , because your most valuable asset as a writer is your voice. But, when you expand your literary horizons, you engage with literature and make decisions on what you do and don’t want to do in your work.

What do you like to read? What do you want to never read again? The more you read, the more you hone your own voice as a writer. Great writing workshops introduce you to literature that provokes these kinds of questions.

11. The Best Online Writing Workshops Provide a Creative Outlet

One of the best reasons to take online writing workshops is that they give you an outlet for feelings and creativity.

Writing workshops are a great supplement to a healthy writer’s life.

This is the result of the various reasons listed above for taking writing classes. By building community, creating a writing practice, and engaging with literature, you inevitably nourish your creativity. In doing so, you nurture a healthy space to explore your ideas and emotions—an essential aspect of any writer’s life.

Now, even the best online writing workshops can’t replace the benefits of therapy. We’re not saying you should ditch your therapist for a Writers.com class. But we are saying that writing workshops are a great supplement to a healthy writer’s life, because they create safe spaces for you to experiment with your work and explore your emotions freely on the page.

This is true even for writers of genre fiction or persona poetry. It’s true for participants in fiction writing workshops and memoir writing workshops. We gravitate to writing in part for its emotional release, and a great online class in creative writing will nurture this release. Between the prompts, community, and writing habits that a creative writing workshop fosters, you’re sure to come away from your workshop with renewed emotional health.

12. The Best Online Writing Workshops Provide Next Steps

The best creative writing workshops are the beginning of your writing life, not the end. When your workshop ends, you should come away with new ideas for writing, new publication opportunities to pursue, and new friends and mentors to nurture your writing journey.

The best creative writing workshops are the beginning of your writing life, not the end.

Throughout the workshop, you’ll find new opportunities for continuous growth. You might find a list of literary journals to submit to, new readings to stimulate your writing, further creative writing workshops to attend, or simply the emails and social media accounts of students you really enjoyed working with.

If you’re ready to move on to the next level of your writing, your instructor will provide you with next steps. And, if you want to learn more outside of the classroom, contact the instructor about this. We’re always excited by writers who want to keep learning and learning!

The Best Online Writing Workshops

Of course, we’re partial to our own workshops at Writers.com . Since 1995 we’ve offered the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and book writing workshops around the internet, inspiring thousands of writers to embark on their writing journeys, find their voices, and get published.

We offer both single-day webinars and multi-week workshops in all genres, and also offer opportunities for private coaching with our instructors. If you’re looking for the best, you’ve already found it. Drop us a line if you have any questions!

Check out our full schedule of upcoming classes here.

In addition to Writers.com, here are some online writing workshops that we’ve found offer fantastic creative writing education:

• Loft Literary
• Brooklyn Poets
• Creative Nonfiction

In Creative Writing Workshops…

You get to find great literature, meet fellow scribblers, build a writing habit, and, most importantly, take your writing journey to the next level. Why wait? Enroll in an online writing workshop today!

Sean Glatch

Thanks for the information it’s really enlightening

So glad I found this writing site. I have more exploring to do. I’m sure I will be back.

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5 Best Digital Marketing Courses That Are Worth Taking in 2024

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Digital marketing is key for businesses that wish to increase brand awareness and draw attention to brands over long periods of time. When effectively done, digital marketing helps “funnel” potential buyers to a purchase. Training to be a digital marketer involves exploring the tools used to analyze customer data, interpreting trending topics with SEO and discovering the strategy behind driving sales.

Interested in a career in digital marketing? There are a variety of ways to enter into digital marketing as a career. For example, search engine optimization is a key part of digital marketing and may lead to a viable career path.

I chose the following digital marketing courses because of their positive reviews from the digital marketing community, their thoroughness and their approachability.

• Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate via Coursera: Coursera
• HubSpot Academy’s Digital Marketing Course: HubSpot Academy
• Moz Academy SEO Starter Pack: Moz Academy
• Semrush Academy’s Digital Advertising 101: Semrush Academy
• Coursera’s Digital Marketing Specialization: Coursera

Best digital marketing courses: Comparison table

Google digital marketing & e-commerce professional certificate via coursera.

Google’s digital marketing introduction from Coursera is suitable for beginners, and you’ll emerge from the course with a professional certificate. This course is backed by Google and is completely online. It covers a wide variety of topics, from search engine marketing and converting likes to sales on social media to marketing campaigns and setting up an e-commerce store.

This certification includes multiple courses, which should, together, take about six months to complete at 10 hours per week.

A Coursera subscription costs $59 per month, so the cost will depend on how quickly you complete the course. A six-month learning journey would cost $354.

HubSpot Academy’s Digital Marketing Course

HubSpot sells marketing and sales software and also offers free courses for learning digital marketing. This course covers email, SEO, social media, content creation and scheduling, and website advertising. It is particularly suitable for small business owners who have a business plan but are unfamiliar with digital marketing practices. It is taught primarily through video, with a transcript available.

The HubSpot Academy Digital Marketing Course is free. As with most online course materials, it requires an email address to log in.

Moz Academy SEO Starter Pack

When it comes to SEO, Moz Academy is a good place to start for step-by-step instructions on how to use the right tools for the trade. It provides how-tos for SERP listings and evaluating keywords; in addition, it gives contexts such as how and why pages show up in search results and the history of search algorithms. The third module, Local SEO Fundamentals, focuses on SEO strategies for local businesses.

Moz Academy generally has a good reputation among the digital marketing community in terms of a starting place for beginners. Note, there’s no guarantee the “recent trends in SEO” section will still be recent by the time you reach it since search engines are changing so rapidly.

The complete SEO Starter Pack costs $149.

Semrush Academy’s Digital Advertising 101

Business owners or marketers looking to approach their work from a strategic angle or wanting to focus on advertising may find value in this Semrush Academy course. Along with the basics of how digital advertising works, this course covers measuring how well your campaigns are doing and building solid strategies around your most successful projects. It teaches you an overview of competitor research and how to craft an overall digital advertising strategy.

Semrush Academy’s Digital Advertising 101 is free.

Coursera’s Digital Marketing Specialization

The Digital Marketing Specialization available on Coursera is taught by faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This is a relatively in-depth course, covering the theory and practice of digital marketing, but it may repeat some of the same content on other courses listed here, so choose which one will be the best format for you.

Coursera is generally considered reliable, though some of the same information in this course can be found for free. On the other hand, this specialization is good for people who want a guided path through the practical uses of digital marketing tools. It ends with a hands-on project that involves executing a digital marketing campaign.

A subscription to Coursera costs $59 per month, with a 7-day free trial, so the cost will depend on how long it takes you to complete the course. A four-month learning journey would cost $236.

Are digital marketing courses worth it?

Whether an online digital marketing class is worth the time, effort and money for you depends on your learning style and career goals. Digital marketing courses often provide a “one size fits all” overview instead of focusing on a specific job title or audience. It may be wise to look for free tutorials on YouTube before signing up for a paid class.

Digital marketing changes very quickly — just look at Google’s AI Overviews . Be sure any course you choose is up-to-date or that you can supplement it with contemporary content. Whether you have a professional certification may not matter to employers as much as whether you can show proven results.

Is digital marketing high paying?

As of May 2024, the average salary for a digital marketer in the U.S. was $64,898, according to Indeed. The higher end of the salary range could reach up to $113,442.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found the annual mean wage of Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in May 2023 to be $83,190.

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Online marketing for beginners: 10 paid and free courses to start with

In today’s digital marketplace, personalization is king. Hubspot’s The State of Marketing 2024 report underscores this, revealing that 75% of marketers credit personalized experiences with boosting sales and customer loyalty. This strategic focus is reshaping companies’ online narratives, directly influencing a return on investment (ROI) and growth trajectories.

The digital realm demands a deep understanding of consumer behavior, market trends, and keeping up with technological trends and advancements. For those carving out a career in digital or online marketing, you’re in an era where science meets creativity. 

UNC Kenan-Flagler’s top-ranked online MBA

Dr. Jonah Berger, a Wharton School professor at the University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of books like Magic Words and The Catalyst , views the right digital marketing course as a critical piece in the puzzle of success.

“If you already have your product, a class can teach you how to get it to the right customers,” he asserts. Berger emphasizes the versatility of digital marketing education, noting that it can guide entrepreneurs in everything from product design to startup selection.

He advises prospective students to first identify their needs and desired outcomes before choosing a course. “The more that courses help you address a particular tactical need you have, the better off you’re going to be,” he explains. He encourages focusing on “modern marketing” trends such as customer centricity, highlighting the shift towards prioritizing the customer’s perspective over the product or service.

For Berger, truly successful digital marketing lies in “the marriage of data science and behavioral science.” He stresses the importance of understanding customer decision-making while leveraging data for deeper insights. This approach is paramount in a landscape dominated by search engines, social media, and omni-channel marketing strategies.

For those interested in working in the online marketing industry, taking a course can be an effective way to build a solid foundation. Fortune compiled a list of both free and paid online marketing courses you can take on your home computer to help you add the skill to your digital toolbox. 

5 free online marketing courses

Enrolling in a free course can give you the necessary skills to get started without breaking the bank. These five free online courses teach digital marketing at an introductory level. Each varies on program length but offers generalized coursework. The list is in alphabetical order.

1. CareerFoundry: Digital Marketing Program

This one is for people who don’t have a lot of time but still want to dip their toes in the digital marketing waters. To figure out if digital marketing is right for you, CareerFoundry can send you a free five-day short course to your email inbox. Each lesson takes around 15 minutes, offering barebones instruction to the world of digital marketing and making a career change. It’s worth noting that the content you receive is the beginning lessons of a much more robust, four to seven-month long, $6,900 immersive, should you want to opt for the paid version. 

2. Google: Fundamentals of Digital Marketing

This 40-hour course, offered by one of the most popular search engine companies, teaches digital marketing at an entry-level . The 24-module class, accredited by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University, contains hands-on exercises.

Tutorials include topics like making it easy to find a business on the internet and reaching customers through email and video. After passing each tutorial, the course offers one final assessment, and after taking and passing that, you will receive a sharable award to add to your LinkedIn profile.

3. Meta: Blueprint

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, offers 36 free courses in its Blueprint program . The program aims to give learners fast, self-guided digital marketing walkthroughs and training on sites like Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Topics range from bringing your business online and establishing marketing goals to attracting an audience and making creative Instagram Stories. 

4. Simplilearn: Digital Marketing Strategy

This free course by Simplilearn consists of seven main modules, each containing a self-paced string of video lessons. It aims to provide learners with an introduction to the digital marketing landscape. 

In two hours, you will learn about customer segmentation and persona, plus you’ll learn how to conduct market research and create a marketing calendar. After each chapter, there is a knowledge check, and after completing the class, you will receive a certificate of completion. According to the site, more than 25,000 people have enrolled in this course.

5. Udemy: Marketing on Instagram 

This introductory course from Three Sixty Academy , offered on the Udemy platform, teaches learners the fundamentals of Instagram marketing and how to increase your follower base and maximize ROI. The course consists of nine tutorials over the course of 40 minutes. According to the site, more than 30,000 students have enrolled in this course. 

5 paid online marketing courses

Taking paid courses can be an effective way to learn marketing concepts and practical applications. By paying for a course, you can access comprehensive content and detailed explanations in a structured learning environment. This can help you gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter and improve your skills. Courses are listed in alphabetical order.

1. Coursera: Introduction to Digital Marketing

Coursera has a beginner-level course that lasts for around nine hours and is taught by Steve Fritzenkotter, a continuing education instructor from the University of California, Irvine. The course covers everything from search engine marketing and two-way communication with customers to storytelling and reputation management. 

According to the site, it’s free to start, but after a seven-day trial period, you’ll be required to pay $49 monthly. The subscription gives you access to all of the lectures, assignments, knowledge checks, discussion forums, and even a certification of completion. Lastly, the course has more than 10,500 enrollees. 

2. eCornell: Assessing Opportunities in Paid Digital Media

eCornell’s online paid media course covers the basics of search engine marketing, email marketing, and video marketing through a paid lens. The course tackles topics like social media and mobile ads and will guide you through the process of drafting a paid media marketing plan. 

This two-week, fully online, instructor-led course is targeted towards marketing managers who want to understand the role digital marketing plays in an organization. The course is priced at $1,199 and is part of eCornell’s Digital Marketing program, which is priced at $3,699 and includes four courses. After completing the entire program, you will have earned a certificate.

3. Harvard Business School: Digital Marketing Strategy

Harvard Business School Online’s digital marketing course is seven weeks long, self-paced, and contains six modules. The key concepts taught are the evolution of marketing, different approaches to budget allocation, and customer engagement techniques like storytelling and personalization. 

The featured exercises include building a practice budget, calculating a customer’s lifetime value, and advising a real-life company on its marketing plan. The course costs $1,750, and the application is free, but you must be at least 18 years old to apply. 

4. LinkedIn Learning: Advance as a Digital Marketing Specialist

LinkedIn Learning’s digital marketing career path is a comprehensive program with nine courses. Each one is more than ten hours long and is designed to teach learners how to create effective customer touchpoints, develop content strategies, and gain expertise in SEO and analytics. Upon completing the program, students receive a certificate that can be added to their LinkedIn profile.

The lectures are delivered by industry experts Brad Batesole, who teaches part-time at California State University Northridge, and Marta Dapena-Baron, a former marketing lecturer at the University of Michigan and Cornell University.

To access this course path, users must subscribe to the service. The subscription costs $379.88 per seat per year, with a two-seat minimum requirement for teams.

5. Udemy: The Complete Digital Marketing Course—12 Courses in 1 

This $199.99 course offered by Udemy teaches students how to master digital marketing strategy and the fundamentals of social media, SEO, YouTube, email, X (formerly Twitter), Quora, and Facebook marketing. Taught in 17 languages over 22.5 hours of videos and articles, it also teaches you copywriting, making a website, and performing market research. 

According to the site, the course comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it caters to three target audiences: individuals who wish to enhance their skills for job opportunities, website owners looking to boost their traffic and sales, and pre-launch business owners who are unsure where to begin.

Things to consider before enrolling in an online marketing course

If there’s one takeaway from this article, it’s that there are a lot of options in terms of the kinds of courses you can take. An overwhelming number of options can lead to analysis paralysis, so it’s important to remember that while some courses might sound great, they might not give you the exact results you’re looking for. 

Before spending your hard-earned cash or wasting your time with any marketing course, consider these factors:

• Hands-on practice : According to a report by the U.S. Department of Education ,  the term “hands-on approach” refers to guided instruction through experience. “It’s one thing to hear somebody say something. It can be quite another to make sure you can apply that thing,” Berger says. “It’s important to learn from others, but you need to make sure you can apply those learnings as well.” 
• Reviews : Berger says that word of mouth is another powerful tool in determining what you should spend your money and time on. “When I am making a tough decision, I turn to others—either looking at reviews online or talking with people offline—to understand what other people think and help make better decisions.” Sites like Udemy and Simplilearn provide ratings on the front pages of courses. 

So, what is the best online marketing course to take?

The best online marketing course is the one that best suits your needs. While you can scroll through thousands of TikTok and YouTube videos to pick up key information, a structured course can give you the backbone you need to improve your digital marketing skills. 

Whether you want to learn for free or for money, there’s an option for everyone. But if you’re still on the fence about taking an online marketing course, hear Berger’s advice: 

“Marketing touches almost everything we do—we all have a customer. Brand managers sell products, B2B companies sell services, leaders sell ideas, doctors convince patients to take medicine, lawyers try to convince their clients to take action, and employees try to convince their bosses.”

He explains that whether we interface with our customers, spouses, or children, we aim to understand them and meet them where they are. “It’s about understanding who you’re interacting with and delivering them value.” If that sounds interesting to you, then digital marketing could be a good career path. 

Fortune outlined the path you need to take to become a digital marketer , and we also compiled a list of 16 entrepreneurial classes you can take online now .

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