As a small online business owner who wants to grow their business, online courses may be the last thing on your mind. Your plate is full, right? But, by investing time and money in these courses, you’ll learn new skills that can help you expand.
We’ve curated a list of 9 online courses across social media, SEO, and persuasive writing. We covered these areas because they’re paramount to your online success.
Social media is critical for exposure, building awareness, and driving traffic. Mastering SEO is essential to driving organic traffic to your site. The ability to write well is crucial to converting visitors into paying customers.
So, investing in at least one – or several – of these resources, won’t hurt. After all, you can access these courses online, and many are free.
Social Media Courses
#1 Buffer Social Media Email Course
Are you a buffer user? If so, this free course is for you. Over the course of 25 days – excluding weekends – Buffer sends 25 email strategies. The emails provide detailed information and videos. Below are some strategies you’ll receive in the emails:
- How to share the same content many times
- How to add to your Buffer account in bulk
- How to boost Facebook presence by using current events
- How to find influencers in your area and engage with them
Here’s a preview of day one of the course.
#2 Social Media Marketing Complete Certification Course
The Complete Certification Course created by SO ME Academy – and available for purchase on Udemy – provides 80 comprehensive lectures on social media. The best-selling course covers several aspects such as:
- The foundations of social media
- How to plan and create a vision
- The basics of the different social media channels
- How to use social media for marketing, customer services, and PR
- How to build a social media strategy
- The risks of social media
While it’s a paid course, Udemy provides a sizeable discount. The only prerequisite for signing is that social media must be a business need.
#3 HubSpot Academy Online Social Media Course (s)
HubSpot, the leader in inbound marketing and sales, provides online broadcasts. These shows take the form of videos, downloadable slides, blog posts, and to-dos. Topics include:
- Connecting social media and marketing
- Building a social media strategy
- Implementing a social media plan
- How to improve a social media plan with data
Building your online presence through social media is one thing, but if you want to propel your growth, you need to capture search engine traffic. If you don’t, I guarantee you someone else will.
SEO Courses
#4 SEO Training Courses by Moz
Moz is the go-to place for all things SEO. It’s no surprise that they have several online courses available. These include:
- Intro to SEO classes that are ideal for the beginner. The course provides a high-level overview of SEO, covering the basics, how SEO works, ranking factors, and how to create an SEO strategy. The cost to enroll is $40.
- Five different bootcamps that cover keyword research, SEO site audits, on-page SEO, link building, and SEO reporting. You can buy each course individually or all five for a 20% discount.
If you’re cash-strapped, Moz also provides a free SEO training course on Udemy, which covers the basics of SEO.
#5 SEO Training: How to Get To The Top Of Google With SEO
SEO Training 2017 is another course provided by Udemy. Created by Daragh Welsh, the course teaches you how to master SEO with SEO audits, keyword research, technical SEO, and link building.
The below image provides a more detailed overview of what you’ll learn.
The course includes 36 lectures, 2.5 hours of video, 1 article, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion.
#6 E-Commerce SEO 101 Video Series
This free video series by Shopify is for the online store owner who wants to drive traffic and convert customers.
Industry expert, Helen Overland from Search Engine People, is the instructor. Over the course of 7 videos spanning 28 minutes, she provides e-commerce store owners with tips and advice to improve their SEO.
The videos are a solid foundation if you’re a store owner with limited knowledge of e-commerce SEO, but want to grow organic traffic.
But even once you’ve built traffic, you face the difficulty of engaging your visitors and making a sale. That’s why you need to learn the art of writing copy that sells. Even if you’re hiring someone else to write copy for you, it helps to have an understanding of how to write better copy.
Persuasive Writing Courses
#7 Persuasive Online Copywriting Course Through Udemy
In the course, “Write to Ignite: Master the Art of Persuasive Online Writing,” you’ll learn:
- How to get readers to take action
- How to find the strengths of your product
- How to write clickable headlines
- Tell compelling stories
- Bond with your readers on an emotional level
- How to get rid of buyer anxiety
Take note that the course doesn’t teach English Grammar. For that, I recommend: “Learn English, The Next Gen Guide to English Grammar.”
#8 John Carlton’s Simple Writing System
Recommended by many top copywriters, this free two-part training John provides will help you:
- Understand how your customers think and how your product can help them
- Communicate the benefits of your product to them
- Convert customers by offering value and not pushy sales tactics
# 9 Free 16-Part Snackable Course by Henneke Duistermaat
I’m a huge fan of Henneke Duistermaat. The owner of Enchanting Marketing helps businesses grow through digital marketing.
She specializes in writing compelling copy and offers several resources that will transform your copy from dull to powerful. One such resource is her free, “16-Part Snackable Writing Course.”
You’ll receive 16 steps by email that you can implement immediately. Henneke helps “cure sentence bloat” and shows you how to engage your readers quickly. When you download the guide, you’ll also receive two bonus guides and a checklist.
Wrapping it Up
Three areas that are critical to your online success are social media, SEO, and compelling copy. By investing in online courses, you can improve your skills in those areas, drive growth, and boost profitability. Now that you know which courses will help, it’s time to start learning.
Are you ready to invest in yourself and your business?