18 questions you should ask (and answer) before investing in a copywriting course

There are quite a few copywriting courses being advertised on the web.

Ours, of course, but also offerings from the Copywriting Apprentice, American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI) and others.

Everyone will try to sell you their course with the usual benefits-copy. They wouldn’t be in the business if they couldn’t do that, would they?

Naturally, we’d love you to invest in ours, but we think you should do your research first.

To help you, here is a checklist that you can apply when assessing each course.

I’ve answered the questions for Breakthrough Copywriting.

The course leader/creator

1 Who is behind the course? (I wrote and delivered ours.)

2 What are their credentials, experience and reputation? (I have published four best-selling books on copywriting through a proper publisher, Marshall Cavendish; I am a Fellow of the UK Institute of Direct Marketing; I have been a professional copywriter since 1986; and I speak regularly at industry conferences.)

3 Have they done any training before? (I have trained over 1,200 copywriters, marketeers and entrepreneurs.)

4 If so, for which organisations? (Too many to list, but they include The Economist and The London Stock Exchange.)

5 Is there the opportunity to interact with the course leader? (Yes. Through our LinkedIn group or just by email and Twitter.)

The course format

6 Is the course video-based or just a book/manual? (It’s video-based with a 300-page manual.)

7 If video, what is the quality like? Professional or amateur? (Our videos were shot, edited and produced by a professional crew and output onto HD video.)

8 Do the videos include examples of great copy and checklists/quizzes? (Yes. We reference examples of great copywriting and have a quiz after each session plus a roundup quiz after week 9.)

Course materials

9 Does the course include a manual or workbook? (Yes.)

10 How many pages/words is the workbook? (300 pages and 40,000 words.)

11 Is it just PowerPoint slides or an original work that you can use on its own? (It’s a ground-up, freshly written workbook that stands on its own as a copywriting course.)

12 Does it provide DVDs of any course videos? Exercises? A swipe file? A glossary? An index? (Yes to all of those.)

Exercises

13 How many practical exercises are included? (33.)

14 Does the course leader provide model answers? (Yes, where relevant.)

Guarantees

15 Is there a money-back guarantee? (Yes.)

16 If yes, what is the duration? (30 days.)

Joining bonus

17 Is there a joining bonus of any kind? (Yes, a guide to effective presenting.)

Certificate

18 Is there a certificate of completion? (Yes.)

We hope this helps you invest your hard-earned cash where it will deliver the most benefit.