8 of the Best Free Copywriting Courses for Beginners
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No-frills reviews of the best free copywriting courses that every aspiring writer should consider.
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Best Overall: Comprehensive Copywriting Academy
Best Video Training: Filthy Rich Writer
Best Podcast Training: “Build Your Copywriting Business” by Filthy Rich Writer
Fastest Training: Jesse Forrest’s 1-Hr Crash Course
Copywriting is a great career to get into, but you need specific skills in order to land your first job – and to (eventually) be a successful 6-figure copywriter!
While you may not be ready to commit to a paid copywriting course, check out this list of the best free copywriting courses out there!
Now, none of these are the most perfect copywriting training. None of these free copywriting courses can give you absolutely everything you need to know to become a well-paid copywriter. You’ll need more in-depth training and tons of experience to get there.
However, in this post, I’ll give you the good and the bad about these free copywriting courses. They are definitely worth looking into, especially if you want a well-rounded copywriting foundation.
The 8 Best Free Copywriting Courses for Beginners
Let’s look at several free copywriting courses and/or resources that you can find online. All of these have pros and cons, so check out what I have to say about them.
#1 Filthy Rich Writer’s Free Video Training
Filthy Rich Writer is a well-established brand in the copywriting world. I fell in love with their resources and copywriting courses back in 2020. Right now, they are offering a free copywriting training video: How to Get into Copywriting (Click here to watch).
The Good
You will find some pretty groundbreaking stuff in here! So, grab a coffee, and take some notes. The course instructor, Nicki Krawczyk is very friendly and engaging too, which is nice to prevent boredom as you work through this 1+ hour training.
The Bad
You only have a few days to watch their video training once they send it to you. Somewhere between 4-6 days. While that’s definitely enough time to get through it, you won’t be able to get back into the training once it closes.
#2 Filthy Rich Writer’s Free “How to Build Your Copywriting Business” Podcast
This one isn’t necessarily an online copywriting course that you log into. But instead, you can listen to their podcast episodes wherever you are. This is another resource from Filthy Rich Writer, and like I’ve mentioned before, they really know how to create original, concise and specific resources for copywriters and aspiring copywriters!
Some notable episodes you might want to check out first:
Episode 131: “Can You Make $10K per Month with Copywriting?”
Episode 132: “Using Copywriting to Build a Second Business (Karen’s Story)”
Episode 136: “Copywriting Transformed Her Quality of Life (Amy’s Story)”
Episode 140: “Traveling Europe While Running a Copy Agency (Chris’s Story)”
Episode 142: “On-Staff vs. Freelance Copywriting: Which Is Better?”
The Good
What I love most about their podcasts is that they cover very niched and specialized topics. Sure, they cover copywriting basics, but they also answer questions that only copywriters would have as they move through their careers.
The Bad
If podcasts aren’t how you like to learn, this may be more work than what you want to do. For example, I’ve never consistently wanted to listen to a podcast. Luckily, they provide a blog-like transcription to skim.
#3 Mike Nardi’s Free Practical Copywriting Course for Beginners
At the start, he promises that what you learn in this near 40-minute video will help you learn copywriting and get started making money as a copywriter. Is that really what happens?
The Good
The whole video is pretty short. So, you can consume lots of information within 40 minutes. I like how he structures the video training as a whole. It covers the basics in depth. I also enjoy that you can literally just find him on YouTube, and there’s no need to “sign up” through your email or create some kind of course login.
The Bad
You won’t get too much information outside of the copywriting basics. After watching this video, you are by no means a copywriting expert. Also, while this video training walks you through some activities to do, I wasn’t super jazzed about his suggestions to just “sit down with a piece of paper and write whatever comes to mind” – every day for at least 30 days.
I think there are other, more impactful activities that can help you learn copywriting skills faster and with more purpose.
#4 Tyson 4D’s 4-Hour Copywriting Course ($0-$10K in 90 Days)
His video title is pretty intriguing, right? Sure, there may be some people who can go from $0 to $10K in 90 days, but I wouldn’t bank on it with this free copywriting training alone. However, that doesn’t mean you have to disregard this video.
The Good
I’m really glad he mentions that copywriters won’t go “out style” now that AI is so widely used. I know that many aspiring and current professional writers are very worried about their career outlook and fear they will be replaced by AI. So, another person telling writers that AI won’t take their jobs is great!
I also like that this free copywriting course provides some help about how to get copywriting clients. Not all free copywriting trainings cover this. They may teach you how to write copy, but not how to get clients that will pay you to write copy.
The Bad
While I love how straightforward he is, I worry that some viewers may look at the simplified information and think becoming a successful 6-figure writer is that simple. Because it’s really not.
This video is very matter of fact and helpful, but many writers may find themselves frustrated and give up when they’re doing the work on their own, and they figure out that it’s not as simple and straightforward as it seems.
A way to remedy this could be to tell yourself ahead of time that, yes, this video makes things seem simple, but it will be more difficult than how it’s presented.
#5 Jesse Forrest’s Free 1-Hour Copywriting Course for Beginners
In this free copywriting course on YouTube, you get all the copywriting basics answered: what is copywriting, what’s the difference between content and copy, what kinds of work copywriters do, how much they earn and more. So that’s good.
This video also covers some basics about building your portfolio and landing work, which goes a step further than some of the other trainings on this list.
The Good
Jesse has over 20 years of experience as a copywriter, which is much more than some of the other YouTube influencer copywriters you may find. Not that these other copywriters aren’t skilled, but it really says something when you’re learning from someone who has over 20 years experience in the field.
The Bad
As we’ve seen with a few other free copywriting courses, you’ll get lots of simple, clean “how to” lists. For the purposes of learning, these simplified lists are helpful, but they won’t be too handy when you’re in the trenches, stressed out and initially not landing work from your pitches and proposals. So, make sure to remind yourself that being a successful copywriter will have its ups and downs.
#6 Copywriting Course’s Free Copywriting Course
A lesser-known website that has free copywriting training is Copywriting Course. They do have some membership options, but I found that their free copywriting course videos are short and to the point.
The Good
If you want the bare minimum – the absolute basics of copywriting – these videos are it. They're a little quirky, but you can get a small copywriting foundation by watching these videos, all of which take about 30 minutes in total. And just like with a few other free copywriting course options, you don’t have to create a login or hand over your email to watch the training.
The Bad
You won’t get any groundbreaking stuff about copywriting, but it’s a great place to start. Also, most of these topics are unoriginal in the sense that you’ll see all these tactics in other trainings as well. For example, one of the videos talks about using the AIDA formula in your writing, which is a standard industry suggestion.
#7 Udemy’s Free Copywriting Quick Start Course
If you have the free plan of Udemy, you can log into the website and get a mini free training about copywriting. The paid plans give you access to the instructor for questions, which really isn’t necessary.
The Good
While again, you won’t get anything groundbreaking, I like that they show you a few tools to help with your writing. I actually use some of these tools in my writing work too! So, if you want to take this free copywriting course, just know that you will really only get information about certain tools, rather than how to become a copywriter.
The Bad
This free copywriting course doesn’t really teach you how to write copy, but it can help you build up some resources to get you started. So, instead of using this course to build your copywriting foundation, just use it to look at a few writing tools. However, some of the tools themselves are not free to use. Or, they have a very limited free trial.
#8 AWAI’s “The Writer’s Life” Newsletter
AWAI is full of copywriting courses and resources, but this is their free newsletter. I’ve taken one of their courses, the Accelerated Program for 6-Figure Copywriting. For my honest review of it, click here.
The Good
Once you sign up, all you have to do is wait for these emails to come in (they come in nearly every day). What I like about this newsletter is that they give you some creative ideas about how to find work and how to make money as a writer. In fact, even just reading many of the subject lines alone sparks ideas about what you can do with your copywriting career.
The Bad
These emails are long. And, I personally hate it. AWAI tends to have a fluffy writing style, and I’ve had to learn how to skim their stuff in order to get to the actually important and truly valuable information.
What to Look for in a Free Copywriting Course Online
As you can see from this list, there is no perfect free online copywriting course. While some paid copywriting courses can give you a comprehensive training, only relying on free resources will leave gaps in your education.
By all means, take all the free copywriting training you can find! But, at some point, you will need to uplevel your education with comprehensive content – especially if you want to become a successful 6-figure writer with a thriving business.
