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How Do I Choose the Best Online Advertising Classes?

Dan Cavallari
Dan Cavallari

The first step in choosing the best online advertising classes for you is to determine whether you need an informal class that will teach you the basics of advertising, or whether you want formal classes from an accredited institution that will grant you college credit upon completion. If you are working toward a degree program or certificate, you will need to consider credit-granting online advertising classes. If you are not working toward a degree, you may choose classes that do not grant credit, as well as classes that are not necessarily offered from an educational institution.

The best places to find online advertising classes are websites for accredited colleges and universities. These classes are offered by institutions that have gone through the accreditation process, which proves the school offers high quality education that is respected by employers and other educational institutions. You will usually have to pay for such courses, and tuition rates can vary significantly, so be sure to research tuition rates before enrolling. Many colleges and universities will offer both credit courses and non credit online advertising classes; you will usually only need credit courses if you are working toward a degree.

Woman doing a handstand with a computer
Woman doing a handstand with a computer

Think carefully about your goals for enrolling in online advertising classes. This will help determine which classes are most appropriate for you. If you are new to the subject, you should start with an entry-level class that will teach basic concepts of marketing and advertising. If you are more advanced in your knowledge of advertising, consider more advanced courses that will focus on specific topics within the realm of advertising. Do some research into the instructors of the courses as well; find out what their qualifications are, and take classes from experienced professionals with proven track records in the advertising industry.

Regardless of the types of online advertising classes you choose, you will need to choose between two general course options: synchronous and asynchronous courses. Synchronous courses meet at a specific time, and every student in the class must be online at the same time to participate in course activities. Asynchronous classes allow the student to take part in course materials and activities at his or her own pace, at any time of day. Synchronous courses generally offer more direct guidance from instructors and more interaction with classmates, but asynchronous classes are far more convenient for students with difficult schedules, such as students who work full time.

Discussion Comments

miriam98

@everetra - If you really want to learn from the pros, expect to pay a pretty penny to do so.

Some of the Internet’s best sales copywriters offer their own courses. These are copywriters that pull in six figure incomes with the sales pages that they write for their clients.

They also teach courses through their websites for aspiring copywriters or online advertisers. It’s not cheap, but I think it’s worth it if you want to make it big in the Internet. You’ll have a mentor by your side who can help you every step of the way.

everetra

I think it’s important to understand that an online advertising class is going to teach a lot of the same concepts that you learn in a regular advertising or marketing class.

The principles of effective advertising are the same, regardless of whether they are online or offline. For example, you will learn about the importance of identifying your target market, filling an important need, selling benefits and not features.

The only difference in my opinion is that with online advertising you will focus on things like keywords and search engines as well, which are unique to the medium of the Internet. Personally, I believe it’s better to take a regular marketing course first and then take an online advertising course later so you can focus in on website marketing.

popcorn

@letshearit - There are definitely some bad online advertising classes out there, but the one I took was pretty fun. We had a lot of group work which we did through video calls online. Plus, we got to prepare a great final project that called for us to create a campaign for a product of our choice.

I think carefully reading the class syllabus will give you a good idea of what is involved in the course. If I had seen nothing but bookwork I would have walked away from the course. Something like 30% of the mark though was to group work, with another 20% for participating in online forums. That is a lot of emphasis on collaboration.

letshearit

I made the mistake of taking an online advertising class during college and it was a huge waste of time. Much of the course was basically reading a book and doing a test. I had hoped it would be a lot more interactive considering it was on e-advertising.

I think that if you are going to take an online advertising class that you look up some reviews of the course. You can usually find something if you look hard enough. I ended up coming cross an entire thread warning people of the course I took. Too late for me, but hopefully others will be more cautious in the future.

GreenWeaver

@SauteePan - The writer made a good point in that you have to know what the purpose of taking the course is. If it is to gain additional knowledge to an existing job then there are many community colleges that offer inexpensive online courses under the continuing education or non degree seeking student department.

If you are looking into a degree in advertising, not only would I look for an accredited school, but I would also look for a school that offered internships and a mixture of traditional as well as online courses because I think that online courses are convenient, but there are great advantages to taking courses in a traditional setting as well.

In a classroom you can ask questions and work off of other people’s suggestions, but online you might not have that option. I also think that people tend to underestimate the amount of work involved in an online class, but with a traditional course they generally know what to expect and how to pace themselves.

SauteePan

I think that advertising is such a creative medium that I think that a class that offers some interaction with other students would be best. I know that some online classes also offer study groups and forums so students can discuss topics that they are learning and help each other on projects.

I think that because advertising ideas really do come from the collaborative work with others this is something that I would look for in an online advertising course.

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