Copywriting: A course for freelance journalists

A one-day course for freelance journalists who want to create an extra income stream by adding copywriting to their skillset.

Course tutor: Jackie Barrie

Location: LMG Training, Southwark, SE1 8NZ
Duration: One-day
Time: 10am to 5pm
Date: 24 October 2013
Cost: £200 (+VAT)

When times get tough, it’s wise to look at other ways you can generate income. Commercial copywriting is always in demand, and can be highly paid.

Words are the tools of the trade for both journalists and copywriters. You still have to write economically and to a deadline, but writing journalistic copy is like building a home to live in, while copywriting is like building a house to sell.

On this one-day course you will learn:

The key differences between writing journalistic copy and marketing copy
Basics of marketing
Traditional marketing theory
Useful marketing acronyms
12-point checklist for marketing communications
28 'power' words for headlines
25 copywriting tips, tricks and techniques
Charity copywriting v commercial copywriting (B2B and B2C)
Copywriting for different formats: websites, ads, newsletters and sales letters
What web copywriters need to know about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Finding copywriting clients (and getting paid)

This course is highly interactive. Questions are welcome, you’ll work in pairs to analyse before-and-after copywriting samples, and you’ll get the chance for hands-on practice and feedback.

About Jackie Barrie

Jackie Barrie trained as a journalist and has worked for 30+ years as a copywriter, both in-house and freelance.

She has run training courses across the UK and Europe, for corporates, small businesses, marketing teams and aspiring copywriters.

She’s also published books on marketing, networking and writing for the web.

Testimonials

"Very knowledgeable presentation and feedback from Jackie. Her insights into how to deal with clients on a practical level were particularly useful for me" Kath Farrell, Kath Farrell Editorial Services.

"Very Impressive. Clearly very experienced and explained her knowledge very well." Catherine Smith, freelance.

"Very knowledgeable and experienced – good mix of lecturing and exercises. Able to ask questions." Piper Terrett, freelance journalist

"A lot of fun exercises and good ideas about making copy engaging and evocative…Obviously a good writer with insight into a number of areas…Very well structured with a logical and clear set of accompanying notes. Really enjoyable and interactive…Very relevant and helpful…Good exercises gave lots of opportunity to practice…Jackie's tips were from years of professional experience."

"Engaging and interesting. Jackie clearly knows her stuff. I have come away with a lot more knowledge than I thought I would. A huge amount of valuable skill and expertise taught in an engaging and easily understandable manner."

"I have learnt SO much and it has been fascinating…She was very clear with explanations and illustrations making everything easy to understand and remember…relaxed atmosphere good for discussion."