Online Business Writing Courses: Choose the Best One for YOU

As someone who creates online business writing courses, I have—of course—spent many hours researching the options out there. I need to know what the competition looks like, after all.

And there are a lot of options, as you probably know if you’ve been looking for a business writing class.

In fact, there are so many options that I thought it would be helpful to break it down for you.

How to choose from all the online business writing courses

The good news is, with all the options, there is something for everyone.

The bad news is, it can be overwhelming when you see just how many online business writing courses you have to choose from.

So, here’s help! I’ve spent hours looking at options on your behalf. And below I’ve covered what to consider when shopping online business writing courses to help you determine the right class for you.

We’ll start with four questions to ask yourself, then go into how your answers will affect your choice.

Those four questions are:

1. Why are you looking for online business writing courses?
2. What is your budget?
3. How much time do you want to commit?
4. What do you want to learn?

Note: My insights below are only for individuals who want business writing training, not for groups. Business writing training is available for groups, but I haven’t covered that here.

Question 1: Why are you looking for online business writing courses?

To choose the best class of you, start with the “why” behind your search for a business writing class. Some reasons I’ve heard include:

• I’m newly graduated from college and need stronger writing skills for work.
• I’m not a native English speaker yet write in English for work.
• I’ve moved into a new job that requires more writing than before.
• I’ve moved into a leadership role that requires more advanced writing.
• I lack confidence in writing skills at work.
• My manager told me my writing needs to improve.
• I want to improve my chances of a promotion.
• I want to move into a different job.
• I want to improve my communication skills as a supervisor or manager.
• I need continuing education credits.
• I want a certificate I can add to my resume and LinkedIn profile.

Your reason might be one of those or it might be something else. But know your reason for taking the class and what you hope to accomplish because that will help your search.

Question 2: What is your budget?

I’ve seen classes that range from $10 up to $2,300. Before you start your search, have some idea of how much money you’re willing to spend.

Question 3: How much time do you want to commit?

As the saying goes, time is money. If you have unlimited time to commit to a business writing class, then this question might not apply to you. On the other hand, if the class is something you want to get done as quickly as possible, or you have little free time to devote to the class and learning, then the time commitment matters. Think about how much time you’re willing to spend on the class and when you will do so.

Question 4: What do you want to learn?

Business writing is a huge and vague category. It can mean all kinds of different things to different people. Spend some time thinking about what it means to you, and what you want to learn. You might go back to the first question about your goals. If you have a specific goal, that might help you determine what you want to learn.

Considering the options for online business writing courses

At this point, you should have a clearer picture of what you’re looking for after answering those four questions. Now let’s go over the range of options I have seen, based on the four questions above.

Why do you want to take a business writing class?

If you want a promotion or to move into a different job, then you might need an advanced business writing class. We’ll assume you have the basics mastered. On the other hand, if you’re new to the workforce or new to a job that requires more writing, you might need a more basic class. Keep all of that in mind as you do your research.

I’ve also seen classes that range from those focused on grammar for non-native English speakers to a class that was all about style…actually so far I’ve found two classes that emphasized style. These might or might not be relevant for you. It depends on your goals.

If you want to make sure your grammar is correct, then the first type of class might be for you. If, on the other hand, you’re an experienced writer and you want to add excitement to your writing at work, then the second kind of class might be for you.

The lesson here is to not choose a class simply because it’s a business writing class that fits your budget and schedule. You might spend several hours learning information that’s irrelevant to you.

As you start your search, keep in mind your reasons and goals so you can weed out the options that don’t fit with your goals. Taking some of the options off the list of possibilities from the start will make your search less intimidating.

When we designed our basic business writing class, we focused on the basics of clear writing, but not to the point that we are teaching grammar. That was intentional because people can learn grammar in other ways. Mastering grammar is something good writers must do, but it’s not specific to business writing. We wanted to focus instead on the basics for clarity: punctuation, word choice and sentence structure.

I say this to emphasize that different classes have different goals and you want to make sure you choose a class that aligns with what you want to learn.

What is your budget?

As I mentioned above, these online classes can be cheaper than your lunch at $10 or more expensive than your rent at $2,300. I see several options in the $300 to $600 range.

Now, you might not be paying for the class. If your manager or workplace has told you to take a business writing class, there’s a good chance they are paying for it. But they might also have a budget. Know how much money you have to work with. With the range of prices out there, this is another way to narrow down your list of options from the start.

When we set the price for our basic business writing class, we chose $24.99 for three reasons: One, we want it to be accessible to as many people as possible. Two, we want it to be taken seriously. When a class costs only $10, I think it’s too easy to sign up and then not complete the class. On the other hand, we didn’t want to price the class out of reach of our target audience.

Our third reason was time. The class is only 90 minutes, which you’ll see below, and this ties into the pricing because we’d rather offer shorter classes so people can pick and choose what is relevant to them. Plus we believe busy professionals are more likely to complete a class that is only 90 minutes compared to a longer one.

If you have the budget for a $300 class, by all means, take the deep dive into that content. If you have the budget for a $2,300 class, you’ll definitely learn a lot. But if your budget is more limited, then look for the less expensive class that will still give you a quality education.

How much time do you want to commit?

In addition to classes priced from cheap to expensive, I’ve seen classes that are 90 minutes and I’ve seen classes that are 18 hours—and I’ve seen everything in between.

If you’re in a hurry to learn some basics and you don’t want to commit much time, you’ll want a shorter class. My own business writing class takes 90 minutes because I want people to be able to do it in one sitting. However, at 90 minutes, it covers less material. It is a basic class.

Be realistic about your level of commitment too. If you’re like me, you might think a 4-hour class is doable, but then you get an hour into the class and never go back to it. (I say this as someone who signed up for an online class on owls that is 3 hours long and 5 weeks later, I’ve only watched 60 minutes total so far.)

If you have the discipline to schedule your class time and set up a plan for getting it done, then you’re in a better position to take a longer class.

And don’t think cost is related to class length. If you spend any time on Udemy looking for business writing classes, you’ll see some are short and others are quite long yet they all cost about the same.

Many universities offer business writing classes as certificate programs, some as online courses and some as in-person classes. This might be the right choice for you if a certificate is something you want to add to your resume and list of accomplishments. So far, the programs I’ve found are expensive and in-depth, so these kinds of courses might not be a good fit for someone looking for basic business writing. But they are worth considering if you are looking for more advanced training. And they tend to be on a set schedule, ensuring you will complete the course. For an example, see this business writing class offered by a university near me.

If you do want to spend more time on the class to learn more and you want a set schedule to make sure you get it done, it could be a full-day workshop is the best fit. That way you are obligated to be there from start to finish, rather than doing it on your own time. The Plain English Foundation offers a range of all-day writing workshops via Zoom.

If you’d like an instructor who will review your work, you’ll find online business writing courses that offer that feature. For example, www.businesswriting.com structures their classes so you work at your own pace, but you get feedback on assignments from the instructor. The classes cost between $125 and $595, and the training seems in-depth.

If you need continuing education credits, make sure you look for that when researching online business writing courses.

What do you want to learn?

In my opinion, this is the second most important question. (The first is, why do you want to take a business writing class?) Yes, your budget and your schedule will help to determine which of the many online business writing courses is for you, but if you aren’t learning the lessons you need, you’ll waste both your money and your time.

And this ties back to your goal and your reasons for taking a class.

So, what do you want to learn? If you need simple tips on being a better communicator, a basic business writing class is probably the best fit. If you’re not a native English speaker and your grammar could be improved, perhaps a grammar class is best. Maybe you’re a good writer, but now you’re writing more complicated documents at work and you need a specialized class in writing proposals.

From what I’ve seen, no matter what you want to focus on, there’s a class for that.

But also keep in mind what you don’t want to learn and what might be irrelevant information for you.

For example, we made the decision not to go over types of business writing like reports and memos in our basic class for a reason: It’s our belief that we all need to communicate clearly with proper punctuation, strong words and well-structured sentences.

Then those lessons are applied to all types of business writing, from emails to chat messages to memos and more.

But if you’ve mastered those basics, by all means look for the classes that teach style or specific topics like reports and memos.

What about free business writing classes?

While doing this research, I did look for free classes to see what was available, but I didn’t find a free one. When I explored free options, I learned that sometimes a class is free only on a trial basis and then it costs money—and you must hand over your payment information before you can access the free trial. That’s not to say you won’t find free business writing classes. I’m only saying I didn’t.

That said, poking around on Udemy, I found a lot of free content. Some of the instructors have several videos you can access. These videos are part of their lessons, but you can watch them without paying.

My takeaway? You get what you pay for. Looking for a free class might get you some helpful business writing advice, but it probably won’t be substantial enough to make a difference in your ability to write clearly and confidently.

And if you prefer free, there are other ways to learn. Plenty of instructors like me have free content as e-newsletters, blog posts, YouTube videos and more.

And that’s my rundown of your online business writing courses options

I hope that information was helpful. If not, and you still have questions or want advice, contact me. You can also watch a free preview of our basic business writing class to see if it might be the right fit for you.

Plus I highly recommend you sign up for our newsletter. We send it out every other month or so and it always includes tips for better business writing—and it’s free.

Good bye for now and remember to always be learning.

 

Photo by Julia M Cameron: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-writing-on-notebook-4144923/