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We live in a wondrous age my friends. Knowledge and learning can be obtained with a few clicks of the mouse, opening education and intellectual stimulation to anyone with a scholarly spirit.
Whether you want to start with the marketing basics or you’re more advanced, there’s something for everyone here. Below is a list of our favorite online marketing courses, most of which are free or very nearly free. Let the learning begin!
Growth Academy is a comprehensive, interactive roadmap to growing your business through digital marketing, including online advertising, lead generation, ecommerce, and more. Not only is it completely free, but it’s also taught by some of the top marketing experts in the industry.
We created Growth Academy with a singular goal in mind: to give marketers and businesses a better chance at succeeding—in a diverse set of disciplines, and on a daily basis.
Google Online Marketing Challenge. Is there a better source to learn about online marketing than the big G itself? Google’s Digital Marketing Course is packed with video tutorials on everything from SEM, Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords), social networks, video networks, mobile strategy, and more.
Social Media Quickstarter. This collection of online marketing guides from Constant Contact will help you master social media marketing in no time. Featuring quick, easy-to-read guides, social media novices can browse this extensive knowledge base at their leisure.
Internet Marketing for Smart People Email Course. This 20-installment email marketing course from CopyBlogger will give you the low down on content marketing, copywriting, SEO, and keyword research, and more! Best of all, it’s dished out to you via email so you won’t get bogged down with too much educational info sent all at once.
As one of the most popular sites for online education, Coursera has many offerings, including free online marketing courses. Check ‘em out. Even if you don’t see anything you like, check back every now and then – new classes are always being added.
DS106: Digital Storytelling and Social Media. Get involved in the massively popular online course/social experiment that will help you gain a better understanding of digital storytelling and how it influences social media.
HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Training Program and Certification. Enjoy these 12 free marketing classes and reading materials from HubSpot to help you master inbound marketing. Learn about blogging, SEO, keyword strategy, social media, email marketing, calls to action, and more! Finish up with an exam to prove your worth.
Another MOOC resource site, Canvas offers free online courses on a range of topics. While currently there are no courses that deal explicitly with online marketing, check back to see new offerings. Some courses that may interest online marketers include:
edX is another popular website for attending free online classes. Your online classroom, without the mysterious school lunches.
Some recent archived classes that might interest marketers include:
ALISON offers a large number of free online business courses and free virtual diplomas for learning junkies.
PPC University. Our new PPC University is an awesome one-stop shop for learning all the ins and outs of PPC. With easy-to-browse lessons for beginners and advanced PPC users, there’s something for everyone at the grand old PPC University. In addition, PPC 101 is available as a free marketing course download. Toga, toga, toga!
MIT offers some of their course materials for free online. There are a ton of offerings for entrepreneurship and through the Sloan School of Management.
Some recommended classes for those interested in marketing….
Udemy offers a huge selection (10,000+) of online courses on everything from parenting and cooking to app building and, of course, marketing!
The internet marketing courses we’ve listed below are 100% free, but Udemy has other paid offerings as well if you feel like dishing out dough for more advanced, extensive courses.
If you don’t mind spending some money, there are plenty of great paid online marketing classes available as well. Paid classes tend to be more comprehensive, making them a good choice if you’re serious about becoming a marketing master.
There are some paid Udemy courses that come highly recommended that may be worth checking out if you’re not afraid to whip out the wallet.
A bit too pricey for your blood? Try some of these Udemy discount codes – they can offer some serious deep discounts that may make paying for these classes a bit more palatable.
Udemy Codes
Lynda is well known as one of the best online video learning resources for mastering everything from Adobe Photoshop to CAD software. While Lynda is most famous for their abundant software video tutorials, they also offer courses for online marketing, AdWords, Facebook, and more.
Membership is $25/month or $375/year. They also have group membership plans for companies looking to train employees. Ask around your workplace – you might be able to access Lynda for free if your company already has a membership.
Maybe the free online marketing courses we’ve mentioned above aren’t for you. Too dry and dull? Too long? Well there’s plenty of other ways to stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest marketing practices. Try…
Podcasts are fantastic because they are so mobile, multi-tasking friendly. You can listen to podcasts while riding your bike to work, eating your lunch, or, if you’re discreet enough, during your staff meeting (although we don’t advocate trying it).
These marketing podcasts are a few fan favorites. Give them a listen!
Another podcast, but Freakonomics deals specifically with – you guessed it – economics. No, no, I promise it’s not boring. It deals with the hidden economic situations you’ll encounter in everyday scenarios.
OK, that doesn’t sound thrilling either, but I swear you’ll love it. While the episodes won’t always relate to marketing, there’s often a larger lesson that businesses can take away from this popular podcast.
There is a great collection of fascinating Ted Talks specifically about marketing. Give them a whirl.
Do you have any favorite free online marketing courses, classes, or resources you want to share? Let us know in the comments!
Megan Marrs is a veteran content marketer who harbors a love for writing, watercolors, oxford commas, and dogs of all shapes and sizes. When she’s not typing out blog posts or crafting killer social media campaigns, you can find her lounging in a hammock with an epic fantasy novel.
See other posts by Megan Marrs
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