Taking classes to further your knowledge is a noble pursuit with many benefits. So many classes are being offered at remote locations or are just too expensive. Here’s how to take classes without having to leave the comfort of your own home or office.
Free Classes
You might be thinking that nothing is free out there and that it’s not possible to get educated without spending a small fortune, but that’s no longer true. Many companies are keen to offer free classes to people just to get their name out there to build loyalty and to gain attention for their brand. Some will even offer some free classes, hoping that you’ll bite and buy one of their fee-based classes, the prices of which vary widely. We’ll cover that shortly. The last group of companies offering free classes does so because they’ve figured out that the number one best way to curry favor with Google for rankings is to have AUTHORITY. There’s nothing better for building authority like being considered an expert on the subject, so they offer classes for free.
There are plenty of classes and courses out there that you can take to help build your knowledge base. Some may even be available from local community colleges or accredited colleges (think Harvard) with a grant or scholarship opportunity as well. This means there would be zero cost to you and you could potentially end up with a degree. You can also see if your employer offers anything special for you to go to school on the company. If it’s to further the job you’re currently doing so you can perform better, many will offer you part – if not all of the tuition required to do so.
THE GOOD STUFF
Here’s where you can start looking for courses you can take for free – but if you’re looking for college courses – call your local schools and find out what you can do to attend free first. Those vary.
- Hubspot Academy – they have a TON of free courses you can take and most only take half an hour to complete which means you can take them at your own pace, and be done with them fairly quickly as well to move on to the next one.
- Google – who better to learn from than the mighty Oracle themselves? This one speaks for itself in terms of value.
- Coursera – offer online marketing courses regularly and if what you’re looking for isn’t on offer, you can check back, or even create one of your own once you DO learn it!
- MIT – MIT has long been a trusted name in research and cutting-edge technology and time has done little to change this. They offer some of their course material free like:
- Udemy – Udemy has a massive selection of completely free coursework to choose from on nearly everything, but they’ve got some courses on marketing for free. We’ve got a list here, but it is by no means complete – there are far more, this is just a taste:
- Ed Ex – Offers an amazing array of marketing courses from top names like Columbia University, Berkeley, and UBC. Because these courses are backed by top colleges known around the world, you can rest assured that the education you’re receiving is top notch. Not bad for free!
- Allison – This site offers diplomas and certificates in marketing – the catch is who will see it as an actual accreditation and not a slip of paper. The point, however, is to broaden your knowledge and to be able to do so in a way which provides that feel-good factor the slip of paper brings.
- Muse University – Offerings from coaching and courses to webinars and plenty more, most of which is completely free.
Pro Tip
Almost Free
This category is rather large and very broad. It is also, by no means, complete. There are SO many places out there offering classes for marketing, including those which come with actual accreditation for almost free that it would take far more than one post to cover them all.
If you take into consideration getting something like a scholarship or a grant to take some classes, then you can get nearly any education you want, it just may take some time. If you do have a budget to spend on your education, but it is paltry at best – then there are still places out there you can get quality from on the cheap.
THE GOOD STUFF
- Lynda.com – Offers plenty of classes on marketing but it does require membership. It’s a small price to pay to unlock everything inside but it may just be worth it to you.
- Udemy – As mentioned previously, also offers paid courses and they’re a great resource paid as well as free.
The last ones we’d list belong to universities and colleges all over the world because no longer are there only a few online offerings. Today there are numerous accredited colleges and universities who offer a completely online degree program. The prices and costs associated with each vary widely depending on the region, as well as other factors like potential grant funding and scholarships, as well as unknown factors like income.
Each person defines “what I can afford” as something completely unique to themselves and their lifestyle. What one can afford, another cannot no matter how hard they try. What may seem like a “reasonable” sum to one person might be outrageous to another. For these reasons, it is impossible to make a list blog post sized of all the resources that are available to you worldwide, but this is where the Google comes in handy.
Happy learning!