4 Content Marketing Courses to Boost 10x Organic Traffic for Brand Journalists

As a brand journalist, you know how good storytelling opens doors to your audience’s memories. But you also need to consider gaining some organic traffic, both actively and passively. Explore the below content marketing courses to do both perfectly, while simultaneously improving brand equity. 

The norm is to pick as many types of digital marketing as possible (strategically) that can leverage awareness all the way down to conversions. 

But they DON’T give a full picture of a company. 

This is where brand journalism (first coined by Larry Light in 2004) comes in.

It prioritises updating the audience with what’s happening in the company, why it exists, how the business operates, and the daily challenges - all for being the single most authentic voice (more like personal branding but for a company).

Lots of storytelling, strategy, link-building, etc, goes behind it. Not much CTA-based writing, though. Brand journalism moves away from the traditional POV of content marketing in this aspect. It does not replace a PR role, either. It’s somewhere in between. 

If done right, this hybrid of corporate journalism and content marketing can passively generate loads of organic traffic. The biggest example is Ahrefs’ CMO and Product Advisor, Tim Soulo, who uses Medium for brand journalism. His blog, Why I Write for Medium (and other SEOs should, too), is a must-check. The Red Bulletin from Red Bull is another. 

How Can Content Marketing Courses Help You Improve Organic Traffic as a Brand Journalist?

There is no debate that the variety of content marketing courses is endless. But, choosing a brand journalism-focused content marketing course can become all too much. 

To make it easier, the courses listed here will help you master specific aspects like

• Rich storytelling and narrative development
• Using creativity in brand communication using existing and emerging tech
• Determining content topics for your brand with editorial calendar
• Making branded content creation unique 
• Maintaining brand equity through content across different platforms and maintaining cohesiveness in brand narratives
• Auditing existing content that aligns with brand values and connecting with audiences
• Implementing integrated marketing communications

Have a look at these content marketing courses that focus on brand journalism and eventually help grow good organic traffic. 

1. The Strategy of Content Marketing 

This 5-module course covers two broad areas - writing compelling copies and implementing a solid content marketing strategy. UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education and well known Rainmaker Digital have joined forces to help you make your branded content stand out. 

The Strategy of Content Marketing Highlights

Course Name	The Strategy of Content Marketing
Duration	20+ hours
Provider	Coursera
Cost	Free to enrol; Coursera Plus subscription of INR 4000+
Trainer(s)	UC Davis and Rainmaker Digital
Skills Gained	Writing, Strategy, Branding, Management
Students Enrolled	590,167
Total Reviews	4.5/5.00 from 4,610 reviews

Why Choose The Strategy of Content Marketing Course?

Here are some reasons this course is useful for an aspiring brand journalist focusing on content. 

Trainer Experience

The instructor Sonia Simone is the Chief Content Officer and the co-founder of Rainmaker Digital (previously known as Copyblogger). She is associated with UC Davis, California to provide this course. 

Value for Money 

• Enrol for free with multiple readings, quizzes, and self-paced videos, and discussion prompts. 
• Learn instantly applicable processes for content and building authority as a business.

Learning Experience

• More than 70% of registered learners have given this course a 5-star rating, while some have mentioned that the course does not include about AI. 
• Coursera learner, Sehresh M. states, “For those who want to start your content marketing journey, you may want to take this course. It focuses on touch base points but also goes into further details on what you need as a content marketer.”  

What Will You Learn in The Strategy of Content Marketing Course? 

Learn the following during the course. 

• Build a personal website for brand building and develop an effective editorial process. 
• Learn and apply the proven 7A framework Agile, Authentic, Attention, Audience, Authority, Action, and Acceleration. 
• Create buyer persona, develop customer experience maps, etc.
• Learn to focus equally on attraction content, affinity content, action content, and authority content. 
• Establish ethical standards for content marketing.

2. Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization 

Offered in partnership with Northwestern University, Coursera provides this 5-plus-1  specialisation for complete beginners and also, intermediates. This is a high-level view of content marketing and branding through the lens of leadership. 

Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization Highlights

Course Name	Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization
Duration	1-month-plus
Provider	Coursera
Cost	Free to enrol, or take a monthly subscription of INR 4000+
Trainer(s)	Northwestern University
Skills Gained	Brand management, communication strategy, leadership
Students Enrolled	22,884
Total Reviews	4.6/5.00 from 734 reviews

Why Choose Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization Course?

Look at these aspects to know why. 

Trainer Experience

There are three instructors, Medill IMC and Journalism Professor Candy Lee and previously Dean John Lavine along with Randy Hlavac. 

Value for Money 

• Besides the free enrolment, this course provides amazing value in terms of offering excellent advice from highly experienced practitioners on leadership and communication. With a Coursera Plus subscription of INR 4,926 /month 
• Comes with a capstone project with a simulation of you being a chief executive officer focusing on customers and company culture, while adapting to disruptive innovation. 

Learning Experience

Learner, Chard Verschuur, commented on X, “We're at the last stretch of the #contentstrategy class @ContStrategy. best #MOOC ever. very useful for #communication professionals”.

Certification Value

Get a certification from Northwestern University. 

What Will You Learn in Content Marketing Professionals Specialization Course? 

The course covers the following.  

• Be able to self-assess leadership style
• Learn how to keep your customers and clients engaged
• Learn about how to influence personal attitudes, what affects their social behaviours
• Discover how as an organisation you can retain customers

3. Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences

Another great offering from Coursera in partnership with UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales), this course delves into effective storytelling through the lens of ethnography and participatory design concepts, VR and AR technologies, etc.  

Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences Highlights

Course Name	Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences
Duration	26+ hours
Provider	Coursera
Cost	Free to enrol, or take a monthly subscription of INR 4000+
Trainer(s)	UNSW Sydney
Skills Gained	Theoretical mastery from Maya Zuckerman, Henry Jenkins, Mikey Leung, etc., idea generation, transmedia audience, create cohesive user experiences
Students Enrolled	111,197
Total Reviews	4.7/5.00 from 842 reviews

Why Choose Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences Course?

Some reasons to enrol for free or taking the paid certificate with a Coursera Plus scubscription. 

Trainer Experience

Associate Professor Simon McIntyre provides the lectures for this course, which he has developed with UNSW Australia Art & Design academics, Karin Watson and Iman Irannejad.  

Value for Money 

• The course is quite comprehensive, covering various broad aspects, such as ideas, technology, and audience, and how they can be leveraged for good storytelling. 
• It has also been developed with industry partner X Media Lab which gives you straightforward insights into real world scenarios that happen across Hollywood USA, Canada and Australia.

Learning Experience

Over 78% of learners have provided a 5 star learning experience on the Coursera platform. 

What Will You Learn in Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences Course? 

Here is what the course covers.  

• Create a storyworld that resonates with your audience. 
• Develop a theoretical understanding of what makes transmedia strategy effective.
• Learn to leverage both existing and new technologies and tools.

4. Content Marketing Certification 

This valuable certification from the reputed Digital Marketing Institute is globaly recognised. And anyone, such as small business owners and product managers, familiar with content marketing and branding should upgrade their skillset with it. There are good case studies and webinars included in it, as well. 

More about this course below. 

Content Marketing Certification Course Highlights

Course Name/Website Link	Content Marketing Certification (digitalmarketinginstitute.com/students/short-courses/content-marketing)
Duration	10 hours to 12 weeks (self-paced)
Provider	Digital Marketing Institute
Cost	USD 445
Skills Gained	Developing briefs, brand style elements, storytelling, etc.

Why Choose Content Marketing Certification Course?

There are many learning and career benefits for this certificate. 

Trainer Experience

Digital marketing institute has been delivering high-quality training content for 15 years, and has built a growing 300,000-member community, globally.   

Value for Money 

• Completing the course and passing the final assessment will get you the Associate Level Certification and a DMI membership. 
• You can pay in installments instead of paying at once. 

Certification Value

The Associate Level Certification from this Content Marketing Certification course from DMI is globally recognised. DMI certification holders work at companies such as Meta, Coca-Cola, etc. 

What Will You Learn in Content Marketing Certification Course? 

This DMI course comes with four modules and various toolkits that either include templates, case studies, or webinars. See what is covered below. 

• Content marketing and research - develop content marketing plans, use the buyer persona template, etc.
• Brand and storytelling - create brand guidelines, ideate content, etc.
• SEO and emails - perform in-depth keyword research, create effective email content and planner, and similar.

• Social media content - plan content for different social media platforms, do scheduling and such. 

Alternative Courses and Supplementary Learning Material for Brand Journalists

These courses listed can be helpful in a variety of ways. 

Additionally, do read up - Brand Journalism Crash Course: How To Build Trust With Content Content Marketing Institute. 

Along with that, check CXL’s Technical Content Marketing course online. 

Grow Your Brand Equity with an In-depth Content Marketing Course 

As a brand journalist or a beginner, it is ideal to upskill with training from Coursera or Digital Marketing Institute. These two platforms provide a good range of university and company-backed courses on content marketing. 

But you must upskill in certain aspects of SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, and journalism.

Search on Shiksha Online for free or paid online training on these, curated from top platforms and institutes globally.