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eClass: How to Launch a Content-Driven Website

Develop your web site -- and your career as a web writer and editor

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eClass: How to Launch a Content-Driven Website

DURATION/TIME 
8 weeks
October 5 - November 20
Online chats: Mondays, 9-10 pm EST 

LEVEL 
Intermediate/advanced

ONLINE CLASS INFO
See our eClasses info page. 

PRICE
$599 ($575 for )
more info

Course Details

With more advertising dollars than ever before flowing to the Web, the opportunities for content-based websites have never been greater. But what if you're a "word person" and couldn't tell Java, XML and CSS apart if your life depended on it? Perhaps you've never heard of SEO or a CMS or maybe (shock! horror!) you've never read a blog or spent time on MySpace.

You're not alone. Talented editors and writers who understand online content have a big role in creating top-quality editorial, thereby delivering those proverbial eyeballs to advertisers wanting to tap burgeoning online audiences. In this course, you'll learn how to create compelling content -- for your own site or your employer's -- and also come away with a working knowledge of what it takes to pull off the launch of a good site. You'll also gain a better understanding of some of the most common advertising models and current trends driving the Web today. Weekly chats will include guest hosts at the top of their respective fields.

In this class, you can expect to learn:

  • What you need for the successful launch of a content-driven site
  • The roles designers, tech folks, and your business staff play
  • How to develop a sound content plan on which to build a business plan
  • What makes a good online user experience and how to create and edit content
  • The roles of design and technology in a content-driven website
  • How search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing build site traffic
  • What happens during a launch



Note: This class will not cover e-commerce sites and will not provide in-depth discussions of design or technology capabilities, software or trends. These topics will be discussed only in the context of their place in enhancing a content-driven site to give students a working knowledge of these areas and the role they play in creating the best possible editorial with which to reach your audience. This course will not include the creation of a business plan.

By the end of class, students can expect to have:
A solid foundation with which to take your site forward and turn it into a reality

Admission Requirements:
Experience writing and editing for publications in print or online. Please submit a letter of interest (including a brief work history).

The online classroom has several interactive components:
  • Instructors post lectures once a week. You can read them online, print them, or download them at your convenience.
  • Students post completed assignments for feedback and discussion by the instructor and class.
  • Weekly chats allow your class to get together via instant message. Transcripts are available for review if you can't attend. 
  • Technical support is available from mediabistro staff.

Instructor Bio

Lorie Parch and
Dana Rousmaniere's Courses

No courses available at this time.

Lorie Parch and<br> Dana Rousmaniere
Lorie Parch has been working online since April 1996, when she started as health editor of HomeArts.com, Hearst's pioneering portal for women (now part of Women.com). She went on to launch Parenting.com as that site's executive editor and to work as a consultant for ReadersDigest.com and Libida.com. In 2001, she became executive editor of AOL UK in London, where she oversaw 23 content channels and a staff of more than 60. Lorie is the former editor of FitPregnancy.com; a moderator for ABC.com; a regular contributor to MSN.com and MSNBC.com, among other sites; a former columnist for iVillage.com; and the founder of 828 Communications in Scottsdale, Arizona.



Dana Rousmaniere has more than 10 years experience working as a writer, editor, producer, and content manager for online publications. Dana has held positions as Managing Editor of FitPregnancy.com, Senior Producer/Group Product Manager at Lycos.com, Senior Producer at Lifetime Television Online, and New Media Editor for Hearst Publishing. She's written, edited, and produced online content for publications including Good Housekeeping, Healthy Living, The Atlantic Monthly, US Weekly, YM, and Rosie magazine, and has helped create marketing mini-sites for Random House Publishing, Barnes & Noble.com, and The Literary Guild/Book of the Month Club.

AvantGuild* Discounts on mediabistro.com offerings are just one of the wonderful benefits of being in AvantGuild, our premium membership program. For just $55 a year, you'll receive instant access to our How to Pitch articles and other premium articles, transcripts from selected seminars and panels, and discounts on virtually everything we do (including eClasses and the Freelance Marketplace)! Click here to join now.