CERTIFICATE Use this course to earn a certificate in Digital Project Management.

DETAILS

In this course, you’ll complete a comprehensive SEO audit of your current website and develop a strategic plan to get your website to the top of search engine results. You’ll also learn how to measure and sustain your marketing efforts to continually improve your search engine optimization program. 

Advanced techniques included in the coursework include using location-based metatags to ensure that your content can be easily found and using analytics to track the effectiveness of your strategies. You’ll learn how to integrate web tools with your site, analyze the effectiveness of keywords, and complete assessments of your bounce rate and entrance and exit paths. We’ll discuss how to use social media strategies and other tactics to manage your online reputation management. You’ll also learn about recent changes in search strategy spurred by Google + and Google’s new Panda and Penguin algorithm updates.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Use keyword tools to determine the most effective keywords for your content 
• Implement link strategies that widen your site’s reach
• Use the Google suite of tools to work with your site: Analytics, Webmaster Tools, Keyword Tool
• Perform an SEO audit and a competitor analysis
• Understand how search algorithms function

By the end of class, you will have:
A comprehensive strategic plan to continue to measure and develop your search engine optimization expertise.

Admission Requirements:
This course is recommended for people who have a working knowledge of SEO techniques or have taken SEO Writing. Apply with a note to explain your interest in this topic and your previous experience.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through video-based lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

From Glamour to Good Housekeeping to theknot.com, women's magazines and websites are among the most lucrative and high-profile markets. In this intensive workshop, you will learn how to wow editors with the stories they want (and need).

Each week, you'll produce a different story, each a type of article that is a mainstay at women's magazines and websites. You'll also workshop pitch letters, editing them to perfection to ensure they get read by editors. Your goal in this class is to pitch articles immediately after workshopping them. The pieces that you will complete include a short service piece, a Q & A, a health article, a personal essay, a long service piece, and a human interest piece (an "as told to" or narrative).

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Write in the voice of the magazine or website in which you want to be published
• Know which sections are easiest to break into and are most "freelancer-friendly"
• Find sources
• Rewrite and self-edit
• Connect with other writers in the industry

By the end of class, you will have:
A complete portfolio of publishable articles that will impress any editor.

Students who have taken this class have been published in:
Real Simple, For Me, Woman's Day, Self, Seventeen, Pregnancy, Fit Pregnancy, Everyday with Rachael Ray, Cooking Light, and Redbook.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through video-based lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

Learn how to connect with other bloggers via social media efforts, continue to maintain your blog so search engines rank its relevancy, and how to write for the search engines.

We'll also review how to use your blog to leverage new career opportunities -- be it speaking on a panel, publishing an ebook, or consulting for major brands.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Read analytics reports and interpret key performance indicators
• Use effective tagging, SEO writing, and responding to comments
• Integrate social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube) 
• Monetize your blog through ads, sponsorships, affiliates, and digital products by packaging your overall brand
• Leverage your blog toward a larger platform, such as publishing, speaking, and consulting

By the end of class, you will have:
An understanding of how to use analytics to improve your content and a content plan for increasing traffic and exposure.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through video-based lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

Writers and editors need to create and edit content online, but thanks to advanced content management systems, you don’t need programming knowledge to do it.

Whether you are looking to implement a content management system, or CMS, for a personal project or need to get up to speed for your job, this class will give you hands-on experience working with WordPress and Drupal, two of the leading content management systems. You'll learn and practice the standard features you’ll encounter in any content management system.  

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Navigate WordPress and Drupal
• Make the most of the features of a WYSIWYG editor
• Prepare and publish online content, incorporating links, photos, keywords, and related content
• Use shortcuts and additional features to get the most out of a CMS
• Understand the differences among content management platforms, and how to know which is right for you

By the end of class, you will have:
A thorough understanding of how to navigate a content management system and experience creating, editing, and publishing content.

DETAILS

You’ve mastered writing and editing for publications. But can you crop and resize photos, navigate a content management system, or understand what makes a great user experience?

Thanks to improvements in computer software and content management systems, you don’t have to be a web developer or tech person to create dynamic digital content. Through assignments and discussions, you will learn how to think past the written word and create content that is multi-dimensional and editorially relevant, uses the web to its full potential, create stories that have social media campaigns built in, and increases your value as an employee.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Navigate and create content in a basic Content Management System, such as WordPress
• Crop, resize, and optimize photos, create graphics, and enhance static text through basic HTML/CSS
• Understand what makes a user-friendly website and how to create UGC contests that maximize and enhance your social presence
• Know which web technologies to follow and which to ignore
• Measure effectiveness and revenue potential through traffic and user engagement analytics

By the end of class, you will have:
A thorough understanding of how to conceptualize, articulate, and execute digital content that enhances your site’s editorial mission and is technologically sound.

DETAILS

The op-ed page is the most sought-after real estate in any publication, with more venues for your work as newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs expand first-person content. Op-eds provide an opportunity for you to showcase great writing while laying out forceful arguments. This class will show you how to write powerful op-ed pieces that will make your voice heard in print, online, and around the world.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Conceive and structure a convincing op-ed
• Organize your thoughts to present the best argument possible
• Decide which topics have the most impact
• Use first-person technique to write an engaging essay
• Make a pitch editors will notice

By the end of class, you will have:
Three op-ed pieces, pitch letters, and ideas on where to pitch.

Students who have taken this class have been published in:
Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, NY Post, NY Daily News, The New York Times, the Washington Post, and Newsweek.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
• Discussions: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

CERTIFICATE Use this course to earn a certificate in Digital Journalism.

DETAILS

In this class, you'll learn how to translate news stories into fascinating multimedia packages. We'll take a look at the best multimedia news stories on the web and get a feel for how photos, audio, and video can enhance the written word. You'll come up with a story you think would best be told in a multimedia format and create original content for that package including photos, slideshows, and short video and audio pieces all published on your own blog showcasing your work.

Each week's assignments are designed to advance you toward the the completion of a published multimedia package. You'll need access to an audio/voice recorder, a digital camera, the capability to record video, and a computer with enough speed and space to download some software.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Organize your story into a complete multimedia package
• Shoot video for the web
• Make an audiovisual slideshow
• Determine where to get free and/or cheap online software to create an at-home studio
• Build a multimedia portfolio on a blog

By the end of class, you will have:
A complete multimedia story package published on a blog showcasing your work.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through video lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

Travel writing is a conduit to other genres, from food and art to politics and technology. The skills and experience you'll gain covering travel can be applied to any writing project you take on.

Throughout this class, we'll extensively workshop your pitches and articles, and you'll finish with a series of solid pieces ready to sell.

With the guidance of James Sturz, Vanity Fair staffer-turned author, students will dissect the anatomy of travel pieces, from travel-related news items to service round-ups to personal essays. Each week, you’ll produce an article and pitch letter, and will be expected to investigate unfamiliar neighborhoods, seek out experts in the field, and demonstrate the highest levels of research and reporting. Students will have the option to create a travel blog or website showcasing their work.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Understand the rules of reporting, interviewing, and finding sources
• Know what travel editors look for 
• Find travel story ideas and pitch them successfully
• Turn one trip into dozens of story ideas
• Know where to pitch outside of travel publications

By the end of class, you will have:
Two salable travel pieces and pitch letters.

This course generally requires a commitment of at least eight hours a week of outside work.

DETAILS

Working copy editors know there are exceptions to almost every rule, but do you know what they are? This class aims to examine the finer points of copy editing, with an emphasis on trickier grammar and punctuation examples. We will also discuss issues in the marketplace including freelance v. staff considerations, titles, duties, and the murky waters of office politics. This class is for junior copy editors, writers, editors, or anyone with some background in copy editing who wishes to discuss the realities of working in this profession.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Understand finer points of grammar, including rules on danglers, collective nouns, and misplaced modifiers
• Apply advanced punctuation rules, including proper comma and hyphen usage
• Create and update your own in-house style guide
• Be aware of issues in the marketplace: copy editing online, navigating office politics, job titles and responsibilities of the advanced copy editor, and when you've overstepped your bounds 
• Use resources for the advanced copy editor

By the end of class, you will have:
Advanced skills to update in-house style guides and get work as a copy editor.

Admission Requirements:
At least one year copyediting experience, or the equivalent. Apply with a note to explain your interest in this topic and a brief work history with details about your copyediting experience.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

CERTIFICATE Use this course to earn a certificate in Public Relations.

DETAILS

Knowing how to craft a strong speech -- and ensure the best possible delivery -- is a valued and lucrative skill for those in both the public and private sectors. In this class, we'll touch upon the most practical elements of speechwriting, with our main focus on how to produce a strong speech, quickly and efficiently.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Write a polished, convincing speech ready for delivery 
• Conduct research and craft arguments
• Use stylistic options ranging from humorous to philosophical
• Write a memorable opening
• Motivate an audience to take action on what they've heard

• Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
• Discussions: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

This class will provide you with the skills necessary to find work as a professional fashion writer. Through insight into the fashion world and media, you'll learn to grasp the different styles of fashion journalism and gain insight into and an understanding of the fashion industry.

Using trend reports, reviews of collections, and analyzing the craft and business of fashion, you'll learn how to tackle fashion stories from different angles for high fashion magazines, non-traditional publications, and websites. Learn the value of networking, creating and keeping contacts, and how to work with PR to get the heads-up on scoops and invites to press launches and fashion shows. You'll also learn to write pitch letters and emails to secure interviews with designers.

Throughout the course, you'll build a portfolio of spec clips that will exhibit your ability to analyze and report on fashion.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Watch shows, interpret collections, and develop an eye for inspiration
• Write fashion headlines, runway reviews, and fashion features
• Use your personal style to create stories that editors crave
• Understand the differences between fashion editors, writers, and freelancers
• Write compelling pitch letters

By the end of class, you will have: 
A pitch letter for a fashion feature and a collection of clips for a high fashion magazine.

Students who have taken this class have been published on:
NYMag.com, Glamour.com, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through video-based lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

CERTIFICATE Use this course to earn a certificate in Copy Editing.

DETAILS

So you know a colon from a semicolon -- but how about an en dash from an em dash?

This class is for those familiar with the basics of copy editing and ready for the next level. If you are a junior-level copy editor or have some editorial experience, this class will provide a deeper understanding of the rules that anchor style choices.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Use more complex grammar and punctuation errors with a focus on proper comma usage
• Evaluate the merits of the popular style guides and other resources
• Understand the role and responsibilities of the copy editor
• Fact-check
• Judge proper word usage

By the end of class, you will have:
Copy editing skills to make consistent style choices in your editing or writing. 

Beginners: Check out our Intro class.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

You don't need a tech degree to write about the industry. In fact, this  fast-growing beat seeks out people with a journalism background. From sites including TechCrunch, CNET, Gizmodo, Wired, Engadget, and Mashable,  there's a multitidude of opportunities for both new writers and seasoned journalists. In this course, you’ll work with a tech journalism pro to learn the key elements that make up compelling trend pieces, profiles, and gadget reviews. By the end of this course, you'll have tech stories ready to be published in tech news outlets.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Find and develop sources for your articles
• Research and track emerging trends in tech
• Reach out to companies to get on distribution lists
• Write trend, profile, and gadget review pieces
• Pitch print and online outlets to get published

By the end of class, you will have:
At least two articles ready to be published in to tech news outlets.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through video-based lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

In this intensive workshop, limited to 12 students, Marie Claire senior editor Whitney Joiner will help you fine-tune your essays for publication. You'll work on your voice, narrative, and identity while drafting pitches and focusing in on where to market your essay. Each week you will receive detailed feedback as you work toward polishing your personal essay for submission to editors.

By the end of class, you will have:
At least two polished essays and pitches ready to submit to editors.

This class is purely workshop-based and does not contain written lectures.

Admission Requirements:
Students should come to class with a complete draft of their essay(s). Apply with a letter of interest and writing sample.

The online classroom has several components:

• Discussions: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

Travel writing is a way to engage with the world and to build a bridge that brings faraway places home. This advanced class for experienced writers examines the romance and realities of this exciting and lucrative market.

You'll consider the various forms of the field, from travel-related news items to personal essays, with the goal of selling these pieces to local, regional, and national publications. Each week, students will be assigned a travel-related article up to 1,000 words, along with an optional pitch letter, and will investigate unfamiliar neighborhoods, seek out experts in the field, and demonstrate the highest levels of research and reporting.

This course generally requires a commitment of at least eight hours a week of outside work.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Use where you live to break into the travel market
• Find and develop your beat
• Make travel a conduit to writing beyond the travel section
• Write perfect pitch letters
• Negotiate with your editor for travel compensation

By the end of class, you will have:
A complete portfolio of eight publishable articles and pitch letters. Assignments will generally include a travel-related news item, a service round-up, a destination piece, a day trip within the region, a historical research piece, an article on the tourism business, and a personal travel essay.

Students who have taken this class have been published in: Travel + Leisure, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, The Los Angeles Times, Budget Travel, Dwell, Gourmet, Men's Journal, Modern Bride, National Geographic Traveler, Salon.com, Saveur, Time Out New York, New York Magazine, The Boston Globe, Conde Nast Traveler, and The San Fransisco Chronicle.

• Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
• Discussions: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

CERTIFICATE Use this course to earn a certificate in Digital Journalism.

DETAILS

You’ve mastered writing and editing for publications. But can you crop and resize photos, navigate a content management system, or understand what makes a great user experience?

Thanks to improvements in computer software and content management systems, you don’t have to be a web developer or tech person to create dynamic digital content. Through assignments and discussions, you will learn how to think past the written word and create content that is multi-dimensional and editorially relevant, uses the web to its full potential, create stories that have social media campaigns built in, and increases your value as an employee.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Navigate and create content in a basic Content Management System, such as WordPress
• Crop, resize, and optimize photos, create graphics, and enhance static text through basic HTML/CSS
• Understand what makes a user-friendly website and how to create UGC contests that maximize and enhance your social presence
• Know which web technologies to follow and which to ignore
• Measure effectiveness and revenue potential through traffic and user engagement analytics

By the end of class, you will have:
A thorough understanding of how to conceptualize, articulate, and execute digital content that enhances your site’s editorial mission and is technologically sound.

The online classroom has several components:

• Lessons: Learn new skills through video-based lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

DETAILS

This class will teach you how to create and edit entire pages in Adobe InDesign, the industry-standard page layout program for magazines, newspapers, and print content publishers.

Through lessons and assignments, you'll gain hands-on experience and practice. Weekly discussions include live video presentations and demos through our webcast platform. After this class, you'll be able to confidently add "skilled in Adobe InDesign" to your resume.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Use the toolbar and palettes
• Create and edit style sheets
• Import images, add colors, and change colors
• Change and edit the built-in spell check
• Customize your hyphenations

By the end of class, you will have:
Knowledge of Adobe InDesign for editing projects.

CERTIFICATE Use this course to earn a certificate in Copy Editing.

DETAILS

Remember sixth grade English class? We don't either.

Get a grammar refresher and learn the rules that matter and those you can break. This course will help you navigate best grammar and style practices to produce clear, concise and engaging copy for editorial, business, or creative writing.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Understand the various parts of speech
• Make sure your subjects, verbs, and objects agree
• Ensure that punctuation serves the sentence
• Craft a perfect sentence
• Define of exactly what style is and why it differs from style guide to style guide

By the end of class, you will have:
Training in the fundamentals of grammar to improve your current and future writing projects.

DETAILS

Learn how to make the current climate in both publishing and parenting work for you. We'll explore the different outlets available to parenting writers, from blogs to websites to magazines, as well as the story ideas and formats that editors are looking for. Learn the nuts and bolts of researching, writing, and revising a parenting story. We'll also show you how blog posts, magazine stories, and newspaper stories differ, and how to develop strong relationships with your editors. 

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Mine your life, experience, and connections for ideas
• Define yourself as a parenting writer
• Identify which market is right for you -- magazines, blogs, or websites
• Target your pitches
• Research topics and identify sources

By the end of class, you will have:
Two stories with pitch letters, a list of targeted venues for publication, and a strategy for getting published.

• Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

CERTIFICATE Use this course to earn a certificate in Copy Editing.

DETAILS

This course is for anyone who wants to break into copy editing or feel more confident wrangling words. We'll cover the basics, from understanding copy editing marks to avoiding rookie grammar mistakes. You'll have the tools needed to enter the field and an understanding of how to create smooth, readable copy. And you'll have another skill you can add to your resume and put into action.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Determine when a sentence needs tweaking or is best left alone
• Understand copy editing lingo, including proofreading symbols and common terms
• Navigate stylebooks and prepare for a copy editing test
• Find the best reference materials for a copy editing assignment
• Tailor a resume and find copy editing jobs

By the end of class, you will have:
Knowledge of the copy editing field and the tools to pursue a job as a copy editor.

• Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
• Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM
  
• Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
• Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions