If you’re looking to enhance your digital marketing expertise, then doing a course is a fantastic way of obtaining new skills, learning more about a particular specialisation, or just consolidating some of the knowledge you might have picked up through experience. You don’t have to spend big bucks or commit yourself to six months of study – there are many short digital marketing courses available at a reasonable price, or even for free. You can choose training that runs for a few hours or a full day, so it can be easily slipped into your schedule.

Below are some suggestions that we’ve compiled for you.

Free inbound marketing courses

Inbound marketing (a close relative of content marketing) is increasingly popular. You can learn about much more than inbound marketing methodologies via the free online courses offered through the HubSpot Academy. Learn about:

• Inbound methodology
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Sales

Free webinar – Planning the Right Content for Your Website

If you’re planning a new business website, updating an old one, or simply want to ensure your website content is effective, our free 40 minute webinar might be useful if you don’t have the budget to engage a copywriting service. Click the banner below to register, and watch at your leisure!

Cost effective digital marketing and social media courses

The University of NSW Centre for Continuing Education runs multiple full day (9am – 5pm) courses from $394. These practical hands-on classes provide insightful information and some useful tools to walk away with. The courses include:

• Social Media Course: Build a WordPress Social Media Website (1 day course)
• Google Analytics Course: Conversion Optimisation (1 day course)
• Social Media Marketing Course: Facebook, Twitter and Blogs (1 day course)
• Social Media Course for Business: Facebook and Twitter (1 day course)
• Email Marketing Campaigns Course (1 day course)
• Effective Web Writing Course for Business (1 day course)
• Digital Strategy Course (1 day course)

Sydney Community College is another great option to consider. A bit cheaper than the University of NSW, their digital marketing courses range from a few hours (from $130) to a full day (from $300), depending on the topic. Some of the courses also come with six months of support from the tutor. The available training includes:

• How to Create Great Web Content (1 day course)
• Email Marketing Campaigns (3 hour course)
• How to use MailChimp (2 sessions, 5 hours total)
• Facebook Marketing: Beyond the Basics (1 day course)

Free marketing courses

For those in the area, the Sydney Hills Shire Council runs the business improvement Get Smart Series, which is free and runs for 2.5 hours each week.

There are also online learning opportunities that are available for free.

Business Victoria offers a free 10-day online short course on Mastering the Marketing Basics for businesses all over Australia. Materials for the course will be sent to your inbox daily.

The City of Sydney also runs a Business 101 seminar series. You can access a free video of last year’s Marketing Your Business in an Online World seminar for free.

You might also want to consider a course at the local TAFE college, and taking advantage of webinars and workshops sometimes offered by content marketing agencies.

Completing short courses is a great way to build on your digital marketing knowledge, and to learn about new innovations or platforms that might benefit your business. And remember: You don’t have to invest a lot of time and money in order to gain a few new skills.

You might also be interested in reading:

7 Free Digital Marketing Courses

5 Inexpensive Visual Tools for Design-Challenged Businesses

10 Free Marketing Tools Small Business Owners Can Use

Need help with content creation? Sydney based company Article Writers Australia offers copywriting and article writing services.