Online Courses for Freelancers – A Lynda.com review

Gaining and advancing current freelance skills is very important in the world we are living in.

The growth of businesses, demand for higher pay rates are being determined by the skills set one has.

With this in mind, it is important to keep learning new skills and improving on your current skills set.

To learn new skills set has become the norm and with the digital age being upon us, one does not need to go to a classroom to get the desired skills and knowledge.
All you have to do is have and access to online courses.

In this post, I will focus on one of the best websites that offers online courses, Lynda.com.  Lynda.com is an online training website offering thousands of video courses in software, creative and business skills.

Lynda.com offers beginner to advanced courses by world renown tutors and for this reason, it is my ultimate go-to guide for any person in need of training and certification at a fee of $25/month.
It is a gem for any budding freelancer out there and also an easy way to get credible certificates.

Lynda.com is currently offering a 10-day free trial and for this reason, it has influenced this blog post.

Below are some select courses categories that freelancers need to enroll.

1. Writing Articles with Tom Geller

Have you ever wanted to write professionally? Perhaps you’d like to make some extra money writing articles for publication in your industry or taking on additional assignments to write for your company.

In this course, author Tom Geller explores the process of writing articles and publications for businesses large and small.

The course begins with a look at the preparation you’ll need to do, best ways to find assignments, and smart strategies for determining your article approach.

Next, the course dives into techniques you can use to brainstorm angles, research, interview experts, finish a piece, and build your portfolio.

Take Course: Writing Articles with Tom Geller

2. Affiliate Marketing Fundamentals with Evgenii “Geno” Prussakov

Affiliate marketing is a complicated, multidisciplinary practice that is often misunderstood.

At its heart, it is a performance-based marketing technique in which affiliates are financially rewarded for sending customers to another website to purchase goods or services.

If you have a website, blog, or other online property, you too can earn money through affiliate marketing.

Expert Geno Prussakov explores basic principles, from payment models to typical affiliate agreements; winning tactics and techniques, as well as roadblocks to future earnings; and the day-to-day practices that result in a successful affiliate marketing strategy.

Take Course: Affiliate Marketing Fundamentals with Evgenii “Geno” Prussakov

3. Writing Research Papers with Judy Steiner-Williams

Have to write a research paper? Learn tips for writing an A+ paper that will wow your professors.

In this course, author and Kelley School of Business faculty member Judy Steiner-Williams shows you how to prepare for, and write, polished research papers for high school and college classes.

Discover how to brainstorm, select your best ideas, collect and categorize research, and write the paper, while following along with Judy’s practical, real-world examples.

Take Course: Writing Research Papers with Judy Steiner-Williams

4. Writing for the Web with Chris Nodder

People read differently online: they scan. They’re trying to find information quickly.

Writing with this goal in mind makes a website more appealing, and makes customers more likely to visit more often and buy products and services.

In this course, Chris Nodder offers seven practical techniques for writing successfully on the web, including front-loading content, writing at the right grade level, avoiding jargon, and keeping content up to date.

Test your knowledge as you complete each chapter, and make sure your writing is leading to positive user experience.

Take Course: Writing for the Web with Chris Nodder

5. Worpress Essential Training with Morten Rand-Hendriksen

WordPress powers millions of blogs and websites. Learn how to create your own with this powerful publishing platform.

Staff author Morten Rand-Hendriksen will help you get the most out of the self-hosted version of WordPress and create feature-rich blogs and websites.

Morten explains how to create and publish posts and pages; customize your site with themes, widgets, and custom menus; and extend WordPress even further with plugins.

Even more, Morten will show how to get more readers with social media sharing and comments, and adjust the settings that keep your site safe and secure.

Take course: WordPress Essential Training with Morten Rand-Hendriksen

6. Typing Fundamentals with Anson Alexander

Stop the time-consuming hunting and pecking at the keyboard and learn how to type properly.

In this course, you’ll discover the advantages of knowing how to type, find out where your fingers should be positioned and which finger to use on each key, practice your positioning, and learn how to type for speed and accuracy.

Instructor Anson Alexander will also show how to use a numeric keypad properly and measure your success, and our unique visuals allow you to see his fingers at work.

Start now and learn to type your way to clearer, quicker communications, and use the course’s game-like, interactive exercise file to practice each typing lesson and gauge your improvement.

Take Course: Typing Fundamentals with Anson Alexander

7. Marketing and Monetizing on YouTube with Anson Alexander

Join experienced YouTube channel optimizer, Anson Alexander, as he shares his strategies for succeeding on the world’s largest video platform.

This course shows marketers and others how to create a winning presence and monetize videos on YouTube, where more than 6 billion hours are watched monthly.

The course explains how to create a channel and join the Partner Program, and how to attract and best interact with subscribers.

Then you learn how to customize your YouTube channel’s About page, create engaging playlists, and customize content to draw in viewers.

The course also explores how to optimize videos for search engines; add annotations, notes, and links; and use YouTube’s InVideo Programming.

Finally, Anson shows how to use YouTube Analytics, explaining which statistics to focus on in order to better guide your content strategy.

Take Course: Marketing and Monetizing on YouTube with Anson Alexander

8. Up and Running with Google Adsense with Anson Alexander

Generate a steady stream of revenue from your website—without alienating your core audience—with Google AdSense.

Author and marketer Anson Alexander teach you how to get up and running with AdSense, and display ads that “make sense” for your website.

Learn how to set up an account, place limitations on ad content, create ad units, and use advanced placement strategies and reporting.

Plus, with AdSense performance reports, you’ll learn how to identify ad trends, increase page views, and better tailor ad content.

Take Course: Up and Running with Google Adsense with Anson Alexander

9. Ebook Publishing Fundamentals with Jason Matthews

Learn how to self-publish your ebook successfully and give it the best chance of being read.

Taught by Jason Matthews, an ebook publishing consultant who has self-published 10 books, the course first explores the major outlets, including Amazon, and discusses how to best format Microsoft Word files or EPUB files to retailer requirements.

Jason also reviews crucial details such as the table of contents formatting and cover design, and he shows how to upload the complete ebook package to all the major retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and others.

The final chapter of the course explains how to market your ebook, including setting up a website, finding fans on social media, and engaging with reviewers and bloggers.

Take Course: Ebook Publishing Fundamentals with Jason Matthews

Learning skills that are relevant to any freelance career is easy and affordable.

The courses I have highlighted on this blog post are just a small selection of the courses offered on lynda.com.

Feel free to dive into Lynda.com and search for courses on Accounting, Project Management, Design, etc. Browse all Lynda. com courses.

Share if you love what you read and I highly appreciate your thoughts on this.