Review of: Desktop Marketing – a course for freelancer copywriters who want to increase their income by offering copywriting AND design services.

Review by: Nick Usborne

This is another course from AWAI. I have reviewed most of their courses. Some or good, some are very good and one or two are truly outstanding.

This new Desktop Marketing course belongs in the “outstanding” category.

No hype. No waffle. Just page after page of useful learning.

Here’s what the Desktop Marketing course is all about…

There are millions of small businesses out there, many of them looking for freelance help with the writing, design and production of their marketing materials.

What do these companies do when they need something written or designed for them? They look around for expert help. And they soon find there are a ton of freelance copywriters and designers to choose from.

But here’s what they really WANT – instead of having to find two different freelancers to take care of the writing and design of their print or online materials, what they really want is to find just ONE expert who can take care of it all.

It makes sense.

Working with just one outside expert is much more efficient and effective for them. It cuts their time in half almost. They have just one person to brief, and they don’t have to be the middle-person who has to coordinate and integrate the work of two outside suppliers.

In other words, there is a huge opportunity for freelancers and consultants who can say to a small business, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of both the writing AND design. Consider me as your affordable, expert, one-person ad agency.”

There are hundreds of thousands of small businesses just aching to say YES to an offer like that.

So this is what this course is all about.

It’s about learning to write AND design marketing materials for small business.

Who is this course for?

Well, in some of the sales information on this course you’ll find the usual lines about how “anyone” can become an expert desktop marketer.

I don’t think that’s entirely true.

If you are already a copywriter, and you have some sense of good and bad design, this is perfect for you.

If you are a freelance designer, and already have a grasp of what makes good copy, this is for you too.

If you are just starting out in marketing and have a feel for both copywriting AND commercial design, this course is an absolute gold mine.

Plus, as with any commercial freelance career, you have to have an interest in and enthusiasm for helping companies market their products and services.

For whom does this course hit the absolute bullseye?

This is prefect for freelance copywriters who know what good commercial design looks like, and want to make more money from each client by expanding on the range of services they offer.

This course is great for freelance designers. Excellent for people just starting out. But absolutely PERFECT for freelance copywriters who want to maximize their income by offering a more complete marketing service.

Here’s just a taste of what you’ll learn…

• Fundamentals of design for a desktop marketer
• Fundamentals of copywriting for a desktop marketer
• Creating a design and publication framework
• Working with type and fonts
• Working with graphics and color
• Proofreading and print production
• How to launch and market your desktop marketing business

The hidden gem within the course

By far the best part of this course is found within the sections that look at creating great design.

I don’t know who wrote these parts of the course, but whoever it was has the gift of being able to teach the fundamentals of classic commercial design.

Whether working with layout, type or graphics, you’ll learn how to produce clean, effective designs that will delight any client.

Nothing fancy. No “cutting edge design solutions”. Just the basics of good communication design that have barely changed in a hundred or more years.

Whether you are a designer already, or a writer wanting to add design as a new service, the design tutorials alone will be more than worth your investment in this course.

A final observation

If you go ahead and click the link at the end of this review, you’ll be taken to the Desktop Marketing sales page.

For me, the sales page doesn’t do this course justice.

There is too much of the usual “working at home lifestyle / freedom to live life on your own terms” rhetoric for my taste.

I think this course would have been better served with a clear and clean description of just how useful and helpful this course will be.

There’s no hype or blah-blah in the course itself. It’s solid gold.

So if, like me, you know darned well that working from home is hard work, and not some hyped-up lifestyle fantasy, then skip the sales chatter and just get the course.

There really is a huge demand for freelancers who can both write AND design…and this course gives you all the tools and knowledge you’ll need to offer that service, and be proud of the results.

Learn more and buy Desktop Marketing here…