Write With More Confidence and Effectiveness for All Digital and Advertising Media.
Special Fall Pricing: Regularly $1,200 is now 50% off—$600. Enroll Here.
Note: The December Series of courses has been rescheduled to January/February (please see the schedule below).
Introduction:
We all understand just how fast the marketing landscape is changing. Not only in terms of the advance of AI, but also with the rise of first-party data, the omnichannel experience, and the explosion in short-form social content.
All these developments have an impact on copywriting, with demand for increased personalization, effective story-telling and high-impact messaging across email, ads, social posts, video scripts and the web.
In this three-part copywriting Masterclass, you’ll be introduced to the essential principles of copywriting for digital and advertising channels. You’ll also explore the role that good copy plays in influencing behaviors and driving purchases, while learning about real-world case studies that demonstrate the impact of copywriting on marketing and business success.
You’ll come away with a greater feeling of confidence and a desire to experiment. Whether you’re using AI to help with the process or creating the content from scratch, you’ll also have useful tips and techniques you can apply in your day-to-day work.
The course covers the role that tone of voice plays in cultivating a unique brand identity and how writers can adapt content and messaging to specific audiences. You will have the opportunity to take part in discussion with other participants, while trying your hand at practical exercises and receiving constructive commentary and critique. With a limit of just 15 participants for the course, you can share your own ideas in the interactive session online and get live feedback from your instructor Phil Woodford.
In Part 1, you’ll focus on the briefing process, which is so important for strategic alignment and effective collaboration with colleagues across the business. You’ll then look at fundamental rules for writing. Before the end of Session 1, you’ll be assigned a small exercise to complete before Session 2—creating headlines for digital advertising. There’s an opportunity to consider the close relationship between words and imagery.
After a review of the headline-writing exercise and tips for best practice, Part 2 is centered around audience and tone of voice, exploring website copy for both B2C and B2B environments. What are the steps towards establishing a clear and consistent brand voice that lie behind a cohesive content strategy?
The Masterclass concludes in Part 3, with advice on writing longer-form web copy, email, social content and video scripting.
- Gain confidence in your practical writing skills.
- See how copy aligns with wider marketing strategy.
- Learn techniques to make your copy more impactful and effective.
- Focus on your readers and tailor copy to their needs.
- Discover the best ways to approach copy and content online.
- Explore the challenges of short attention spans, good usability, and SEO on the web.
- Pick up techniques that can help you create more effective email—and gain inspiration for A/B split testing.
- Discuss best-practice approaches to social posts, ads, and video scripts.
Can’t Attend Live? No Problem!
Even if you miss the live workshop, you’ll still get everything:
- Full workshop video recording
- PowerPoint slides
- Additional handouts
All materials are emailed to registered attendees within 24 hours after the live session ends.
Copywriting Masterclass, Module 1: Essential rules for writing and techniques for engaging the reader.
Description:
Good copy is built around an effective briefing process, along with clear rules and principles. In this session, you’ll learn how to approach the writing task and gain tips on best practices.
After drawing up a checklist to guide you in your marketing copy and exploring some of the psychological techniques used in the process of persuasion, you’ll be challenged with a short practical exercise before the next session; you’ll have to write some digital advertising headlines. How can we make them stand out in a world where people’s attention spans are diminished, and everyone is confronted by an increasing volume of messages?
Key Takeaways:
- An understanding of the copywriter’s various roles as interpreter, salesperson, and psychologist.
- Key inputs a writer needs to create better outputs—the role of the marketing communications brief and the part it plays in achieving buy-in from other stakeholders within the organization.
- Short case studies of where copy has been credited with making a difference to marketing outcomes.
- Best practice principles for writing in plain English, structuring copy effectively, focusing on your audience, and conveying a clear central message.
- The principles of persuasion that help convince readers to act.
- Briefing of an exercise to complete before Module 2—with a focus on headline writing for digital advertising and its relationship to imagery. A comparison between human and AI-generated concepts.
Copywriting Masterclass, Module 2: Audience and tone of voice.
Description:
Copy is usually stronger when it is written for a specific audience—making use of segmented data and effective targeting. After reviewing and discussing the short-form copywriting exercise briefed at the end of Module 1, we’ll move on to look at the use of personas in marketing communication and the way in which writers adapt their copy to different readers, reflecting their aspirations and motivations.
There will also be an opportunity to examine tone of voice in shaping the perception of the brand and to observe some of the devices writers use to establish a rapport with an audience. Your instructor will encourage you to explore website content during the session, drawing conclusions about the strategies of the writer and their understanding of the reader.
Key Takeaways:
- A review of ideas for advertising headlines – briefed at the end of Module 1.
- Techniques for short-form copywriting in advertising and social media, including ways of approaching headlines designed to interrupt and engage.
- The relationship between words and images and how both can play a part in creating effective communication.
- An awareness of different models of tone of voice – brand-focused, audience-focused, and situational.
- The use writers can make of demographic and psychographic profiles in a marketing communications brief.
- Comparisons between different writing styles and tone of voice in both B2C and B2B environments – with comparisons of live web copy from leading US brands.
- Appreciation of the use of personas by copywriters and the role they can play in targeting copy effectively.
Copywriting Masterclass, Module 3: Writing for different digital media and channels.
Description:
In this final session, you’ll have the chance to explore some of the rules that surround today’s digital writing—whether it’s the pressure to impress search engines, the science of usability and user experience, or the need to engage people instantly in a world of diminishing attention. You’ll also look at some of the techniques that create more successful emails and different approaches to video content, including strategies for short-form videos on social platforms.
You’ll be shown the way in which story-telling principles can be applied by copywriters, particularly in longer pieces of online content such as articles, blogs, case studies, and thought leadership.
Key Takeaways:
- Rules for writing online—taking into account the input of usability experts on scanning, chunking and page layout.
- The best approaches for delivering impactful headings and subheads on web pages.
- The relationship between copywriting and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and general principles to follow. Reflections on changes in the age of AI.
- How to use keywords in copy while retaining naturalism and aiming for ‘elegant variation’ in your writing style.
- Story-telling principles, including the application of the Freytag pyramid to the world of business writing.
- Structuring and sustaining longer pieces of copy and strategies for creating powerful ‘kicker’ and intro paragraphs.
- Tips for effective scripting and the role of the writer in shaping the narrative and effectiveness of online video.
- Principles for more compelling emails—including subject line tactics to enhance open rates and options for A/B split testing.
How to Convince Your Boss Why You Should Take this Class:
Greater confidence: You’ll come out of the course with a more detailed understanding of the copywriter’s role and craft skills, allowing you to work more efficiently and effectively to meet the marketing objectives of your business.
Greater competence: You’ll learn rules for copywriting best practices and be more aware of some of the potential pitfalls to avoid, leading to fewer errors.
Greater understanding: You’ll explore the way copy works across different media and platforms, helping you to craft words that are more appropriate and engaging for your integrated marketing communications strategy. You’ll create more effective social posts, emails, web pages, and video scripts.
Greater cut-through: You’ll experiment with headline-writing techniques and examine the close interrelationship between words and images, leading to more impact with ads and social posts.
Greater adventurousness: You’ll be happier to experiment and try new approaches to copy, which may open up opportunities for more effective and impactful communication.
The Presentations:
- The workshops are hands-on and practical.
- The workshops are live so that you can ask your questions.
- Step-by-step instructions in numbered lists with the links so you can do this yourself.
- Included are lots of illustrations and examples.
Download Material:
- Video of the presentation with slides and audio.
- PDF of the complete presentation.
Who is the course for?
Marketing professionals at a range of levels and those working in communications, design and related fields.
The Presenter:
Phil Woodford
Phil started his career organizing and marketing international conferences for an engineering institute in London, England, before pursuing a career as a copywriter. He became an agency creative director and subsequently embarked on a freelance career, in which he works as a writer, trainer, consultant and lecturer. His current clients are based in the UK, France, Italy and the USA.
- Honors degree in Sociology from the London School of Economics.
- Master’s degree with distinction in Occupational & Business Psychology from Kingston University, London.
- Course Director for the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) since 2006.
- Member of the Judging Panel for CIM’s Global Marketing Excellence Awards 2023.
- Professeur Référent at OMNES Education – France’s largest private university network.
- Former visiting lecturer at University of the Arts London; University of Westminster; Birkbeck College, University of London; and St Mary’s University, London–teaching in a diverse range of areas including advertising, media trends, business writing and presentation skills.
- Mentor to freelance and in-house copywriters.
- Co-host of a weekly news review show on Colourful Radio, broadcast from the Africa Centre in London.
- Trustee of Off The Record, a London-based charity which provides counselling services for young people aged 11 to 24.
Website: www.herecomesthecavalry.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-woodford-9160421/
The presenter, Phil Woodford was knowledgeable and proficient in his craft of copywriting. He posed great questions for feedback and collaboration. He always had valuable insights. The insight from the group was also beneficial. Phil’s voice was also an asset to this being an online course. He was easy to listen to and had an engaging speaking voice. I learned a lot from this course. Thank you. eneuman
Workshop dates and times:
Winter 2026
Module 1: Essential rules for writing and techniques for engaging the reader.
Monday, January 26, 2026
from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST.
Module 2: Audience and tone of voice.
Monday, February 2, 2026
from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST.
Module 3: Writing for different media and channels.
Thursday, February 12, 2026
from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST.
