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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in so many drastic changes in the past few months, and one of the biggest adjustments that working Americans have had to face is staying home in order to practice social distancing. This had led businesses of all sizes to see a drop in sales, cutbacks to their workforce, or having to shutter their doors altogether.

Let’s face it: we’re all going to have to stay home in order to flatten the curve of cases of COVID-19 and to stay safe. For introverted homebodies like me, this hasn’t been much of a problem (so far). Those that are more extroverted, however, may be getting a little stir-crazy already.

A lot of people are finding themselves with a lot more time on their hands right now, and one way marketers like me can help pass that time is to take advantage of the free online resources and learning opportunities offered by big names in the marketing industry. After all, we might as well use this extra time to sharpen our minds and come out of all of this stronger than ever!

Whether you’re a marketing professional looking to learn a new skill or a small business owner building a re-launch plan for once this all passes, here are 11 free marketing courses that you can do in your pajamas during your extra time at home.

HubSpot Academy Certifications

HubSpot is the leading name in marketing automation platforms, and I’m obsessed with the free marketing and sales courses and certifications offered on HubSpot Academy. These lessons can be taken individually, or as part of a full lesson plan to get certified in a particular subject matter. Here are some great certifications:

• Inbound Marketing Certification: I would recommend taking these lessons first, as they give a great explanation of HubSpot’s marketing methodology and why it can be so successful. I’m a huge fan of inbound marketing myself, and earning this certification helped me understand how to deploy inbound strategies for my clients to help them increase their marketing ROI.

• Content Marketing Certification: “Content” is a huge word when it comes to marketing because it encompasses so many different tactics. This certification goes over how to build and launch a strong content marketing strategy, step-by-step. 

• Social Media Marketing Certification: Another hugely important term in digital marketing, these lessons on social media teach you how to leverage social media to complement the rest of your inbound marketing strategy.

SEMrush Academy Courses

SEMrush was introduced to me by a colleague as a great SEO tool for marketers, even for those like me that are just beginning to learn about SEO. Here are two lessons that I really enjoyed taking from the platform:

• SEO Fundamentals: If the concept of SEO is completely new to you, this is a great course that provides an overview of what SEO is and how it can drive more organic website traffic for your business or your client’s business. 

• Keyword Research: Keyword Research is an important step in building a strong SEO strategy, and this course, taught by Greg Gifford, breaks down some best practices for building a list of keywords that you’d like to rank for.

Skillshare Courses

Skillshare offers some free courses on their platform that are great for people looking for an introduction on new marketing tactics (and even some other creative skills like video and graphic design). You can also sign up for a free trial to access all of the courses in their library. Here are two courses in their “free” section:

• Getting Started with Email Marketing: Mailchimp’s Senior Marketing Manager, Allyson Van Houton, teaches viewers how to implement an effective email marketing strategy with lessons on best practices.

• Growth Marketing Essentials: Build Effective Acquisition Funnels: Cam Lay teaches this course that is great for entrepreneurs that want to understand what the marketing funnel is and how to approach this process for their business.

Codecademy Courses

Codecademy is an amazing platform for developers looking to learn more programming languages and perfect their craft. However, learning HTML and CSS can help marketers become more well-rounded in their skillset, especially if you’ll be looking for a new job this year. Like Skillshare, Codecademy offers some free introductory courses as well as a free trial of their Pro subscription.

• Introduction to HTML: This course reviews the most common HTML tags used to build web pages. There are also three “projects” to help you put what you learn to practice.

• Learn CSS: This is another hands-on course that builds off of the HTML course with CSS rules. CSS allows you to stylize web pages with colors, typography, and more.

Facebook Blueprint Courses

We know that Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, as well as a powerful tool used by marketers everywhere. Facebook offers free courses and certifications to help marketers and business owners learn how to run ads, retarget customers, and more.

• Guide to Creating Facebook Ads from Your Page: This course is perfect for someone that has never used Facebook Ads before. It walks through the entire process, step-by-step.

• How to Advertise on Instagram: Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is the social media platform known for its high engagement rates. If you’d like to learn how to run ads specifically for Instagram, this course is for you.

Most of these lessons are courses that I have either completed myself or that are on my “quarantine list”, but I’m always looking for more! If you have any suggestions on free online courses or certifications that you would recommend, drop a comment below.