It’s no secret that having knowledge and skills will get you far in this world. Especially if your goal is to run a successful online business, knowing your stuff is a MUST. Luckily, there are free online courses out there that can help you learn new things and develop your talents.

There’s actually thousands and thousands of free online courses available to you, even whole databases of them! You just have to search for them.

Some of the most popular learning sites that have free online courses are:

• QuickSprout
• Udemy
• Alison

There are even some colleges that offer free online courses!

Not to mention the tons of helpful blog posts out there, too. I love this list of digital marketing resources that seems to cover everything you could ever possibly want to learn.

Honestly, there are so many amazing free online courses available to us. Sometimes the hard part is actually committing to taking the courses! I love this blog post from DIY Genius that discusses how to create a self-directed learning plan.

You might also like my blog post on how to easily achieve goals, or my post on the secret to success, which talks about the importance of learning.

83 Helpful and Free Online Courses You Need to Take

To get you started on your journey of learning, I’ve put together a comprehensive list of 83 free online courses. They are on a variety of topics that any online business owner might want to learn. I’ve taken quite a few of these myself, and consider these to be the best of the best!

If you are trying to find a really good free online course in a specific area, this list will help!

General Social Media

• The Daily Femme’s Social Media 101: Brand new to social media? Krystal Abbott covers the main social media platforms in her 4-week course, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
• Hootsuite’s Social Media Marketing Course: If you want to know the ins and outs of social media marketing, this is the course for you. Hootsuite gives you 3 free courses here, and then you get the option to pay for a certification.
• Udemy’s Advanced Social Media Marketing Course for Picking Up Clients: How to use Facebook groups, niche forums, forums and YouTube to pickup coaching and consulting clients within 48 hours.
• Alison’s Social Media Marketing Course: Alison’s free, online social media courses cover the concepts and application of social media marketing. You’ll learn how to plan and implement a successful social media marketing strategy, with the option to purchase a certification upon completion.
• Goodwill Community Foundation’s Learn Free Courses in Social Media: Very basic 101 trainings. Best for people that are super unfamiliar with how social media works. There are individual trainings for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and more.
• Buffer’s Social Media PR Strategies Webinar: You’ll learn 5 quick ways to build a far-reaching PR and outreach strategy on social media.
• Udemy’s Social Brilliant: This course is a step-by-step guide for entrepreneurs on how to create effective social media marketing for their businesses.

Specific Social Media Platforms

Facebook Page

• Kitz & Co. Facebook SOS: This course is all about the ins and outs of creating a Facebook business page. You will learn how to use your page to actually grow your business without the stress and hassle.
• Udemy’s Facebook Live Marketing Strategy 101: In this course you will discover the “Five T’s.” These crucial elements are something every live streaming broadcaster should use during a Facebook Live for a high volume of viewers. Learn how to create hordes of raving fans and increased conversions with this completely free traffic source.

Instagram

• Alex Tooby’s Instagram Authority 7-Day eCourse: Learn how to transform your Instagram account into a profitable money-making machine with the help of this email course.
• Jenna Kutcher’s 3 Secrets to Get Your Next 1,000 Instagram Followers: Learn how to grow your following and also how to convert those followers into paying clients.
• The Instant Boss Club’s Instagram Challenge: You’ll learn how to take the right photos, research targeted hashtags for your business, and write the captions that attract your audience!
• Udemy’s Instagram Growth Hacks for Beginners: This course will teach you useful Instagram growth hacks. Save time and experiment with massive Instagram growth in matter of minutes. Use for yourself or your clients!

Pinterest

• Moms Make Cents Pinterest Primer Course: Learn how to leverage the power of Pinterest to boost your traffic and build an online presence
• Summer Tannhauser’s Pinterest Power 5-Day Course: The ultimate guide to traffic, leads, and sales through Pinterest.
• Jenna Kutcher’s Pinterest for Profits: How to 5x your web traffic using Pinterest in only 10 minutes per week.
• Dish It Out Social’s Pintastic Skills: Learn how to pin, when to pin, and what to pin, at your own pace.

YouTube

• Jessica Stansberry’s Free Guide to Help You Get Your Business on YouTube: There is a strategy to growing your business on YouTube. Check out this free resource to learn what that is and how to implement it.

Twitter

• Stacey Myers’ 3 Biggest Mistakes You Can Make on Twitter and How to Avoid Them: If you’re interested in learning the dos and don’ts of Twitter, then Stacey Myers is the Twitter addict you need to learn from!
• Madalyn Sklar’s The Secret Sauce to Boosting Your Twitter Presence: With this course, you’ll learn how to grow your presence on Twitter and interact with thousands of people every month through automation and organization.
• Nicky Kriel’s Free Twitter Mini Course: Designed for Twitter newbies, this course will tell you how to make your profile stand out, how to curate a tweet, and how to grow your following.

Email Marketing

• Meera Kothand’s Email Lists for Newbies: If you want to start an email list, you need this email course from Meera Kothand. She covers exactly how to start and what to write about.
• Hubspot’s Email Marketing Certification Course: Hubspot has very detailed online courses that are perfect for all types of learners. They offer video trainings, digital presentations, and transcripts for you to follow along, and learn all about email marketing.
• Jenna Kutcher’s The How-To Guide to Email Lists: Love her Goal Digger Podcast? Check out all of the freebies she offers, including this simple guide to starting your very own email list!
• Create If Writing’s Free Email Course: Grow your email list the right way with this free email course. Learn and implement the best growth strategies from the start!
• Nathalie Lussier’s 30-Day List Building Challenge: Want to expedite the growth of your email list? Nathalie Lussier shows you how to increase subscriber numbers.

Facebook Ads

• Facebook Blueprint: Who better to learn about Facebook advertising than from the powerhouse platform itself! They have all sorts of online resources that show you how to market your business on their platform.

Affiliate Marketing

• Addi Ganley’s Affiliate Blueprint: This is a free 4-day email course that will show you how to make your first affiliate sale.
• Oh She Blogs’ Affiliate Marketing 101: You’ll learn all the secrets of making passive affiliate income through your blog.

Content Marketing

• Udemy’s B2B Content Marketing Training: Learn how to create content marketing in a B2B niche.
• Hubspot’s Content Marketing Certification Course: Hubspot also covers content marketing topics! Their courses are very thorough. You’ll learn how to strategize and produce content.

SEO

• Moz’s SEO Learning Center: There’s no better way to begin your SEO education. Moz is the premier resource on anything SEO, and their Beginner’s Guide will show you how to unleash the power of SEO for your business.
• Udemy’s Whiteboard SEO: All the tips and tricks you need to know about SEO, all in one online course!
• Udemy’s Search Engine Optimization for Business: Additional SEO training from Udemy. This course is geared toward social media managers, executives, and entry-level employees.

Analytics

• Google Analytics Academy: If you love numbers, then you’ll love learning more about analytics! Google offers several courses that will help you understand SEO and how to improve web content.
• Alison’s Google Analytics Course: Understanding website traffic statistics is important in every business. Understanding Google Analytics will make you a more competitive entrepreneur.
• Social Media Analytics: This class covers the basic principles of social media analytics. It’s perfect both for beginners or for marketers who want to refresh their knowledge.

Sales

• Hubspot’s Inbound Sales Certification Course: What the heck is inbound sales? You can learn the methods, the strategies, and how to produce sales all from this awesome Hubspot course.
• Careful Cents’ No More Job Boards: Learn how to get more clients as a freelancer. This course covers client acquisition strategies that don’t require searching through job boards.
• Double Your Freelancing’s Charge What You’re Worth: Most freelancers aren’t aware that they’re operating a business, not a hobby. Take this online course, and you’ll learn how to take charge and build confidence regarding your rates.

Webinars

• Wonderlass’ Webinar Crash Course: Webinars can be a lot of work, but can also really help you boost your income overnight! You can learn how to build, design, and promote your very own webinar here!

Creative/General Writing

• Hedera House’s Unboring Your Writing Course: This is a free mini-course that steps you through easy ways to jazz up your writing by making deliberate choices in style and voice.
• Pen and Parent’s Write 3K in 3 Days: Join this free challenge, and you’ll be able to write 3,000 words in 3 days. Take this course and quickly churn out a few blog posts or newsletters!
• Daniel David Wallace’s How to Write Faster: This course will help you establish a powerful writing habit: writing faster. You’ll learn how to avoid distractions and work in less time. (Can I get an Amen?)
• Jeff Goins’ Become a Better Blogger in 12 Days: Is it possible to grow your blog to over 100,000 readers in 18 months? Jeff Goins says YES and he’ll teach you how to do it!

Copywriting

• Copyblogger’s Copywriting 101: To truly excel as a copywriter, consider taking this copywriting course that will provide you the intensive training you’ll need. It’s designed to get you up and running with the basics of writing great copy.
• Open 2 Study’s Writing for the Web: Understanding the difference between writing for print versus writing for the web starts with learning about how readers behave differently online. This course shows you how to accommodate the needs of online readers through design, writing style, structure and SEO.
• Write With Influence’s Free Irresistible Copywriting Training: Get a glimpse at how today’s top copywriters and savvy marketers are making content as irresistible as cookies or puppies

Freelance Writing

• Creative Revolt’s Make Money Freelance Writing: You’ve got the skills to write great content, you just need to learn how to treat your freelance writing like a business that will pay the bills.
• Mama Hustle Repeat’s How to Make Money as a Freelance Writer: Jumpstart your writing career by learning how to land that first client!
• Elna Cain’s Get Paid to Write Online: This free mini course will help you get your first freelance writing client so that you can earn an income as a writer.

Proofreading

• Caitlin Pyle’s Proofread Anywhere: Some people like writing, while others enjoy proofreading! You can learn from Caitlin Pyle on how to turn this unique skillset into a money-making business.

Transcription

• Janet Shaughnessy’s Transcribe Anywhere: With video content being produced every second of every day, the demand for transcriptionists has grown tenfold! You can learn how to become a transcriptionist and find your own clients today.

Podcasting

• Entrepreneur On Fire’s Free Podcast Course: This Podcast Course covers everything you need to know in order to successfully create & launch your podcast.
• Jump Start Your Joy’s Podcasting Fundamentals: Learn how to start your own podcast and use it to grow your audience and business.

Websites

• Horkey Handbook’s 7 Days or Less to Branded Website Success: A simple step-by-step guide to building and launching a branded website or blog in less than a week!
• Megan Minns’ The Ultimate Guide to Squarespace: Prefer SquareSpace over WordPress? No problem! There are 24 video tutorials in Megan Minns’ course. You’ll feel like an expert in no time!
• Making Sense of Cents’ How to Start a Blog: In this course, you’ll learn how to start a blog from scratch from this popular blogger who makes over 7-figures per year through affiliate marketing!
• The She Approach’s Tweak & Peak Email Challenge: Find and fix the most common blogging mistakes, tweak your website and peak your blog traffic in only 7 days!
• Ali Rand’s Worry-Free WordPress: Learn to maintain your site the right way. Everything from backups to security, you get it all!
• Kotryna Bass’ How to Design Your Own Blog: You’ll read all about Kotryna’s favorite blogging resources and tools, plus some freebies that’ll encourage you to take your blog to the next level!
• Yes to Tech’s Get Your Dream Website: The Epic Website Challenge is a beginner’s 5-step guide to getting your site online FAST. This is perfect for non-techie online entrepreneurs, bloggers, and small business owners. By the end of this challenge, you’ll have all the tools you need to create a DIY website.
• Blog Biz Boss’ Free Beginner WordPress Course: WordPress is known as being a bit difficult to learn. This course will teach you how to set up your own website on WordPress and begin blogging with ease.
• Landing Page Conversion Course: In this actionable course, landing page expert Oli Gardner will walk you through how to create high-converting landing pages. Follow along with step-by-step instructional videos to help you create your own landing pages.

Graphic Design

• Ivory Mix’s Canva Graphic Design Jump Start: In this course, you’ll learn how to design beautiful on-brand professional graphic designs inside of Canva, one of the world’s best free graphic design applications.
• AppleCart Lane’s Graphic Design Mini Course: In this free video course, you’ll learn the top ten graphic design mistakes to avoid (and what to do instead) when you’re creating graphics for your blog or online business.
• Double Bergamot’s Entrepreneur’s Guide to Jaw-dropping Typography: Here is a free resource library that will help any graphic design who wants to enhance their skills!
• Digital Decluttered’s Free Canva Course: Canva is known for being extremely user-friendly for anyone interested in creating graphics for digital marketing purposes. You can learn how to use it in this online course!
• Alison’s Graphic Design Course: This exciting course examines various design elements. You’ll learn all about line, shape, form and texture and design principles, covering composition, balance, contrast and hierarchy.
• Udemy’s How to Create Better Graphic Design: Learn the essential parts of a design and how to enhance it.

Branding

• Wonderlass’ Strong Brand Mini Course: You need a unique brand that stands out. It should showcase YOUR personality and attract the right people. Learn how to do just that with this mini course!
• The Branded Solopreneur’s Breaking Brand Course: Free 7-day email course on branding.
• Elle and Company’s 4-Week Brand Challenge: Create a streamlined brand by taking part in her 4-Week Brand Challenge. It’ll help you feel like your business is uniquely yours, and make you stand out in your niche!
• Tabitha Emma’s Define Your Brand’s Visual Style: If you feel something about your branding is off and you are never quite happy enough with it to stick with it for a long time. Learn how to create a brand that you adore!
• Michaela Hoffman’s 5-Day Build Your Brand Blueprint Challenge: Learn how to build your brand in 5 days.

Automation & Systems

• Brittany Berger’s Business Automation Challenge: Workflow automation — does that sound scary? It doesn’t have to be! Brittany Berger shares her secrets on setting up workflows that help save you time.
• Summer Tannhauser’s Streamline Your Biz Strategy: Plenty of entrepreneurs still don’t even know what systems and processes are, so they really need this 10-day course that will teach them all about business strategy! It covers topics like social media, delegating tasks, and setting up automations.
• My Adaptable Career’s Master Time Management: Time management is a necessary skill to have. But, trust me, it’s not always easy to obtain. You can get a jumpstart on improving this skill through this 5-day email course.

Bookkeeping & Accounting

• Accounting Coach’s Bookkeeping Training: Keeping track of your cashflow is extremely important. Get in the know with these extensive modules.
• Alison’s Accounting Core Practices and Theory: Alison’s accounting course was designed for entrepreneurs who are looking for thorough introduction to accounting practices and the in’s and out’s of bookkeeping!

Other

• Jade and Oak’s Legalize Your Blog: Yawn, am I right? But, seriously…although legalizing your biz and learning the logistics of that isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. Jade Oak helps make the process a little easier (and more fun!) in her online course.
• Alison’s Diploma in Customer Service: Looking to hone in on your customer service skills? This course introduces the fundamental elements of customer service and explains how they can be applied in any organization.
• Soulful PR’s 10-Day PR Challenge: Want to get featured in online publications? Sign up for Janet Murray’s PR Challenge right now!
• Code Academy: HTML, Javascript, you name it! You can learn how to code easily with the free courses here.
• Design Your Own (Lovely) Blog’s CSS for Bloggers Workshop: 4 free video workshop lessons on learning CSS for bloggers, plus free cheat sheets.

Hopefully, with over 83 free online courses listed here, you’ll have found something that caught your fancy.

In my opinion, learning new skills is a super important part of becoming a successful business owner. But that doesn’t mean you have to invest in crazy expensive trainings that break the bank! First, do yourself a favor and try out some of these free online courses. If you want to go further in-depth on something specific, that’s when it might be time to pull out your credit card.

Have you taken any of these?
Leave a comment below and let me know what your favorite one was!