If you want true insights into a company’s culture and future direction, look no further than its internal training. A company’s education system, or lack thereof, indicates its cultural era: The Dark Age or The Age of Enlightenment.
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CopyPress was born on the tail end of a Dark Age (late 2010). We were overly focused on the sacrament of content production, rather than on the achievement of the ultimate goal: conversion of attention and money for our clients.
Slowly, Enlightenment began reforming our culture and strategy. Tactics rooted in antiquated, SEO tradition were replaced with strategies spawned from research and testing. Education sprouted from new understandings and ongoing learning was institutionalized. With this commitment to education, we finally embraced our Age of Enlightenment.
The Content Age of Enlightenment
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Two months ago, CopyPress formally launched the Content Marketing Learning Center. It embodies our commitment to two core values:
- Empowerment of Community (i.e. client base, contractor community, in-house staff, Tampa-based community, Internet marketing community)
- Commitment to Learning and Certification
Our commitment to empowering and educating our community means that our training material must adapt to different needs and learning styles. Our ebooks, like Click it with Feeling, suit solo learners, while classroom training, like our recent free training in New York, provide valuable interaction. The CopyPress Webinar Series provides cutting-edge insights. And, the CopyPress Community Center offers internal staff and contractors in-depth training and certification.
Why Do We Certify Writers?
Raubi Perilli has done a phenomenal job in creating and implementing the training and testing process. For the most part, the community response has been extremely positive. But, occasionally, we’re questioned as to the reasoning behind testing and training experienced writers.
We test and certify for three main reasons:
- Each type of content offered by CopyPress is designed to produce a specific type of conversion. A seasoned writer may write superbly. But, if his words fail to produce the desired conversion, we’ve failed the client. Certification and ongoing quality checks assure our content consistently produces the desired result.
- CopyPress is excited about empowering marketers and writers who want to hone their craft. We do not have time to waste on people looking to turn a quick buck with minimal effort. Certification weeds out the slackers.
- In the near future, writers will be able to display their certification badges within an open forum. This will further empower our community to seize control of their career path.
What is involved in the certification process?
The CopyPress certification process is divided into 3 parts:
- Training material is assigned to each type of content and marketing activity. The first step is the reading and understanding of the material.
- Knowledge Tests are multiple choice, timed, and must be completed within one sitting. If the test taker fails the first attempt, only one more chance is allowed.
- Written Tests must be taken within two days of the Knowledge Test. In the case of ShareBait, it is 500 words and is graded on the proper execution of the following criteria: Ideation, Headlines and Subheadings, Writing Skill, Formatting, Research, Images, Editing. Those receiving an overall written grade under a B are encouraged to retake the written test to improve their score and increase their chances of receiving assignments.
Ushering in Your own Content Age of Enlightenment
I’m really proud of what we’re building at CopyPress. But more importantly, I’m inspired by the progress and dedication I’ve witnessed in the hundreds of marketers, writers, designers, publishers, and managers within our Community. I welcome you to join and give me feedback on how we can improve our ongoing education.
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