10 Best Business Writing Courses to Master the Art of Business Writing

Unlock your business writing potential with our expertly curated list of today’s best business writing courses.

Effective communication is key to success in today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment. Good business writing is essential to convey ideas and information clearly and persuasively, whether writing emails, reports, proposals, or white papers. However, only some possess the natural talent to write effectively, which is where business writing courses can be valuable.

With so many online and in-person options, finding the right course that suits your needs can be challenging. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the best business writing courses, including grant writing, white paper writing, and other forms of business writing. So, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced writer, our expertly curated list can help you take your business writing skills to the next level. Check out our guide on how to write a business letter!

Best Business Writing Courses to Master

1. Tips For Better Business Writing

Who It’s For: Business professionals

Tips For Better Business Writing
This course promises to cover many aspects of business writing that will help to improve your professional image in the eyes of colleagues and superiors

In Tips For Better Business Writing, students will learn the fundamentals of business writing in various formats, including writing white papers, business memos, reports, and more. You will also learn how to subtly alter the business writing depending on how it’s being presented, whether in an email, formal printed presentation, office-wide memo, or something else. This course promises to cover many aspects of business writing that will help to improve your professional image in the eyes of colleagues and superiors.

LinkedIn Learning offers tips For Better Business Writing as part of their complete online courses package. After a free, sometimes available trial, the current cost is $19.99 per month, billed annually. Subscribers can avail of all the online courses on the LinkedIn Learning platform. You might also find our guide on the best business writing skills helpful.

Pros
  • Taught by a proven business writing expert, Natasha Term
  • Course completion will earn you continuing education units from the NASBA
  • Covers a broad range of business writing environments
Cons
  • Those with previous business writing experience might find the material redundant
  • It’s very basic material that a seasoned writer would already know
  • A lot of focus on how to write in general instead of specific business-writing focus

2. Taking Effective and Accurate Meeting Minutes

Who It’s For: Business professionals

Taking Effective and Accurate Meeting Minutes
This course offers valuable shortcuts for structuring, templates, and more

The Taking Effective and Accurate Meeting Minutes course is a rare opportunity to learn how to take accurate notes effectively that won’t detract from the meeting experience. One of the things that business people need help with is how to remain engaged and take notes simultaneously. This course offers valuable shortcuts for structuring, templates, and more.

The American Management Association offers Taking Effective and Accurate Meeting Minutes for $199 for non-members and members alike. Membership offers a vast assembly of other business courses, as well. This is an on-demand course in webinar form that includes a recorded archive of the course, available for a year afterward.

Pros
  • Provides practical ways to improve business note-taking that can be implemented immediately
  • Short, one-session course is easily digested
  • Teaches skills that are highly adaptable to many different note-taking situations
Cons
  • Pricey if you only plan on taking advantage of the one course at AMA
  • Lack of personal engagement since it’s a pre-recorded Zoom course
  • Requires some previous knowledge of how business meetings typically work

3. Professional Business Writing Masterclass

Who It’s For: Business writers

Professional Business Writing Masterclass
This is a true masterclass in that it teaches essentially everything you need to know about business writing

The Professional Business Writing Masterclass comprises eight and a half videos that can be accessed at your convenience, 29 downloadable resources, various assignments, and one article. This is a true masterclass in that it teaches essentially everything you need to know about business writing, including nuances like the difference between paraphrasing and rewriting, how to substantiate ideas, and much more.

Udemy, the respected online course platform, offers the course. At the cost of $84.99 with a 30-day money-back guarantee, the value is good. Taught primarily with online video lectures with downloads and assignments to follow along, this course requires nothing more from you than a basic understanding of English.

Pros
  • Comprehensive coverage of business writing skills
  • Easily digestible videos of between four and 21 minutes in length
  • Very straightforward and concise with little to no “banter”
Cons
  • A lot of information to absorb; it could be overwhelming for some
  • Does not earn you any continuing education credits
  • Material is presented in a dry manner that can be tedious

4. Proposal Writing Course

Who It’s For: Business writers

Proposal Writing Course
The Proposal Writing Course will empower you to write a well-structured and effective business proposal for any need

The need to write business proposals comes up in every business situation, whether it’s a proposal for a business merger, a proposal for expansion, or a proposal to gain investment funds. The Proposal Writing Course will empower you to write a well-structured and effective business proposal for any need.

Offered by Instructional Solutions, the price of $895 may seem excessive until you see that it also offers a live, one-on-one coaching session where your final proposal is critiqued so that you will end up with an actual business proposal that you can use for your unique purpose.

Pros
  • Feels very personal
  • You end up with an actual business proposal that you can use
  • Can be done as a group or as an individual
Cons
  • Cost is likely too high to make sense for just one person
  • Focuses solely on business proposals to the exclusion of everything else
  • For best use, it requires you to have an actual and current need for a proposal

5. Fundamentals of Grant Writing

Who It’s For: Grant writers

Fundamentals of Grant Writing
The course covers the entire range of the grant writing process

This six-week, 24-hour online course, Fundamentals of Grant Writing, is offered by the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel in cooperation with Ed2Go. It’s taught by renowned grant writer and trainer Dr. Bev Browning and is an excellent option for novice grant writers. By the end of the course, the grant writing process will be clearer to you.

The course covers the entire range of the grant writing process, from researching which grants might be available to planning the grant request to making a project budget that will attract the best grants. The cost is only $159, and completion of the course qualifies you for 2.4 continuing education credits.

Pros
  • Comprehensive material coverage of the fundamentals
  • You’ll learn where to look for grants as well as how to write grant requests
  • Offered by a business-minded organization
Cons
  • Perhaps too much information packed into a 24-hour course
  • No downloads
  • This covers only the fundamentals, so more coursework will likely be needed.

6. Technical Writing Foundations Course

Who It’s For: Technical writers

Technical Writing Foundations Course
The course promises to teach how to write effective technical documents, generate ideas, and write succinctly

Technical writing is in high demand in modern business, but there is a shortage of skilled technical writers. Whether you’re a beginner, considering technical writing, or aiming to become an expert, the Technical Writing Foundations Course can elevate your technical writing skills.

Technical documentation is not a uniform task, and this course presents a flexible framework that promotes critical thinking and discernment in technical writing. Additionally, you’ll receive personalized feedback on your technical writing.

This course is available from Instructional Solutions for individuals and groups. The online version for individuals is self-paced at the cost of $645. The course promises to teach how to write effective technical documents, generate ideas, and write succinctly.

Pros
  • Strong emphasis on business technical writing skills, directed toward professionals
  • Self-paced so you can learn at your own pace
  • Progression of information that builds on previous lessons
Cons
  • Pricey
  • Little to no engagement
  • The presentation is as dry as the subject matter, so it requires a high level of commitment

7. Content Writing For Business – Getting the Fundamentals Right

Who It’s For: Content writers

Content Writing For Business - Getting the Fundamentals Right
This course is aimed at existing writers who may want to expand their service offerings to businesses

Content Writing For Business is a course taught through the Skillshare platform. The instructor is a professional business content writer with 14 years of experience. Monica Samuel teaches about gathering information, researching, understanding the audience, creating a scope of work, and creating templates to streamline business writing content.

Skillshare offers the course for $168 per year, with a free trial period of one month. This course could be completed within that one-month free trial period. This course is aimed at existing writers who may want to expand their service offerings to businesses. The instructor suggests you have a project you want to work on, so you can apply her teachings to your work.

Pros
  • Taught by a writer with real-world experience
  • The instructor brings a broad range of experiences to light for instructional purposes
  • Helps with confidence when approaching businesses for work
Cons
  • Geared toward working intermediate-level writers
  • The quality of the videos is not great
  • Focuses more on organization than practical business writing skills

8. Technical Writing by Google

Who It’s For: Technical writers

Technical Writing by Google
In this course, you will learn what technical writing looks like and how to write clearly.

The Technical Writing by Google course focuses on writing technical documents, including software documentation, user manuals, and API guides. You will also learn about the technical writing role of engineers and gain access to additional technical writing resources, like style guides and more. You will learn what technical writing looks like and how to write clearly.

Notably, this is the same writing course that Google engineers take. So, for an investment of your time, you get access to the same coursework that the highest-ranking engineering professionals use. This free course includes pre-class lessons to prepare beforehand and in-class lessons with other students or facilitators, namely universities, software companies, and other businesses.

Pros
  • Access to top-level technical writing instructional material
  • Access to technical writing resources that aren’t available to everyone
  • Learning in a real educational environment
Cons
  • Not available online; must be attended in person
  • Assumes existing writing skills
  • Free of charge

9. How to Write White Papers

Who It’s For: Freelance writers

How to Write White Papers
By the end of the course, you will be able to write a white paper, although it’s likely that more practice and experience will be needed to gain complete confidence in writing white papers

The course, How to Write White Papers, begins with an almost 13-minute introduction to marketing white papers. This is telling, as the course promises to familiarize students with the reasons behind white papers and how to write them effectively. It examines why white papers pay more than other types of copywriting and how to become a white paper written by the end of the course.

Udemy offers the course for an affordable $49.99 and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The course includes two hours of video that can be watched on-demand and five downloadable resources. By the end of the course, you will be able to write a white paper, although it’s likely that more practice and experience will be needed to gain complete confidence in writing white papers in the future.

Pros
  • Affordable
  • Has a hand-holding approach that writers lacking confidence will appreciate
  • Gives substantial background information about white papers
Cons
  • Little help on how to get white paper writing paid work
  • Two hours of video isn’t enough to obtain proficiency
  • The videos are full of stock imagery that feels generic

10. How to Write a Business Report

Who It’s For: Freelance writers and professionals

How to Write a Business Report
The course goes into how to structure the report according to its objective, who to land on an appropriate voice for the report, how to plan it out, and how to format the report

The course, How to Write a Business Report, will teach you the fundamental principles of business report writing, including common reasons for business reports, objectives of business reports, and what a quality business report looks like. The course goes into how to structure the report according to its objective, who to land on an appropriate voice for the report, how to plan it out, and how to format the report so the reader easily absorbs the content.

This is yet another business writing course offered by Udemy. At just $19.99, a lot of value is packed into the 2-hour instructional videos plus one downloadable resource. The course gets into the various types of business reports, so there is a foundation laid for the subsequent business writing instruction.

Pros
  • Easy course to complete in only two hours
  • Certificate of completion provided
  • No prior technical knowledge required
Cons
  • Very much an introductory course for those who have little to no experience with business reports
  • The videos are impersonal and full of stock imagery
  • Not very engaging

Selection Criteria

The courses were curated based on specific selection criteria that include applicability to modern business needs, accessibility for busy professionals with limited time for online learning, and the professional background of the instructors. 

Why You Can Trust Me

I have been a freelance writer for over ten years, serving the writing needs of business clients in a range of niches. I’ve personally written white papers, business proposals, and business reports, and these courses cover all the material you would need to write in a business environment.

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Author

  • Kate has been writing since she was 10 years old, tapping away on an old typewriter in her childhood bedroom. Today, Kate is a seasoned freelance writer with over 10 years of experience writing for print and online media. She’s an avid reader and believes in the power of words to transport readers to new worlds, and inspire and nurture creativity. Kate is also a published author and is currently working on her next project.