Courses : The Book Shop School for Ads Online

Introductory Workshop, Intermediate Workshop, Advanced Workshop, Copywriting/Body Copy/Radio Workshop (this class is for writers only), Art Direction/Layout Workshop (this class is for Art Directors only) and coming soon, Digital Creative. Note: Our Digital Creative class is for both Copywriters and Art Directors but should not be taken until you have completed the Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced level online course here (or at least have taken advertising concept classes elsewhere where you received feedback on your ads).

Copywriters and Art Directors typically work as a team in the creative department at an ad agency (and occasionally in small groups), so the first three workshops are designed for both to learn how to come up with ideas and create attention-getting ads for a portfolio. We then have a class just for the Copywriters to learn how to write the body copy for their ads and also how to write award-winning radio spots. For Art Directors, we offer a course on layout, type style choices and designing your ads to catch attention.
(Art Directors note: you will need to know how to use design programs on your computer such as Photoshop, In Design, Illustrator, etc. We do not offer these courses, though many local colleges do).

Each class runs for a “semester” that goes for nine weeks. You will watch videos of our actual instructors teaching as well as view examples of the style of ad they are focusing on and in some cases can download examples to view at home while working on your assignments. You must complete and submit a week’s assignment before you will be able to move on to the next week. Once you have submitted your work to your provided instructor, you will wait for their feedback and then after the week has passed, move on to the following week. This is how we do it in our “live” classes because it is really important to be sure to spend enough time on each week’s assignment to get the most out of the workshops. There is no way to “rush” this process. Be sure that you are absorbing each style of ad we cover and understand why the sample ads we are showing are working well so that you can emulate them for your own ad ideas.

If your goal is to finish a portfolio, we advise that you complete the entire series of classes. Each class is designed to prepare you for the next. So any single class simply won’t be enough to be able to build the kind of portfolio you’ll need to get a job in today’s market. If you have never had any ad classes before (where you were given assignments and received critiques/feedback) then you should start with Introductory. Merely working at an ad agency won’t quality you to start at higher level classes and you will miss the foundation we teach in the Introductory course that prepares you for the rest of the classes. Please note: If you live anywhere near the Los Angeles area and can take classes in person we recommend that, but if you are taking our courses online due to distance or time constraints etc, we suggest that after completing all of our courses on this site, you consider taking our Teams class here in LA in person to get the experience of working with someone else as well as adding even more invaluable ads to your portfolio.