Writing classes from Portland to New York

Learn to write blog posts, web pages, emails, press releases & more

• Writing workshops near me
• Course descriptions
• Why our writing workshops?

Writing workshops near me

Clear writing course Austin, TX | April 1-2, 2020	“Absolutely the best money I’ve ever spent. I learned more about writing for my audience from Ann in one day than I have in any other seminar.” — Carie Behounek, marketing communications coordinator, COPIC Companies	Email-writing training course Los Angeles | May 6-7, 2020
Creative writing workshop Cincinnati | June 16-17, 2020	Writing process workshop Portland, OR | July 22-23, 2020	PR writing workshop Kansas City | Sept. 24-25, 2020
Persuasive writing class Salt Lake City | Oct. 14-15, 2020	“Amazing! I learned more in two days than I did in all my college classes combined. I feel so much more confident in writing pieces that work!” – Katie Johnson, public relations manager, Iowa Soybean Association	Web-writing workshop New York | Nov. 12-13, 2020

Sorry, we do not currently offer online courses or online writing classes. The only way to learn Ann’s system is to attend one of her writing workshops.

“A semester’s worth of knowledge in a few hours.”

— Amy Kappler, communications specialist, Burgess and Niple
Read more rave reviews.

Course descriptions

In our workshops, you will learn how to:

Ready to improve your core writing skills and get up to speed with the latest best writing practices? Choose from these 2019 writing workshops:

	Catch Your Readers In our persuasive-writing class, you’ll learn how to: Think Like a Reader. Move people to act with persuasive writing. Go Beyond the Pyramid. Master a structure that reaches more readers. Cut Through the Clutter. Make your message easier to read & understand. Lift Ideas Off the Page. Reach nonreaders with display copy.
	Get Clicked, Read, Liked & Shared In this content writing course, you’ll learn how to: Think Like a Friend, Fan or Follower. Write posts and status updates that readers really want to read. Fill In the Blanks to a Better Blog Post. Learn Ann’s recipe for organizing content marketing pieces, then use it as a template for tipsheets, survey stories and case studies. Cut Through the Clutter on Social Media. Hit the right targets for blog post length, online paragraphs, sentences & words. Lift Ideas Off the Screen. get your message across to skimmers, scanners and other nonreaders.
	Write Better, Easier & Faster In our fast-writing training program, you’ll learn how to: Master a five-step writing process that works with with — not against — your brain. Stop staring at a blank screen when you develop a plan for your story, from research to story angle to structure. Experience the joy of “flow” — when your fingers fly across the keyboard to keep up with all of the great words pouring out of your head. Save time obsessing over commas. And let’s deal with the biggest time-suck of all: approvals.
	Master the Art of Storytelling In our creative-writing workshop, you’ll learn how to: Craft brilliant stories using our fill-in-the-blanks template. Make Magic With Metaphor. Charm readers with analogies and comparisons. Paint Pictures in Readers’ Minds. Make their brains light up. Play With Your Words. Surprise and delight readers.
	NOT Your Father’s News Release In our PR-writing workshop, you’ll learn how to: Think Like a Reporter. Develop stories that media outlets want to run. Write Hot Releases. Tap current best practices, from lead to boilerplate. Write Killer Bites. Turn lame-ass quotes into snappy sound bites. Optimize for Google and Humans. Master SEO for releases.
	Reach Readers on the Small Screen In this mobile web-writing workshop, you’ll learn how to: Get to the point faster. Reach web visitors where their eyes are. Master the Web Writing Structure. It’s been proven in the lab to be more effective than the form you’re using now. Cut Through the Clutter Online. Because ‘short is too long for mobile.’ Lift Ideas Off the Screen. Reach nonreaders with display copy.
	Rev Up Readability In our clear-writing class, you’ll learn how to: Reach Real Readers. Get a reading-level reality check with results from the latest U.S. literacy study. Cut Through the Clutter. Measure, monitor and manage clarity with a cool (free) tool! Take the ‘Numb’ Out of Numbers. Make statistics understandable and interesting. Start Making Sense. Get the gobbledygook, jargon and gibberish out of your copy.
	Think Inside the Inbox In this email-writing training course, you’ll learn how to: Address the envelope. Recipients look at four elements — not just the subject line — to decide whether to open or delete. Are you making the most of each? Master an email newsletter-writing structure that boosts readership, understanding, engagement and more. Cut Through the Clutter in Email. Recipients spend, on average, 51 seconds reading e-zines and 11 seconds reading email marketing blasts. Now what? Lift Ideas Off the Email. Only 19% of people thoroughly read emails. How do you get the word out to nonreaders?

Sorry, we don’t currently offer online writing classes. The only way to learn Ann’s systems is to attend her live workshops.

Why choose our writing courses?

Are you a corporate communicator, public relations professional or digital marketer who needs to improve your writing skills or polish your writing style?

Do you want to:

• Get up to speed on the latest best practices in blog-post writing, email marketing, writing for the mobile web or digital PR writing?
• Move people to act with persuasive writing?
• Master the art of corporate storytelling?
• Start writing better, easier & faster?
• Measurably increase readability?

“I learned more about communications writing in two days than all of my previous trainings over the past seven years combined.”

– Christine Rochelle, content manager, iCIMS

If so, polish your skills and find new inspiration for your work at one of our upcoming business writing classes.

When you choose a Wylie Communications writing class, you’ll:

1. Walk away with proven-in-the-lab best practices.

No doubt about it: Our trainer Ann Wylie is a nerd. While you’re out having fun on a Friday night, Ann’s more likely to be cuddled up with a warm study.

All of those Friday nights and all of those studies have resulted in a system of data-driven techniques that get readers to:

Pay attention to your message
Understand it
Remember it
Act on it

How do we know our system works? It’s the same approach Ann’s used to earn more than 60 communication awards, including two IABC Gold Quills — the Pulitzer Prizes of business communications.

“This was the best writing workshop I’ve ever taken. It was packed with best practices backed up by research.”

— Liz Carmack, senior communications specialist, Texas Association of Counties

2. Get tips and tricks you can use tomorrow.

Tricks trump talent every day. When it comes to communication, marketing and PR writing, whoever has the most tricks wins.

At our writing workshops, you’ll get fill-in-the-blanks formulas for crafting corporate stories and metaphors … recipes and templates for writing blog posts and news releases … tools and targets for measurably improving readability … models for quickly organizing stories of all kinds … and tricks, tactics and techniques for handling dozens of other writing issues.

Want to test-drive Ann’s tips? Sign up for our free online newsletter focused on writing.

“This is the best writing class I’ve attended in my 25-year PR career.”

— Mark Alden, PR manager, National Semiconductor

3. Master the techniques you learn in class.

In the crunch of writing headlines and meeting deadlines, it sometimes seems as if there’s not enough time to pause and consider how you’re doing.

But our Master Classes include workshops. In these practice sessions, you’ll get a great opportunity for reflection and improvement.

Bring your laptop and a story to work on. You’ll learn new techniques, practice them, get feedback from Ann and the class, edit and rewrite, and leave with a totally rewritten piece. That’s how we put the Master in Master Class.

“I cannot believe how much I changed and improved one piece in this session. I also enjoyed the ability to hear more from the other professionals in the room. Very interactive, which I loved.”

— Megan McCarl, public relations associate, Lambert, Edwards & Associates

Questions? Contact Ann directly.