SA Writers' College succeeds in antipodes

From local is lekker to hyper-localisation: Township consumer trends to watch this festive season

Mongezi Mtati

SA Writers' College, New Zealand has seen its first year figures double those of its local counterpart in the newly opened branch. Nevertheless, South Africa has not been far behind with a 200% increase in local signups over the same timeframe (June 08-July 09).

Founded in 2005, the college offers a range of online business and creative writing courses, including writing for the web, press release writing and a range of journalism options with experienced industry professionals facilitating and tutoring the courses online.

With a marketing approach on both continents relying almost solely on Google ads and targeted-keyword content to drive recruitment, 2009 figures also show a significant increase in South African sign-ups, despite the economic downturn.

According to founder Nichola Meyer, this is largely a result of people wishing to broaden their skills base. “We have noticed that people are looking to upskill to stay competitive. They realise that comprehensive writing skills in the workplace are important and want to increase their chances of promotion, or broaden their employment opportunities.”

The college provides staff training to key clients from over 30 companies, including the SABC, Multichoice, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Mediaweb, Highbury Safika Media, British American Tobacco, New Media Publishers, Media24 and the Democratic Alliance.

The South African site www.writerscollege.co.za now has a sister site www.nzwriterscollege.co.nz.