A basic online media sales course should cover the terminology of digital media, digital platforms and advertising. It should cover negotiation strategies, proposal writing and the basics of subjects such as search engine optimization, website analytics and inventory and affiliate networks.
There are a number of institutions offering training in online advertising sales. The pricing and duration of these courses is extremely variable. Participants can expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a single day overview to several thousand dollars for multiweek customized training.
Although the subject of online advertising sales is fairly new there are a handful of books on the topic. Titles such as "The Online Advertising Playbook: Proven Strategies and Tested Tactics from the Advertising Research Foundation" by Joe Plummer, Stephen D. Rappaport, Taddy Hall, and Robert Barocci and "Local Online Advertising For Dummies" by Stephanie Brown and Court Cunningham can supplement training. Reading them before investigating training can help salespeople focus on the areas they need to learn.