To start, steal this!
If you see a paid course in writing/journalism/publishing, ask about scholarship options and sliding scales. If not for you, then for someone else who might benefit from what’s being taught.
I’ve slid into DMs, written emails and social media comments and had surprisingly pleasant responses to this (usually ‘we didn’t even think of that,’ or ‘oh, we do offer those and you’re right, we should tell people we offer those so they aren’t scared off by the price tag’). Here’s what I usually say —
Hello <name>
Hope this finds you well! I noticed you have a course on offer titled <name> that runs for <price>. Do you happen to offer any scholarships or sliding scale plans?
While I don’t personally need financial aid to access to this course, I feel passionately about access to paid resources in our industry. Often, even one or two scholarship slots can open up <subject matter/industry> to people who may be marginalised socio-economically. This goes a long way in decolonising our industry [I sometimes include region-specific stats on publishing/journalism etc.]
Happy to answer any questions or concerns you have about alternative payment plans [this is sometimes when they ask how they know if someone is ‘actually’ marginalised - let me know if you want to know how I approach that!]
Best,
Akanksha
P.S. It hopefully goes without saying: if you can afford a course, especially if it’s by a smaller organisation or creator, please pay for it and don’t steal the opportunity from someone else.