In the world of online marketing, it may be hard to distinguish between copywriting vs content writing. Essentially, both are different types of writing that focus on getting people to take action. The goal of content writers is to build relationships with followers and increase their conversion rate. With the use of copywriting, your business will receive a high return on investment.
While the two have many similarities, copywriting requires a deeper understanding of human psychology. As a result, the learning curve for copywriting is considerably higher than that of content writing.
In this article, we will discuss a few ways that these two differ and how they can be used in your marketing efforts.
What is copywriting?
Copywriting is a form of advertising that uses words to sell a product or service to a specific audience. Copywriting is intended to influence and persuade a reader to purchase the advertised product or service. Unlike content writing, copywriting is generally fast-paced and aims to grab the reader’s attention by being entertaining and persuasive.
What is a copywriter, and what does a copywriter do?
The copywriter is responsible for creating the message that will be used as a sales tool. There’s a wide range of copywriting job types a copywriter can deliver; here are some of them –
- Emails & newsletters
- Online ad copy: LinkedIn, Twitter, Google/PPC ads
- Social media promotional posts: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
- Marketing copy
- landing pages
- Video scripts
- Brochures and advertisements
- Case studies
- Products advertising
Copywriting examples
Copywriters must have the ability to find the exact right words to tell your business’s story to the audience. Here are some good examples of well-written copies.
Trello
Check out the copywriting on Trello’s home page. If you don’t know about Trello then a quick look at their home page will give you a crystal clear idea about their service. It’s the perfect example of great webpage copywriting.
Glossier
The primary goal of copywriting is to convert a visitor into a customer or lead. A CTA can make someone want to do things like subscribe to a newsletter, join a group, browse categories, or buy something.
Here’s a CTA example from the Glossier home page –
What is content writing?
In short, content writing is creating content for a website or blog. It is essential for online businesses because it helps them gain a loyal following. This type of writing requires technical skills and tailoring your writing to the audience.
While copywriters focus on promoting their clients’ products and services, content writers focus on generating organic traffic through platform-specific search results. Bloggers who know their stuff know that the best way to achieve marketing objectives is to write content that builds brand awareness and establishes your authority on a topic by demonstrating your knowledge of it.
The type of jobs content writers do are:
- Blogs
- Whitepapers
- Social media posts
- Industry research
- Product Descriptions
- E-books
- Magazine
- Market research articles
- A tutorial course
- SEO Content
To put it simply, content writing aims to educate by simplifying a complex subject matter through the use of clear and concise language. Those who have never heard of the subject matter should be able to follow along. What the author discusses in his or her articles should give readers a clear understanding of their questions and problems.
Content writing examples
Like copywriting, great content writing will depend on what the business wants to say and how it plans to reach its customers.
Perzonalization
Perzonalization, a SAAS company, achieved incredible success through blogging. They created blog articles on the topics their target audiences were looking for and thus gained loyal followings. Their overall sales grew over 800%, primarily because of their blog.
Skills for copywriting vs content writing
Copywriting skills
Listed below are some skills that you should learn in order to become an excellent copywriter::
- Experience Writing for a variety of industries: In order to be a successful copywriter, you need to be able to write content for a variety of industries, such as technology, travel, healthcare, etc.
- Empathy: Copywriters strive to evoke positive emotions in their readers through their writing in order to entice them to buy their product or service.
- Team player: Because copywriters collaborate with marketing teams on a daily basis, it is beneficial for them to be a team player and to collaborate effectively with others.
Content writer skills
Successful content writers have these skills:
- SEO knowledge: In order to drive traffic to a company’s website, content writers use SEO and keywords to point visitors in the right direction.
- Research skills: To create informative copy, content writers conduct additional research to substantiate their claims and facts.
- Headline creation: To entice readers, content writers create compelling headlines that attract readers to read their articles.
Storytelling matters most nowadays
Today, the brands that do well are those that tell stories. They use stories and empathy to get people to connect with marketing. They build our trust, make us want to act, and convince us that their mission is important.
Most However, storytelling is an integral part of developing a long-term relationship with customers—and it is a two-way street. Prior to selling anything, you must establish trust. Customers need to understand that your first priority is not to sell them but to help them.
In the end, it’s a delicate balancing act between copywriters and content writers. But both of them are essential for establishing meaningful relationships with customers.
It’s helpful to know the differences between a copywriter and a content writer if you’re putting together a team internally or working with an agency. Doing so will help you find the right person to tell the story of your brand.
Copywriting vs Content writing – Key Differences
1. Copywriting vs Content writing – Overall Goal
A copywriter makes content to make their readers want to read it, while a content writer makes content to educate their readers. In order to sell something, copywriters use a call to action at the end of their text. Content writers try to build brand loyalty by writing articles that are both educational and fun.
2. Copywriting vs Content writing – Content-Length
Short-form copy is typically written by a copywriter, while long-form content is typically written by a content writer. To entice their readers, copywriters keep their sentences to a minimum. Content writers, on the other hand, tend to go into greater detail when describing a process or topic.
3. Copywriting vs Content writing – Tone of writing
When speaking to their audience, copywriters use a conversational tone to engage them. Because content writers are more informative than other types of writers, their tone is frequently more formal.
4. copywriting vs content writing – Deadlines
Copywriters must meet strict deadlines in order to meet their clients’ requirements. Because copywriters produce longer pieces of content, their deadlines are typically more flexible in order to accommodate time for research.
5. Content writers educate, while copywriters sell
A copywriter is in charge of convincing your target audience to purchase your product or service. A content writer, on the other hand, provides information, education, entertainment, or instruction to readers.
While copywriting is more direct and requires immediate action from the reader, content writing builds a relationship over time. The goal of content writing is not to convince your reader to buy right away but to foster a relationship that can lead to future sales. With this in mind, it’s important to know the difference between copywriting and this other form of writing. For example, one type of copywriting will be more aggressive than the other.
6. Content writer builds a foundation for future sales
Even if they aren’t directly selling anything, content writers are still concerned with selling. Producing valuable content leads to sales.
The goal of content writing is to nurture a following that can grow over time. In other words, content writers will continue to make updates on their followers and help them make a decision based on that knowledge.
7. Copywriters evoke urgency and emotional responses
Copywriting is effective for your business when it’s infused with a sense of scarcity or urgency.
The goal of copywriting is to inspire a customer to take an action. The goal is to grab the reader’s attention and move them to take a specific action. It might be signing up for your website’s newsletter or purchasing an expensive electronic device. There are many different styles of copywriting, but they all share the common goal of moving your audience to perform a desired action.
Content writers, on the other hand, want to build a loyal following. As we mentioned earlier, their goal is to build consumer confidence and establish the company as a trustworthy source of information.
8. Content writers are typically more concerned with SEO
SEO is a key part of content writing. The process of optimizing a website for search engines allows the website to rank high in search results. This is very important to achieve proper communication with your clients and potential clients. It is vital to select the keywords and topics for your blog content. When choosing topics and keywords, make sure to consider SEO as your goal. The right content writer can help you achieve your marketing goals and engage customers.
The primary purpose of hiring a content writer is to increase inbound links. SEO-savvy content writers have a lot to offer. They’ll assist you in selecting topics based on search terms that are relevant to your business objectives.
Hiring an SEO content writer can be tricky. You must inspect how much SEO they have done in the sample content they submitted for you to check.
Your content writer should know the ins and outs of SEO. It is the most efficient method of reaching your targeted audience. In addition to learning the basics of SEO, your writer also needs to have a thorough understanding of your industry and its competitors.
Copywriting vs Content writing – When to use
When to use copywriting
Use copywriting when you’re trying to accomplish the following:
- Selling your product or service to customers
- Clearly statingwhat your company is all about
- Build a sense of urgency
- Establishing a web presence with the goal of motivating visitors to complete a specific task
- Converting your visitors into leads or buying customers
When to use content writing
You should use content writing when you aim to achieve the following goals:
- Educate your readers on a topic
- Transferring information to your audience
- Build trust and loyal followings for future sales
- Concentrating on SEO and increasing website traffic
Wrap up
Both copywriting and content writing are crucial elements in developing a successful content marketing strategy for your company.
There are some differences between copywriting vs content writing, even though they both contribute to a company’s visibility and credibility. It’s essential that you understand these differences so that you can use them to your advantage in digital marketing.
FAQ
Copywriting is a form of advertising that uses words to sell a product or service to a specific audience. A copywriter is responsible for creating the message that will be used as a sales tool.
In simple words, content writing is creating long-form content for a website or blog.
A major difference between copywriting and content writing is the approach. The goal of content writing is to inform your audience while copywriting focuses on moving them toward a sale. Both types of writing can be effective, but the latter is often better for sales. Content writers can create long-form content while copywriters can write short-form content. Both are important for your business.
In most cases, copywriting is the best place to begin. Why? It is more difficult to become proficient at copywriting. It requires a higher level of expertise because your writing must be persuasive.
Even though it can be mastered with practice, you shouldn’t expect to become an expert overnight. However, as your skills as a copywriter improve, your ability to write content will inevitably improve as well.
You become a better content writer if you learn how to write copy. Writing a lot of content improves your copywriting skills. In order to craft an effective sales pitch, you’ll need to tie these elements together.
