Writing 101
Content Writing Vs. Copywriting
Learning the difference between these two important forms of writing
By Abhishek Shridhar, Co-founder, Not Your Idea
Everyone knows how powerful words are. They can impact our thinking, challenge our norms, and bring about a sense of conviction. And words are very well used in the area of promoting brands and businesses, all thanks to content writers and copywriters.
Although copywriting and writing have the obvious similarity of writing in them, both terms serve specific purposes altogether. Just starting out in the writing industry but unsure of what they mean or what to choose? Then you have come to the right place to answer your questions. Continue reading our piece on content writing vs. copywriting to know more.
What Is Content Writing?
To put it shortly, content writing is basically producing content to serve a certain purpose to its readers, mainly in the domain of digital marketing. The main job of a content writer is to produce content that will drive engagement, educate, or entertain. Depending on the type of brand, the tone of the language differs. Although its end goal is to motivate the reader to learn more about the product and build brand loyalty, a well-written content piece will always connect with the reader on some level.
Let us take an example to explain better what content writing does: a cosmetic brand wants to promote and sell its special range of makeup products. How does it generate sales? It does so by providing useful and meaningful content to the reader about the brand, its belief, the range of products offered, etc. Here is where content writing comes into the picture. A content writer will subtly weave the aims and offerings of the brand in a language that convinces the reader to make the purchase. It may be in the form of blogs, long-form articles, podcasts, or social media posts, depending on the type of marketing strategy employed.
With good content writing, leads and sales are easy to achieve, in turn, garnering profitable income for the company. The company is happy with the progress whereas the content writer is proud of the results shown. It’s a win-win situation for all!
Types Of Content Writing
Different types of content writing are used today to scale businesses, engage with the community, build brand awareness, and sell services/products. These are the most prominent examples of content writing you should know of:
- Blogs: They are used to generate traffic to a website and establish a strong brand presence. If done correctly, the number of website views increases, thus giving you a good ROI (return on investment) through increase in sales, downloads, or leads.
For example, let us take a company that provides a plagiarism detection app and uses blogs as the marketing strategy. Blogs on this website will garner website traffic by providing useful information to readers such as grammar tips, effective ways to write better, and so on. These blogs will have links to their previous blogs to ensure the readers stay on the website. And more importantly, there will be CTAs (call to action) links, encouraging readers to download the software. This is how website traffic is capitalized and pushed to drive sales.
On the other hand, there are brands that don’t provide any specific service or product but instead aim at educating the audience. In that regard, the web traffic garnered by blogs helps build brand awareness and credibility. Different types of blogs such as “how-tos”, “10 reasons why”, and more are used to increase brand awareness and achieve a good SEO ranking.
- E-Books: This is a good method to inform readers about subjects that are too long to be covered in a blog post or an article. In addition, e-books can have links to other websites to promote a certain service or product and boost website traffic. Even when it comes to personal brand building, e-books are a powerful tool to establish yourself as a credible source that consumers can cling to. That way, you provide thorough information about your expertise, in turn building trust and authority in your niche.
- PR Writing: Public relations writing is a form of communication that helps the company maintain relations with the public. This type of writing delves into the company’s developments mainly via press releases, blogs, and speeches. Informing the public about what the company is up to requires good and crisp writing, which can be done by a good content writer.
- Advertorials: Often found on websites and magazines, it’s a piece of content that informs the reader about a specific subject while simultaneously subtly promoting a product.
What Is Copywriting?
Copywriting is an important element of marketing and advertising. At times, copywriting is also referred to as “marketing writing”. It is text mainly used to market a product in a particular way. If we have to find an apt definition of copywriting, it would be the art to form concise yet convincing phrases to coax the reader into purchasing a product. And of course, its end game is to drive sales.
There’s a lot of process and thought put in to write a good copy. The copywriter needs to have a thorough understanding of the brand, its strategy, target audience, and the right string of emotions to harp on. Since copywriting is usually smaller in length, striking the right chord with the audience must happen within those few words. For example, if the copy is for an outdoor billboard, the connection between reader and copy needs to happen within 5–6 words. Likewise, for a copy that’s a bit longer, say for a Google Ad or a social media post, the written content needs to connect instantly.
Is Copywriting Only About Sales?
Good copywriting grabs the reader’s attention in a jiffy which may lead to conversion. But, not everything is about sales in the world of copywriting; its tenets are slightly broader in this day and age.
Social media has become an important aspect of the digital landscape as it helps to forge communities, build awareness, and has the knack to enhance engagement. That’s why many brands have jumped on the social media bandwagon too. And with good copywriting, a brand can rope in the right target audience, form an engaging community, and develop brand recall too.
Just look into the social media pages of your favorite food ordering app or clothes brand. You’ll notice how their copy inspires and suits the target audience via quirky captions or memes, which in turn develops into engagement and community building.
Types Of Copywriting
From hoardings containing advertising copy to promotional pamphlets, examples of copywriting are much closer than you imagine. But when it comes to strategizing your marketing campaign, there are certain types of copywriting you should know of:
- Marketing Copywriting: Anything that is promotional in nature comes under marketing copywriting. It can include flyers, billboards, branded stickers, and online display ads. Marketing copywriting has an intent to sell.
- Direct Response Copywriting: Examples include popups, descriptions of limited-time offers, and landing pages of a website after clicking on an ad. Direct response copywriting is anything that encourages consumers to take action and is a great way to get responses from your customers. The ‘Join Now’ button that you see on the landing page is the direct response that pushes the customer to avail of the service or product.
At times, some websites have a pop-up, asking the customer to sign up for something the company offers, and it usually appears while scrolling or switching pages. This is another form of direct response that requests the customer to stay on page.
- Social Media Copywriting: A great way to connect and generate interest with your target audience and get leads. With the advent of many social media platforms, you can research where your target audience is spending most of their time and then formulate your copy accordingly. Social media copywriting promotes community engagement, brand recall and awareness.
The Distinction between Content Writing And Copywriting
The Intent
Content writing and copywriting have different objectives altogether. Content writing focuses more on storytelling and engaging with the reader. The sales aspect is not pushed in your face and the content provided is informative but tailored in such a way that it promotes brand loyalty.
Copywriting, on the other hand, has a clear intention of generating leads or even converting them to sales, although there are instances where copywriting is used just for brand recall and not for generating a sale. The approach is more strategic and more emphasis is given to CTAs while covering the tone and message of the brand.
The Length
Copywriting is generally shorter in length than content writing. Content writing mainly deals with creating engagement with the reader. That’s why more content is required to establish that connection.
Since copywriting is punchier and shorter, its content is to the point, concise, and doesn’t leave much room for storytelling.
The Objective
Community engagement and brand recall are some of the main goals of copywriting. That’s why you see clear-cut CTAs such as ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Start your free 15-day trial now’ at the end of a landing page or on offline verticals as well such as billboards. In short: copywriting is generally more direct and plays on emotion to drive a sale. Also, copywriting establishes community engagement and brand recall as well through social media.
While copywriting follows a more direct approach, content writing chooses the subtler path for the most part. Whether it’s for blog writing or advertorials, content writing mainly focuses on engaging an audience and building a strong base of customers.
So What’s It Going To Be For You?
Copywriting and content writing are two distinct terms that cannot be used interchangeably. Both have different objectives, lengths, and approaches. So the next time you’re planning your content marketing strategy, remember to keep these points in mind so that you can use the right content for the right vertical!
