These days the success of a brand relies on good storytelling. Companies use stories to connect with their audience on an emotional level. This way, they evoke empathy, gain trust, persuade people to believe in their mission, and inspire them to take action. Copywriters and content writers are crucial to a brand’s ongoing relationship with its customers since it’s through storytelling they gain trust and develop a bond. We shall be looking at the difference between content writing and copywriting in this article.
Copywriters and content writers are often mistakenly equated, and while there are similarities, they’re not the same thing. They’re not as different as apples and oranges – more like oranges and tangerines.
But they’re both important in forging ties with customers. It is necessary to look into the essence of the activities of a professional writer online to understand which specific specialist is right for your affairs.
What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is mostly concerned with one short-term and high-return objective, which is boosting sales. It’s focused on advertising through ads, sales letters, sales emails, and so on. Copywriters use their skills to persuade people to buy a product or a service through catchy headlines and CTAs.
They use emotional language to prompt their audience to take immediate action.
What is Content Writing?
The goal of content writers is to create content that informs and entertains the target audience and builds trust in your brand over time. Some examples of content writing include blog posts, social media posts, and e-books.
A skilled content writer can come up with dozens of blog posts that don’t even mention a specific brand but still attract potential customers and increase sales. Content writing can turn prospects into customers and customers into repeat buyers.
Blogging is currently much more efficient in terms of time and money than traditional lead generation strategies. Moreover, it gives your brand more credibility by making it an authority on a subject.
Content writers need to have a good handle on SEO to make sure the right people find and read the content.
Copywriting Sells, While Content Informs and Lays the Groundwork for Future Sales
The biggest difference between copywriting and content writing is that they serve different purposes. Copywriting sells your brand to your target audience while content writing subtly tells them about it.
Copywriting is the art of persuading others to adopt a particular idea, brand, or ideology. The best copywriting unites a brand’s products and ideology to generate branding. Copywriting is in its essence advertorial.
If you’re a fan of Mad Men, this is what Don Draper and Peggy Olson did. Their jobs were about selling ideas and emotions associated with products and not the products directly.
Content writing informs and entertains a brand’s target audience while representing the brand’s voice. It aligns with the same marketing goal of selling products or services, but it focuses on the quality of the content. It has to be a good read above all else.
What Do They Have In Common?
Copywriters and content writers also have a lot in common. Ultimately they have the same goal. They just achieve it through different means.
Both try to adapt their language to the target audience and usually write in a conversational style. They also both have skills that are highly sought-after in today’s world.
Tools They Use
First of all, they use tools like Grammarly, Cliché Finder, Hemingway App, and Thesaurus to improve their writing since they both have to produce text that’s readable and compelling.
Content writers usually write longer texts that require more research, so they’ll use apps like Evernote to store their notes and stay organized. You can find another useful tool for organizing research notes here.
Content writers are also more focused on SEO, so they’ll use apps KWFinder, BuzzSumo, and Ubersuggest to find keywords and topics for those keywords to write content that internet users are actually interested in that will generate traffic for their clients.
Lastly, they’ll also use Copyscape or a similar tool to make sure that their content is original and won’t get flagged by Google.
What Makes a Good Copywriter?
A truly skilled copywriter will recognize what a certain target audience wants and will use wit and compelling language to urge their readers to take a specific action.
They research the businesses they work for and their marketing goals which lets them know what voice they need to use to inspire confidence in a brand. The copy they write should be free of jargon and engaging.
They know how to explain complicated concepts in simple terms and use storytelling to trigger the right emotions in their readers.
Lastly, they can do all this in short-form copy that’s very persuasive and meets the client’s requirements.
What Makes a Good Content Writer?
A good content writer is experienced in creating long-form compelling content that’s easy to scan and read. They need to have a good command of the English language and write for a variety of industries.
They also need to have the ability to constantly come up with fresh ideas while also sticking to the client’s deadlines and requirements.
Skilled content writers know what keywords to use to appeal to search engines and what words to use to appeal to their readers and keep them interested.
Which One Do I Need?
It depends on your writing projects, but most likely, you’ll need both. For example, if you only want someone to generate content for your blog, then you should hire a content writer. You’ll also find people that do both but make sure you check if they’re actually skilled in both areas.
Although both are skilled in the art of writing, their level of experience will determine if they’re better at short-form or long-form content and if they can get the reader to take immediate action.
Sometimes it’s also a good idea to combine both content writing and copywriting so you can attract readers by answering their questions while selling them your ideas.
Advertising firms traditionally worked with copywriters, but now that marketing takes place mostly online, they try to find people with both sets of skills to create emotionally charged content that resonates with the online community.
Both copywriters and content writers are capable of creating SEO-friendly content that will increase visitor traffic, but content writers can help you increase your credibility and keep your customers loyal.