If you’ve ever found yourself wondering exactly what the difference is between copywriting and content writing, then you’re not alone.
The two terms are very often confused with each other. And while there is a slight overlap, the truth is there’s a world of difference between the two crafts.
In this short post, I’ll explain just what that is and compare and contrast copywriting vs content writing.
What is Content Writing?
Content writing tends to be long-form, informational content that is written to educate or entertain the reader in some way.
Generally speaking, word count isn’t too critical meaning the writer can be as expansive as they like. Although too expansive and readers may soon click away… A content writer still needs to be concise and on-point to give the reader what they want – generally an answer to a question, a solution to a problem or to be entertained or informed on a subject they’re interested in.
Content can take the form of newspaper and magazine articles, blog posts, eBooks and longer-form social media posts. It will teach the reader something or offer a form of escapism via entertainment. There may or may not be an element of sales within it. A couple of examples:
If you’re looking for tips and advice on how to write great content, you’ll find some awesome resources online. Here are some I recommend:
- What is Quality Content and How Do You Create It?
- Branded content explained
- How to write branded content
What is Copywriting?
The purpose of copywriting (or ‘copy’ as it’s known) is to persuade the reader to take a form of action.
This action is often sales related, but not that’s not always the case. Actions could be to:
- sign up for a brand’s email list
- click through to a landing page (where more great copywriting will persuade the next action
- buy a product
- share with a friend
- watch a webinar
- listen to a podcast
So, whereas content writing tends to be long-form, copywriting is more often shorter in length – but not exclusively so!
A sales page can be very long if it needs to be. If a product has lots of benefits and features then the sales page is where a copywriter would shout about them. And this could well mean quite a few words. But each of those words will be carefully crafted to persuade the reader to take a specific action.
So, copy can be long-form. But it can also be the exact opposite – super short. As well as anything in between.
When you think about the types of places where copy can appear, you’ll begin to understand that sometimes a copywriter may only have a handful of words to get the message across. And this is what makes the craft so difficult.
Whereas a content writer can employ several sentences to explain a thing, a copywriter may only have a few words.
Some Examples
A banner ad
Take this web page banner for monday.com:
This great example highlights one of monday.com’s features. In just 6 words, the text on the left explains the benefit to the reader. The image shows a Gantt chart in case the reader doesn’t know what one looks like. And the CTA text on the button leaves me with no doubt that if I click it, I will be shown how.
The message has been conveyed very succinctly in only 9 words.
Each of those words has been carefully chosen, and every one of them plays its part. How can you tell? Because not one of those words could be removed without the banner then not making sense.
A brand email
Let’s take another common example – a brand email.
This blends a little of the two previous examples given above. Whereas the body content of the email can be slightly wordier, the email header and the subject line can’t. And not only do they need to be short, but they also need to compel the reader to click through from their inbox to read it.
Before we expand on this example, a quick question – do you know what a good open rate for emails is…? According to Mailchimp, the average open rate is 21.33%. So nearly 80% of business campaign emails are never read.
And to be in that 21% is going to take both guile and craft.
The header is vital. Get this wrong and it doesn’t matter how good the content of the actual email is, as very few will click through to read it. The header should lead with the benefit to hook the reader.
The subject line is next in importance. It needs to expand on the header and compel the reader to click through in a different way than the header did.The example below from Babbel does a great job of this. The header tells me straight away what the benefit to me is. The subject line then tells me the flavour of the promotion, so I know before I even open the email the crucial elements of the offer.
Once a reader clicks through, then the first lines of the body email are crucial, too. They need to get straight to the point and explain the benefit the header promised. If this isn’t made obvious straight away, you may lose the reader within seconds.
Babbel do a great job of this, too. I can almost read the whole thing at a glance and all of the important information is there.
So, as you can see, there’s a lot that goes into the choice of those short headers and CTA’s. I’ve found that copywriting requires lots of listening, lots of empathy and a good dose of psychology.
A copywriter needs to understand the client and the product(s) and build a bridge with words to meet the potential customer where they are. And this very often needs to be done in very few words.
If this is whetting your appetite and you’re keen to learn the craft of copywriting for yourself, I’ve reviewed the fantastic value course that I took that taught me all of these things.
Where Do The Two Cross Over?
Content marketing is the area where the two methods get a little blurry.Content marketing is a slightly different beast from branded content. Branded content tends to lean more towards entertainment, and any brand representation tends to be very subtle, like the fabulous Back to the Start from Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Branded content allows a much freer reign and can play a crucial role in allowing a brand to tell stories unfettered by the need to sell specific things.
Content marketing focuses on specific topics and issues that are frequently searched by a target audience. Content is then created that answers those questions, enabling the brand to become a trusted source of information and guidance for people with that question.
Within the article, there will be strong recommendations of products and services that will solve that problem or answer that question.
So content marketing is very tailored. As such, it needs to be persuasive. There’s some wiggle room for a content writer to weave in some stories, but ultimately the words will need to be clear in the recommendations and have a very strong CTA in order for the reader to take the action the writer wishes them to take.
Understanding who the target reader is is vital for successful content marketing – brands have more than one customer type, and one of the best pieces of advice I got was to know which one your article is aimed at before writing a single word.
Does a Business Need Copywriting and Content Writing?
In a word, yes.
When considering copywriting vs content writing, it is perhaps useful to think of them as complimentary to each other rather than in competition with one other. Having great sales pages with awesome copy will definitely sell products and services. But without content articles, those sales pages are often selling to a cold audience.
Content articles make it much easier for a brand to build trust with people. And it’s easier for a person to trust a brand if they don’t feel like they’re being sold to…
Let’s use an example to illustrate how the two forms of writing can really complement each other. Let’s say your business is in the outdoor space, selling a range of outdoor gear – boots, tents, backpacks, cooking gear etc. And let’s imagine that the blog for this company has lots of content that shows the products being used by real people on real adventures.
A piece of content writing could tell the story of a weekend adventure in the wilds, with lots of gorgeous photos or a video, with the adventurers using various different products from the brand. The written content could link out to the individual sales pages for each of the items used. And on each of these ‘sales’ pages will be finely crafted copy that serves to highlight the benefit of the products as well as their unique features.
In this marriage of content styles, the content writing has ‘warmed’ the reader up to the idea of buying the product(s). And the sales pages then use persuasive language to encourage the reader to take the final step and purchase the item(s).
Copywriting vs Content Writing – The Takeaway
Both copywriting and content writing a vital for a business. Understanding the difference between the two types of writing lets us see that a mix of both gives a brand the best opportunities to deeply connect with its customers and offer them true value – both in terms of the content a brand provides and the products and services it sells.
A good content writer will understand the wily ways of the copywriter and pepper persuasive words within the content articles. And a good copywriter knows the difference between the benefits and features of a product and, through empathy, can craft creative angles through which to persuade the target audience to the required take action.If you’re in need of a copywriter or a content writer, I can help. Head over to my portfolio page to see examples of my work and feel free to get in touch via my contact page.