Content creation is an integral and important part of digital marketing. It is also a common thing that users won't find your content while browsing the internet unless you create the content. Content is always the force behind successful digital marketing campaigns including search engine optimization and social media marketing. Each and every piece of content always provides the opportunity for your business to prospective customers. It is normal to mix up two types of writing but worry not, the purpose of this article is to give you the crystal clear difference between Content writing and Copy writing.
These days, the most successful brands are storytellers. The appeal to the human dimension of marketing through storytelling and empathy. They gain the trust of the customer and inspire them to take action and give them belief in their mission. Storytelling is part of an ongoing relationship with customers. Before you actually start to sell anything in the market you need to build trust. Customers need to know that your main priority is not to sell your product, but rather to help them.
In this journey content writers and copywriters play different roles. They both are very much important in building meaningful connections with customers.
What is content writing?
Content writing involves the creation of text content to educate or inform the readers. Content writing is responsible for writing to provide value and building trust with the audience. It may drive sales but it's not the primary purpose.
Examples of content writing include;
- Blog posts
- E books
- White Paper
- Tutorials
- Newsletters
- News articles
- Evergreen articles
- Case studies
What is copywriting?
Copywriting is the act of writing on websites or pages with the ultimate goal of raising awareness or conversion from direct traffic. It involves the creation of text content to persuade the readers to take some type of action related to your business sales process. In other words,, a copy is written for brand purposes or to generate sales. If you are trying to sell a product, for instance, you will need to convince the customer that it's worth buying. The copywriter would need to learn the nitty-gritty of the business to write compelling and effective copies.
You can read also WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY?
We can measure everything in copywriting such as conversion rates, cost per acquisition, and cost per result. With the right testing tools and methods, businesses are able to grow exponentially at the lowest cost possible.
Examples of copywriting include;
- PPC landing pages
- PPC ads
- Cost per mile CPM ads
- Social media ads
- Product pages
- Websites sale copy
- Sales E-mail
Top 4 differences between content writing and copywriting
1. Intent
When it comes to writing intent, these writers are distinct in their writing styles. A copywriter writes in a way that is persuasive and compelling to the readers. The job of a copywriter is to write a sales page so compelling and irresistible for the audience. Copywriters want to make the people take immediate action. They will want readers to download something, sign up for the newsletter, or buy a product.
“To win the click or the sale, you must not only answer the reader’s question of ‘why this?’, but also ‘why this now?'” explains Nick Wolny, Director of Content at Super Connector Media.
On the other side, a content writer writes in a way that feels neutral and informational. The intent of the content writer is to connect the brand to the audience emotionally where trust can be built. A content writer's job is to make your brand trustworthy and credible.
2. Objective
A content writer writes content for various blogs, pages, websites, youtube videos, and news lattes to educate leads and subscribe for future selling opportunities. The only focus of a content writer is to engage with the audience and consistent engagements will lead to better relationships. Trust is a huge driver of buying decisions in any industry.
A copywriter writes various advertising campaigns, brochures, and flayers to drive to demand capture channel. After leads are captured, the copywriter will then nurture those leads to the point of sale. The copywriter threads urgency and scarcity into the headline to elicit fast action.
3. Emotions
Emotions are the massive difference between content writing and copywriting. Copywriting is that the latter often invokes an emotional response while the former doesn't. According to research conducted by Harvard University professor Gerald Zaltman, over 9 in 10 consumer purchases are driven by emotion.
Fear of missing out may compel a customer to buy a product so that he won't miss out on its benefits. With the rise of social media, many customers now feel compelled to buy and use new products after seeing their friends use them in their social media posts. FOMO is just one of many emotions frequently invoked in copywriting. Others include security, pride, comfort, a sense of belonging and instant gratification. Savvy marketers leverage these emotions in copywriting to persuade readers to take action.
4. Approach
Both writers approach their work differently. From the way they speak, you would know that their intentions and approach to the objective are pretty clear. Sometimes, you need both to sustain your business it depends on your marketing plans.
A copywriter always asks, How I can sell better? The copywriters gathered the information online and offline to achieve the objectives. Copywriters put on sales content to ultimately persuade the audience to buy the products or services.
A content writer will always ask, What kind of content would resonate with the audience? The content writer researches and takes note of current trends users are searching for on search engines.
Content isn’t always easy to measure in the short term. Good content strategies (like white hat SEO strategies) take time to pay off. An SEO you should trust is the one that tells you that this stuff takes time,” says Jon-Mikel Bailey, CDMO at Wellspring Digital.
Conclusion
Before you hire a writer for your marketing campaign takes a vast view of your marketing objectives, sometimes you need a content writer or a copywriter, or both to achieve your goals. It is also important to discuss the job scope and capabilities to make sure you get the ROI that have planned.
