Copywriting vs Content Writing – What’s The difference?
Do you know those words that people use interchangeably but mean completely different things? Evoke vs invoke, effect vs affect, advice vs advise…just to name a few!
In our industry, we find this happens a lot with copywriting vs content writing. A lot of professional writers don’t even know the difference. Luckily for you, we’re coming to the rescue and you’ll never use the words incorrectly again.
What’s the difference between copy and content?
Copy is simply text. That’s all.
When it comes to marketing and websites, copy is written information to hook a person’s attention or to encourage them into an action.
Content can be created with or without copy. When it comes to marketing and websites, content is information that is being delivered for a specific purpose and reason. Content can be in the form of videos, articles, podcasts, emails, etc.
Why does copy matter?
If you have a business, you’re going to need a lot of copy. Website copy, ad copy, social media copy, marketing brochure copy, copy, copy, copy!
Essentially everything you do for your business revolves around copy. Because of that, it’s extremely important you know what kind of copy you’re looking for! Wow, we’re saying copy a lot. Stay with us.
Social media has changed the way we write online. But, copy is just as important as ever. You have mere seconds to catch someone’s attention on your website or social media before they exit out or scroll past. Your writing better be damn good to hold those eyes.
The words that you put out on behalf of your company are going to directly impact your business. It will play a part in conversion rate, brand reputation, customer retention and customer relations. Good copy is nice, but great copy will increase leads and sales.
Then, there’s bad copy. Mistakes on the page, jokes that don’t hit. Bad copy can lead to total digital marketing failure and could even lose you sales.
What is copywriting?
If we could take a guess, you’re probably here because you’re looking for copywriting for your website.
Ding Ding Ding! You’re in the right place.
Copywriting is weaving words together to help a person take a profitable action. It doesn’t sound as pretty as we’d like it to, but copywriting serves a needed purpose. The weaving of words, brand voice, manifestos and a company’s ethos takes a kind of magician to make it come together.
Some of the most common copywriting examples include:
- Product and service pages on websites
- Google ads
- Social media ads
- … Really any kind of ads
- Website pop ups
- Website headings
What do all of these things have in common? They are things to help a business make more money. This means that copywriting helps to drive sales for a business.
What makes good copywriting and why do you need it?
In the examples above, it’s not paragraphs and paragraphs of copy (like this article). The examples are short, sweet and to the point. A copywriter only has a handful of words to get the point across before a person gets bored and loses interest.
Good copywriting convinces a person that they need your product or service right now. And, if they wait even another minute, their lives will never be the same. We may be being a tid bit dramatic, but copywriting needs to hook and convince someone that their life will be *that* much better with the product or service.
You need good copywriting to help your business make sales and grow. But, you can’t only have sales-focused copywriting. Because if that’s all you have, people will feel too pushed to make a purchase and turn away from you.
That’s where content writing comes into action!
What is content writing and do you need it?
Content writing is used to help educate and entertain an audience. This type of writing helps someone get interested enough to check out your business or come back for more content in the future.
It’s not necessarily about making a sale, it’s about building and growing an audience of people who are engaged with your business. They’re potential leads who may grow into customers through a longer buyer journey. Think of this as building a friendship with someone before dating them.
Some of the more common content writing examples include:
- How to articles
- Informative articles (like this one)
- Case studies
- Newsletters
- Social media captions
- Website content on about page
You need content writing to not seem like a crazy sales person who is obsessed with sales and won’t stop until you buy the dang thing! You know those sales people we’re talking about. They’re normally the ones who come to your door and it always seems to be at dinner time.
Content writing helps tell a story and helps educate people. It gives them more information to help ensure that they’re an informed buyer.
What does Steady Studio provide?
Now that you know the difference between copywriting and content writing, you’re likely wondering what we provide? At Steady Studio, we are brand storytellers. We connect with target audiences through emotion-based writing. We’re not Instagram content creators or robotic SEO zombie writers, we are real people crafting real words for our clients.
We combine copywriting and content writing to create the perfect mix of both. Our writing engages audiences, educates them and encourages them to take action.
We believe that creating really good copy matters for every single business out there. And when you partner with the right company, your website wording can tell your story and help bring in new loyal customers at the same time.