How copywriting is different from other types of writing

The one thing that makes copywriting different from other writing is its intent.
Copywriting aims to sell something. That something might be a car (a product). It
might be a restaurant (a service). Or it might be a brand (Nike). Regardless, if
copywriting is involved, that copywriting is designed to sell something.
Typically, copywriting asks the reader to do something, such as buy a product, visit a
website, or call a toll-free number to place an order. If a piece of text does not ask
the reader to do anything, it is probably not copywriting. Creative writing entertains,
technical writing explains, news writing informs, but copywriting asks readers to do
something.
Copywriting also differs from other kinds of writing in its tone. Marketing copy tends
to be informal rather than formal. It takes liberties with grammar. One. Word.
Sentences. For. Example.
Copywriting also has a sense of urgency about it. The sense you get in reading
effective marketing copy is that you face a challenge or a problem, that there are
consequences you want to avoid, and that the advertiser has a solution for you.
Copywriting tends to end with an imperative. Call now! Buy today!
As for style, copywriting tends to feature simple words, short sentences, short
paragraphs.
Copywriting is “words that sell,” in any medium
To define copywriting as “text that advertises a product, service or brand” is not to
limit that text to advertisements only. Copywriting is any text in any medium that is
designed to sell something. Radio commercials, for example, involve copywriting. A
copywriter writes the words that the announcer reads out loud over the air. Same
goes for television commercials. Radio and television commercials are written by
copywriters.
Any message designed to sell something or market something features copywriting.
These messages include:

• newspaper and magazine advertisements

• brochures
• factsheets
• flyers
• catalogs
• online banner ads
• online text ads
• sales letters
 • promotional postcards
• television commercials
• radio commercials
• billboard advertisements
• bus shelter advertisements
• product packaging
• point-of-purchase displays
• mobile advertisements
• Facebook and Twitter advertisements
• YouTube commercials
• promotional messages on the sides of commercial vehicles
• slogans
• product names
• company names
• radio and television jingles
Copywriting sells brands, not just products and services
What is copywriting? Copywriting is text that sells or promote brands. Apple, for
example, makes a product called the iPad. They offer a service called iTunes. But the
Apple name is the brand. The company is the brand. Someone sat down one day and
created that brand name. It might have been Steve Jobs. It might have been Steve
Wozniak. Or it might have been a copywriter. Copywriters create brand names as part
of their copywriting duties.
Slogans are also copywriting. Apple, for example, once used the slogan, “Think
Different.” That slogan was likely created by a copywriter. Good slogans feature good
copywriting. They capture the essence of a brand or a customer problem or a unique
product benefit in a few words.
Copywriting includes the written word and the spoken word
What is copywriting? Someone once defined copywriting as “salesmanship in print.”
There are two things wrong with this definition of copywriting, of course. Sales people
aren’t just men. Women also sell. And copywriting is no longer limited to print.
Copywriting is seen offline and online. But the essence of this definition is correct:
Copywriting is selling with words. A copywriter is a sales person behind a keyboard.
Copywriting can feature the written word and the spoken word. Promotional messages
in a newspaper ad or an online ad are there to be read. Promotional messages in a
radio commercial or television commercial are there to be heard. But those
promotional messages, whether read or heard, are copywriting in action.
Copywriting is also a profession
Writers who write promotional messages are called copywriters. The profession they
are in is called copywriting. One writer may say, “I want to get into technical
writing.” Another might say, “I want to get into script writing.” And another might
say, “I want to get into copywriting.” Some colleges offer courses in copywriting, and
some colleges include a class on copywriting as part of a diploma program in
marketing. Most copywriters learn the craft on the job, either as freelance
copywriters, or working as copywriters at advertising agencies.
Types of copywriting
There are five main types of copywriting: print, outdoor, online, broadcast, branding.
1. Print: Print copywriting, as the name implies, is copywriting that appears on
printed sheets of paper. Print copywriting includes:

• newspapers
• magazines, both consumer and trade
• brochures, factsheets, specification sheets and other sales collateral
• point-of-purchase displays
• promotional messages in theater programs
• promotional messages in retail flyers
• direct mail
• case studies
• catalogs
• telephone directories (such as the Yellow Pages)
2. Outdoor: Outdoor copywriting is promotional messages that appear in public
spaces. Outdoor includes:

• billboards
• bus shelter ads
• ads on the sides of buses
• subway ads
• portable sign ads (the type placed on the side of the road in front of a business)
• elevator ads
• signage
• vehicle signage
• telephone booth ads
3. Online: Online copywriting is promotional messages that appear on, or are sent
through, the Internet. Internet copywriting includes:

• banner ads on websites and social media platforms (such as Facebook)

• online text ads (such as Google AdWords ads)
• online display ads
• promotional messages sent by email
• mobile ads (that appear on smartphones)
• text ads (that appear in texting apps on smartphones)
• e-commerce product pages
4. Broadcast: Broadcast copywriting is promotional writing that is broadcast to an
audience using electronic means. It includes:

• radio ads
• television ads
• television infomercials
• cable television ads
5. Branding: Branding copywriting is promotional writing that promotes an
organization or an event, as opposed to a product or a service. Brand copywriting
includes:

• company naming
• product naming
• service naming
• slogans
• taglines
• themes for conferences, conventions and other meetings
Two main audiences for copywriting
Advertisers aim their promotional messages at one of two audiences: consumers or
businesses. These two types of copywriting are usually referred to as:

• Business to Consumer, or B2C

• Business to Business, or B2B
Business to consumer copywriting is copywriting that is written by a business and
directed at a consumer. That consumer is generally an individual. John Deere, for
example, manufactures a line of riding lawn mowers that the company markets
directly to homeowners. In consumer magazines, John Deere places advertisements
that are written for individuals who are in their target market of individuals who
might want to buy a riding lawn mower. These ads are business to consumer ads, and
stress the benefits that individuals enjoy by buying a John Deere riding lawn mower
(comfortable seating, easy operation, good fuel economy, and so on).
John Deere also markets this same line of riding lawn mowers to John Deere dealers
and retailers. John Deere promotes its line of mowers using business to business
promotional messages, such as product announcements, sales letters and promotional
announcements. These messages are business to business messages, and stress the
benefits to the dealer or retailer of selling the John Deere line of products (such as
generous wholesale pricing, easy financing, simple return policy, reasonable payment
terms and warranty).
Specialized copywriting
Some promotional messages are easier to write than others. A simple point-of-
purchase display, for example, is easier to write than a 12-page product brochure. But
there are also a few types of copywriting that require their own level of expertise.
SEO copywriting: SEO copywriting involves writing for the internet in such a way that
the copy stands the best chance of being ranked well in search engine results. SEO
stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO copywriting is the act of writing copy that
is optimized for search engines. This is a special skill. SEO copywriters must write
their headlines, subheads, body copy and links using the keywords that consumers
enter into search engines, yet without using tactics that the search engines penalize
(keyword stuffing, for example).

Specialized copywriting
Some promotional messages are easier to write than others. A simple point-of-purchase display,
for example, is easier to write than a 12-page product brochure. But there are also a few types of
copywriting that require their own level of expertise.

SEO copywriting: SEO copywriting involves writing for the internet in such a way that the copy
stands the best chance of being ranked well in search engine results. SEO stands for Search Engine
Optimization. SEO copywriting is the act of writing copy that is optimized for search engines. This
is a special skill. SEO copywriters must write their headlines, subheads, body copy and links using
the keywords that consumers enter into search engines, yet without using tactics that the search
engines penalize (keyword stuffing, for example).

Direct response copywriting: An industrialist once remarked, “Half the money I spend on
advertising is wasted. The problem is, I don’t know which half.” Direct response marketing aims to
solve this challenge by using only those tactics that can be tested and measured. Direct response
copywriting is writing designed to solicit an immediate action from the prospective consumer, an
action that can be tracked. Direct response copywriting includes direct mail and direct response
television.

By using coded response mechanisms (such as reply coupons in direct mail packages and
designated toll-free phone numbers in direct response television commercials), direct response
advertisers track the response they get from each promotional message in each channel (print,
mail, email, online, for example). Direct response copywriters must understand the types of
appeals and types of offers that appeal to their target audience. They must understand how to
test messages, formats, offers, and so on. And they must know how to interpret results (response
rates, open rates, cost of acquisition, and so on).

Radio and television copywriting: Selling products and services through radio and television
commercials requires a set of skills unique to these mediums. Radio, for example, relies entirely
on the spoken word, music and sound effects to communicate with potential buyers. Radio is also
a format that limits promotional messages to 15-second and 30-second spots. Copywriters who
specialize in writing radio commercials must develop expertise in writing for the ear, and writing
to the clock.

Television has the same time constraints as radio (commercials are typically 15 seconds and 30
seconds long), but has the added challenge of motion. Print ads are stationary. Television
commercials move. Television copywriters write messages that are accompanied by moving
visuals. Like radio, television commercials have a start, a middle and an end. Writing effective
television commercials (commercials that generate sales, that is) is a rare skill.

Business to business copywriting: Selling to a businesses requires a different skill set than selling
to consumers. For one thing, you invariably have more than one audience. Software firms that sell
design software to Fortune 500 firms, for example, must make a business case for their product
that all stakeholders buy into. The designers have to want the software. The folks in IT have to be
able to install and update the software. Management has to calculate the return on investment.
The folks in finance have to approve the purchase. Each of these audiences has a different need
from the same software product, one that effective B2B copy will address.

Sales cycles for business purchases tend to be longer than sales cycles for consumer products. A
consumer looking for a new laptop will research online, compare features between brands and
models, compare prices, and then make a purchase. Total time: one week.

A business with 10,000 employees scattered across North America, on the other hand, will not buy
10,000 new laptops in a week. They will spend time researching manufacturers, preparing a
request for proposals, reviewing proposals, interviewing select vendors, negotiating with their
chosen vendor, thinking about their decision, and then placing a purchase order. Total time:
months (years in the case of some purchases, such as aircraft and municipal construction
contracts). Copywriters who specialize in business to business copywriting understand these
challenges and develop skills that met the unique needs of business buyers.

What copywriting is not

Content marketing writing is not copywriting. Writing a blog post is not copywriting. Writing an
article is not copywriting. Writing that is designed simply to inform or to educate (as most content
marketing writing is designed to do) is not copywriting. Copywriting always sells something.

Technical writing is not copywriting. Technical writing is designed to explain how something
works. Some copywriting promotes products and services that are technical (software, for
example), but that is is not technical writing. That is technical copywriting.

Public relations writing is not copywriting. Someone writing a new release is not writing copy.
Someone who writes speeches, position papers, media briefs and news releases for a living is not a
copywriter. They are not involved with copywriting. That’s because the goal of public relations
writing is to inform, to persuade or to change perceptions. But the goal of copywriting is to sell
something. The end result of copywriting is that someone buys something.

The easiest way to understand the difference between copywriting, content marketing, technical
writing and public relations writing is to see them in action. Let’s say that Netflix offers a new
service that costs $91 a month and requires a router (piece of hardware) that you attach to your
TV.

1. A copywriter writes a promotional message that advertises the service and asks people to
start their paid subscription. The goal of the copy is sales. That’s copywriting.
2. A content writer crafts a blog post about how this service compares with competing
services. The goal of the writing is education. That’s content writing.
3. A technical writer writes a guide that explains how to connect and set up the router. The
goal of the copy is understanding. That’s technical writing.
4. A public relations writer writes a new release that invites the media to the launch event.
The goal of the copy is publicity. That’s public relations writing.