Content Writing

Content Writing Is Not Copywriting

The purpose of content writing is to inform while the purpose of copywriting is to sell. Content writing sells through information, product description, features, and benefits; copywriting sells though emotion. One is directed toward the long-term customer, the other toward the short-term customer. One attempts to build a long-term relationship, the other is more interested in a short-term result.

Copywriting by its very definition is about advertising, which is usually about selling either a product, an image, or a reputation. Content can do the same thing but it is usually more low-key and less demanding.

Content and copywriting are both necessary but serve different purposes and are not interchangeable. The hype in copywriting can create a need for a product but only in certain types of buyers.

There are two major types of buyer: the informed buyer and the spur-of-the-moment buyer. The informed buyer usually compares products and prices while the spur buyer reacts in the heat of the moment. Writing that works for one does not work well for the other because different things motivate them.

Can one person do both. Yes! But that person must be careful to change his or her mindset from one assignment to the other. Both types of writing are about communicating; however, the type of communication is different. Both types of writing require that the writer pay attention to the intended audience.

As an example, if you are writing to doctors, you may use complex medical terms but if writing to the patient, you must explain those terms or find other ways of describing those medical terms. Of course this is obvious, but it does seem to get overlooked.

As a content writer, you must understand the product, what it does, its features, and its benefits. This means the first step is research, regardless of the type of writing. You can only write from knowledge. Ignorance of the product will be detectable by those who do understand that product.

Grammar is also important but so is style and tone. If you write down to your readers, some will detect that and assume you think you’re smarter than they are. This is a turn-off in writing as will as speaking. Even if you are smarter, the trick is not to advertise it but to make your words understandable to as many people as possible in your intended audience.

Copywriting sells but so does content writing, just to different types of people. Content is a must for product descriptions, company history, and many other pages on a web site. Copywriting in its true form is only for selling and should only be used for that. To use copywriting for content is to demean you viewers and your product.