Copy is an essential part of any marketing strategy. It’s the text that communicates your message, offers, and promotions to your audience. Whether you want to hire a writer or write yourself, you may wonder if copywriting and writing copy are the same thing.
Copywriting and writing copy both refer to the process of writing targeted text. The two terms are pretty interchangeable, but copywriting is more formal and is often used by professionals. Copywriting is also a specific career, while people in many different jobs may be asked to write copy.
In this post, we will discuss copywriting vs. writing copy, the qualities of good copy, and what you need to do to become a great copywriter.
Writing Copy Vs. Copywriting: Is There A Difference?
Both writing copy and copywriting result in the same result: Copy. The copy is written to persuade a given audience to take a specific action.
In the marketing industry, copywriting is the term that is commonly used instead of writing copy.
Although the two terms basically mean the same thing, they may refer to a difference in the level of skill sets. Writing copy simply describes the act of creating text.
Therefore, it’s more prevalent among groups of writers that possess basic skills and may not be specifically trained.
On the other hand, copywriting is the term that is applied to writers with advanced skills in creating copy with purpose and emotion.
It also implies that the writer possesses other crucial skills (such as SEO) to help the copy rank higher on search engines. Copywriting is a career while writing copy is simply a thing people can do.
Amateur writers usually possess a basic understanding of language and grammar, but they may not be as effective as their more experienced colleagues.
Over time, they can learn to write with a flair and style that distinguishes them as copywriters. The ultimate goal of copywriting is to appeal to readers’ emotions and get them to heed the call to action.
What Are The Qualities Of Good Copy?
High-quality copy is vital in this highly competitive era. It can help a brand stand out from the competition. In addition, excellent copy enables you to attract leads and boost conversions.
The following are characteristics of brilliant copy, so you know what to emulate as a copywriter.
1. It Is Excellently Written
Great copy should employ the use of proper grammar and spelling. Any errors are an automatic turnoff to the readers and will negatively impact your conversions.
In many cases, grammatical errors are associated with scammers. However, writing compelling copy requires more than just proper mastery of grammar and spelling.
Proper sentence construction, brand voice, transitional words, and style/individuality are also essential. The ability to write comes from years of experience, practice, and continuous learning.
As such, it is easy to distinguish beginner copy from professional work.
2. It Is Orderly
Good copy is organized with the interest of the reader in mind. It does not throw in random words to fill a page. It is easy to comprehend and flows from one section to the next.
This ensures that organization is maintained throughout the copy.
While stories are meant to captivate the audience and keep them interested, they can quickly get confusing if they’re not used in an orderly way.
Therefore, stories should be well organized and to the point. If they’re used correctly, stories can elicit the desired response from the audience.
Ultimately, presenting your ideas in an orderly manner helps the reader follow along. The copy fails to engage the reader if your message is unclear or confusing.
You’ll lose potential customers with this approach.
3. It Is Original
Originality makes copy stand out among the sea of messages online. The internet is fast-paced, and consumers do not have time to read boring posts.
In addition, information is often repackaged over and over, leading to stale content. Original copy keeps the audience interested. It also helps a brand portray itself as unique and credible.
Aside from enticing your audience, original copy is great for search engine rankings. In turn, this helps you gain visibility.
4. It Gets Readers To Take Action
The ultimate goal of copywriting is to get readers to take a specific action, such as signing up for a course, downloading a resource, or making a purchase.
It does so by using compelling calls to action at the end of the copy. However, the CTA is not the only factor that convinces readers.
Other factors (such as clarity and formatting) influence the reader’s choice to take action. For instance, if your copy has a great CTA, but the body is boring and confusing, it may not convert.
What Does It Take To Be A Great Copywriter?
A lot has been said about the qualities of excellent copy. The following are some skills you need to write great copy.
If you can apply these practices, you’ll become a copywriter, not just someone who writes copy!
1. Knowledge Of The Target Audience
If you are going to successfully persuade anyone to do anything, then you should at least understand them. Study their language, needs, and challenges.
Once you know who the target audience is, it becomes easier to write in their language while producing copy that persuades them.
If you don’t write for a specific audience, your copy will be bland and unfocused. Although it’s tempting to write copy that you enjoy, the readers have to come first.
2. Top Level Interviewing And Research Skills
Ideally, every copywriter would be an expert on their chosen subject matter and would create compelling copy as a result. However, clients have varying needs, and the industry keeps changing.
As such, you need good research skills to help you gather the necessary information.
Top-notch research goes beyond mere Google searches and the information provided by the client. Interviewing experts is a reliable way to get relevant information within a short period of time.
The only challenge with interviews is that experts have limited time, so you need to utilize the short time they are available to get as many details as possible.
Therefore, robust interviewing skills come in handy as well.
3. Continuous Learning
Becoming a great copywriter requires you to constantly learn and improve. Even the best copywriters are always learning.
The landscape of copywriting is always changing, whether it’s the consumers, the platforms, or the industry itself. If you continue to learn, you can stay on top of trends and avoid falling behind.
An evolving copywriting education also opens you to a new world of skills that will help you improve your craft. For instance, learning SEO helps you write copy that ranks highly on search engines.
Extensive reading also polishes your language skills.
Key Takeaway
Although writing copy and copywriting both produce copy, copywriting is usually the term that’s used to describe professional work.
On the other hand, you might say “writing copy” to refer to newbie writers who only use basic skills.
If you want to move up to the next level, strive to create good copy that is well-written, original, orderly, and gets readers to take a specific action. It’s easy to write copy, but difficult to write copy that converts!