Copywriting vs. Content Writing: Is There A Difference?

“Wait...is there a difference?” you may stop in your tracks and wonder after reading the title.

Don’t worry—you’re not alone! Many people confuse ‘copywriting’ and ‘content writing’ and use the terms interchangeably. However, there are nuances that distinguish the two forms of content marketing, and by extension, copywriters from content writers.

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is a form of content marketing that refers to the creation of text with the purpose of persuading readers to take a specific action, which is usually sales-related.

Every business needs copies. Otherwise, how else would you convince prospective customers that your products and services are worth buying? Depending on your content marketing strategies, your business may need one or more of the following types of copies:

Copywriting Examples

• Online & Offline Ads
• Website Copy
• Product Pages & Descriptions
• Landing Pages
• Sales Newsletters
• Slogans & Taglines
• Commercial Scripts
• Catalogues
• Brochures

What is content writing?

Content writing is another form of content marketing that refers to the creation of text to inform and entertain readers.

While content can drive sales, its primary purpose is to build relationships that lay a solid foundation upon which brand recognition and loyalty can be built. Your business can incorporate the following types of content into its content marketing strategy that will stand in its quest to become an industry leader:

Content Writing Examples

• Social Media Posts
• Blog Articles
• Advertorials
• Press Releases
• White Papers
• Email Newsletters
• Books/E-Books
• Podcasts
• Tutorials
• Case Studies

What are the key differences between copywriting and content writing?

Apart from having different purposes, here are a few other key differences that distinguish copywriting from content writing.

Length

Content writing generally produces longer pieces of text as opposed to copywriting. Why? While you may be able to persuade readers to take action with just a sentence or two, informing and entertaining them most certainly requires a lot more.

Emotional Responses

Copywriting usually creates a sense of urgency and invokes an emotional response in readers—such as pride, comfort, security, a sense of belonging, and even a fear of missing out (FOMO)—that pushes them to take action. Content writing, on the other hand, normally doesn’t result in an instant emotional response but lays the groundwork for future action.

SEO

Since one of the goals of content writing is to increase search engine rankings and drive inbound traffic, content requires a high level of search engine optimization while copies don’t.

Besides, content writing is much better for SEO than copywriting. Firstly, it offers high value to readers usually at no cost. Secondly, good content informs and entertains readers to the point of being shared widely on social media platforms. Lastly, content is typically written in long-form and includes more keywords, attracting more views and resulting in more backlinks.

Grammar

We all know how important it is to minimize misspellings and grammatical errors. Whether your content has a misplaced apostrophe, an adverb in place of an adjective, or any other common grammar mistakes, your readers may stop reading what you have to say and close the tab as soon as they spot them as the grammatical errors can interrupt their trains of thought and affect the reading experience.

Owing to character limits, however, copywriting tends to break grammar rules. In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable to use slang, colloquialism, sentence fragments, and other forms of language your high-school English teacher would have cringed at when writing copies to establish an empathetic rapport with your audiences. 

Copywriting vs. Content Writing: Which is better?

If you’re thinking “Which is better for my business—copywriting or content writing?”, you’re asking the wrong question. While it’s important to persuade in order to convert your readers into consumers, it’s equally important to provide additional value with no strings attached in order for the consumers you convert to show loyalty to your brand.

The question you should really be asking is, “How can I leverage copywriting and content writing to bring my business to new heights?”. Luckily for you, we’ve got the answer! Get in touch to schedule a free 30-minute consultation and find out more.