Copywriting Vs. Content Writing: 6 Things You Should Know Before Hiring a Writer for Your Business

As a small business owner, you’ve probably heard people argue about the nuances of copywriting vs. content writing. What’s the difference between the two? For many, both are synonymous with writing persuasive messages that encourage potential customers to buy. But they’re two different things, and both jobs require very different skillsets.

While a copywriter and an SEO content writer might seem like they’re interchangeable, there is a big difference between the two, and you need a specialist for both. In this article, we’ll discuss the similarities and differences between these two disciplines in more detail.

Whether you’re a beginner looking to choose one of the professions or a business owner trying to hire your next freelance writer, this guide should be helpful.

If you want to get better at content creation, you should learn to write compelling content that informs, engages, and converts. And if you’re going to be a good copywriter, you’ve got to learn how to craft persuasive messages that persuade people to buy from you. 

What is SEO Content Writing?

SEO content writing or SEO copywriting is a process of creating and publishing high-quality, informative articles that are optimized for search engines. It’s one of the most crucial parts of business growth because it helps drive traffic from organic searches. SEO writing can be considered as one branch of brand copywriting. Today, where digital publishing is at the forefront of everything, writers need to know SEO. So how does it work? It works by writing content that’s SEO-optimized for search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The benefit is that SEO content editing and SEO proofreading helps improve your site’s rankings.

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is the art of crafting compelling messages that persuade people to take action. In other words, it’s about getting readers to do what you want them to do. When done right, the copy can generate warm leads and increase sales. Copywriters focus on immediate, direct sales, while content writers play the long game. Content writers understand that not everyone wants to buy right now, so plan out long-term strategies when creating content.

Copywriter vs content writer

Copywriters are the champions of getting customers to buy what they’re selling. Content writers do more than write conversion-focused copy; they solve problems, provide information, and educate readers on topics that interest them. However, both copywriting and content writing have similar goals – attracting new business. Copywriters use email copy, sales copy, and advertising copy to accomplish their goals. Content writers do it with a blog post, video, social media post, white paper, and more, depending on your content marketing strategy.

What is the difference between copywriting and content writing?

1. The goal of copywriting is one-directional — to sell stuff. In contrast, the goal of content writing can vary like educating people, solving problems, engaging them, inspiring them, telling your brand story, increasing organic traffic, and converting them. Content creation is driven by content strategy to influence your audience.
2. Generally, copywriting focuses on the last part of the buyer’s journey, while content writing covers the whole marketing funnel.
3. Content writers need a sound knowledge of SEO content writing, while copywriting doesn’t require this.
4. Copywriting usually takes the form of sales letters, landing pages, video sales letters (VSL), and sales emails. Content writing includes different types of writing like blog posts, social media posts, infographics, videos, podcasts, white papers, email newsletters, video scripts, and much more.
5. Copywriting and SEO content writing require radically different approaches in terms of research and writing. SEO content writing involves SERP (search engine results page) and competitor analysis (in addition to customer research). Copywriting involves digging deep into the customer’s motivations, objectives, and pain points, not the SERP landscape.
6. As a content writer, you work closely with the SEO editor, content strategist, the editorial team, project managers, content marketers, and product team. On the other hand, as a copywriter, you work with the sales team, product team, design team, and customer service team.
   Content is search and keyword-driven, whereas copywriting tends to be psychology-driven.

Copywriting vs. Content writing: what are the similarities?

1. While there isn’t any magic formula for creating valuable content, there are some tried-and-tested copywriting frameworks. And good content writers use copywriting formulas to maximize conversion rate. Copywriting is more than just words on a page; it’s an art, a science, and a business strategy. Good content marketers and copywriters take advantage of these frameworks to write great headlines and craft killer calls-to-action.
2. Good content writers and copywriters use storytelling to sell.
3. Both content and copy should follow the brand voice and align with the brand message.
4. Both jobs require creativity, research skills, attention to detail, and excellent communication abilities.
5. Both roles require a good understanding of the buyer persona.

Conclusion

Both Copywriting & Content Writing are critical parts of digital marketing. While there are similarities, there are significant differences between copywriting and content marketing. But ultimately both aim to attract new business. In the end, it’s not about which is better; it’s about what you need for your business right now. The lines blur depending on the company and writer you hire. So make sure to understand each role well before jumping right into them.