With digital marketing, it’s important to understand how all the working parts not only gel together, but also function separately. One such example is distinguishing between the differences in writing — content vs copywriting. While it may seem like those are the same, they actually serve distinct purposes.
Content Writing
With content writing, your main goal is to inform, educate, and/or entertain. This type of writing allows for a little more creativity and room to have some fun. So what does this include exactly? Anything from long-form blog posts and newsletters to e-books and webinars.
Essentially, the bulk of your content will be explaining your business, what you’re about, who you’re for, etc. Content writing tends to be longer-formed than copywriting because of this, as you spend more time getting down to the nitty-gritty.
Copywriting
Now with copywriting, its main goal is persuasion. This is where you’re trying to draw in potential customers with your words and copy. While content writing focuses on informing and entertaining, where you use persuasive copywriting is in your social media ads, PPC landing pages, sales emails, product pages, and sales materials.
Notice a trend here? Copywriting could almost be boiled down to the sales information, or the “take action” side, whereas content writing is more concerned about building an audience and nurturing relationships. Likewise, copywriting is shorter in length at times, as the words demand action and must be utilized fully.
Other Key Differences
Content writing and copywriting tend to play off of each other in ways. The peanut butter to one’s jelly, so to speak. Content writing is more organic, whereas copywriting is the paid side of the coin. Likewise, copywriting is meant to elicit an emotional response so that you act on these feelings (preferably by making a purchase) whereas content writing doesn’t always need this tactic as it’s not trying to explicitly sell anything.
Lastly, which do you think is more focused on being grammatically correct? This may surprise you, but that’s content writing. A grammar error in copywriting can often be a plus, with an ellipse attracting a customer eager to see where the end of that cliffhanger sentence may take them. However, in content writing, it can be a bit of a turnoff to see errors, unfinished thoughts, or incomplete editing.
How They Are the Same
Yes, these two forms of writing do differ in many ways. However, how they relate is important as well. For example, content writing and copywriting both require research. This research may not be equal across the board, as e-books will require a certain type of research as opposed to SMS ads. For both, though, it’s crucial to understand the demographics, the market, and the language being used.
Another way they’re similar is how SEO plays such a huge part for both. Whether you’re creating a listicle blog post or a product landing page, understanding SEO for content writing and copywriting will fundamentally alter your writing approach and goals.
What They Both Can Do
With these powers combined, between creative content and persuasive copywriting, you get a more well-rounded approach to your digital marketing. No one wants to be sold to all the time, but alternatively, no one wants strictly informative content without the sales approach behind it as well. While content writing is not as sales-heavy as its counterpart, they do both play instrumental roles in digital marketing.
This duality is vital in your marketing efforts, as the two work hand in hand to balance out the information and entertainment side, with the persuasion and sales side. Organic vs paid. Informative vs emotion-evoking. Long-form vs short-form. How you make these two work together to your advantage lies in your ability to research, market, and most importantly, write.
