Want to boost sales? Want to educate your customers on exactly what you can do for them? Want to do it all while being clear, concise, and perhaps even with a touch of pizzazz?
Sounds like you want some copywriting.
All businesses have something to say. Good copywriting lets you say it right.
What is Copywriting?
“Copy,” is pretty much written content that has some form of goal for the reader. It could be anything from increasing brand awareness to trying to get them to become a customer. That said, it’s not all driven at getting someone to do something. Sometimes it’s as simple as a welcome email for someone who has joined a service or club. It could be an informative document, letting you know all about some topic or technology with no other scheme in mind than to educate you further on the topic.
You know what? Let’s break this down. Here are some of the most common forms of copywriting. Take a glance. You might not have realized how much you actually use them.
SEO Articles
It’s all about search engine optimization. It’s important to be able to use all the technical requirements to get your content noticed and easy to find on the internet. The article or copy can be about anything, but things like keywords and backlinks make a huge difference in how visible you are. Pretty important if you want people to actually find you.
White Papers
My personal favorite. These important informational documents highlight features, methods, technology, and other such specific information that customers and businesses need to understand. Not overtly trying to push an agenda, the idea is more on educating and promoting a product. It’s about informing the reader so they can better understand the concepts, qualities, or technology being presented to them.
In a nutshell? White papers are big hairy reports on whatever the heck you need them to be on. They’re often technical and complex and for some reason I love writing them even though they suck my soul out of my eyeballs. I’m weird that way.
Ad Copy
This is one of the more common copywriting formats you’ve seen. Often they are paired with graphics like photos or logos. Think magazine ads, billboards, online pop-ups, that kind of thing. They’re generally short and punchy, though sometimes they’re simple and to the point, like, “Our product is awesome. It does stuff.”
Actually, writing ad copy is marvelously fun. There’s a lot more that goes into it than you’d think. It’s all about creating value, highlighting features your customers will appreciate, and putting an image of your company out for the world to recognize. But in a pizzazy way.
This type of copy is often done best with a graphic designer to work on the visual component, but for super simple stuff I do have experience providing my own graphics too. My portfolio will showcase a few of these. That said, there are plenty of sources to glean the pretty, pretty pictures from. My cup of tea are the words that go with these pretty, pretty pictures. Unless you want hamsters. I draw a dang good hamster.
E-mail Copy
You ever get an email from some rando company claiming they can help you lose 47 pounds in 13 days? You know, creepy, specific and definitely sus claims like that? That’s an example of email copy. A lot of it goes right to your spam folder, where it definitely belongs. But not all e-mail copy is from shady businesses claiming they’ve secretly found the cure for hair loss and they will send it to you for six payments of only $19.99. A lot of it is legitimate, helpful and worthwhile information that consumers will actually find valuable. That’s the kind of e-mail copy I do. You know, the non skeevy stuff.
Think about the e-mails you’ve received from businesses that you found worthwhile. Summer clearance specials. Recipes from your favorite health food stores. Coupons, coupons, and more coupons! Also? Welcome letters and campaigns for those who have joined a service or purchased a product. Actually, email copy is so vast and versatile that if I keep going on about all it is used for, you’re going to get overwhelmed. Just remember, it’s like, super important. There you go.
Newsletter Copy
These are easy to confuse with e-mail copy because they are super duper similar. After all, newsletters are primarily via e-mail too. The biggest difference is that e-mail copy is trying to sell or promote a product, further a relationship with a customer (such as through welcome letters) or has some sort of agenda. Newsletters, however, are more content based. They form a relationship with the reader through giving pertinent information that the subscriber will appreciate.
Remember when I talked about e-mail copy and how an example is grocery stores sending recipes? If they’re sending recipes for guacamole with a big emphasis on the fact that avocados are on sale right now and you should totally buy them, that’s more of an e-mail marketing tactic. If, however, you get recipes and tips every month from the same grocery store, with less or no emphasis on pushing you to buy a specific product? That’s more along the lines of newsletters. It’s a fine and murky line that often intersects back and forth.
I personally enjoy the emails I get from my local nursery, highlighting which flowers are in season and how to care for them, even though we both know any plant my death bringing fingers touch will be overwatered into oblivion.
Web Copy
This is a very common form of copywriting. Websites have words on them. Just like this one! If I’d decided I didn’t want to deal with the effort of being succinct, clever, and informative all on my own, I could have hired someone to do this for me. As I’m slogging away, trying to write all this after a long day of errands, I can see the appeal.
Often, you’ll have a web designer already and the copywriter’s job is to make a document of all the content that the designer can then plug in accordingly, such as what goes in the “About” page. Or the “Products and Services” page. You know, all the stuff on here I’ve been writing for myself. It has taken me days to write the copy for this very site. Why so long? You only have one chance to make a good first impression and your website is that chance. Which means I really hope you don’t hate mine or this isn’t going to go well…
Content Writing
Ah, the vaguest of vague types of copywriting. Technically, it isn’t actually copywriting, a point that many find confusing. Copywriting is about trying to persuade, sell or market a product or business. It’s generally in a shorter form (excluding white papers), and it’s really all about selling your target audience on your brand. Content writing can definitely intersect with copywriting, but it has a lot more purposes. White papers can technically be considered content or copy, or both, depending on the emphasis to push a product or not. Content writing can be in long form or short form. It can be funny and entertaining, or educational and serious. Gosh it seems like the rules don’t really apply to it, right?
Some examples are:
- Reports
- E-books
- Articles
- Blogs
- Social Media Content
- Even White Papers and Newsletters! See! Content writing is a maverick I tell ya.
So, if you have something you want written and it doesn’t fit neatly into a copywriting category, shove it my way. Content writing can be nearly anything it wants to be. Whatever you want from it, I’ll see if I can’t wrangle that wild thing down for ya.
Blog Posts
Technically this is another type of content writing but it’s worth mentioning. As blogs become more successful and necessitate higher demands, many bloggers find they need help keeping up. Especially blogs that highlight particular industries or technologies. It’s getting increasingly common for them to find solid writers to help take on the burden. Others prefer guest bloggers to offer expertise or a new voice on a subject their subscribers want to hear more about.
In terms of your business, a blog is a great way to keep your site worth coming back to. It will attract new customers, keep your old ones returning, and give you a chance to feature topics relevant to your service or product.
