Why copywriting, you ask?

Want to boost sales? Want to let your customers know exactly what you can do for them? Want to do it all while being clear, concise, and perhaps 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 kind of goal for the reader. It could be anything from increasing brand awareness to trying to convert readers into customers.

Not all copy/copywriting is geared toward 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 also just be an informative document, letting you know all about some topic with no other goal than to educate you.

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 copy is actually out there.

SEO and GEO Articles

It’s all about search engine optimization and AI optimization (also called generative engine optimization). These are must haves if you ever want someone to actually find your article or content in the first place.

The article can be about anything, but metrics and best practices (such as keywords, headings, and backlinks) make a huge difference in how visible you are.

Pretty important if you want people to actually find you.

There are a lot of detailed methods to get rankings up there, so it can be a little involved.

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. 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

Email copy has so many uses. It can be a welcome email for new customers, or things like clearance specials, recipes from health food stores, a way to access new blog posts/content, or coupons, coupons, and more coupons!

Email copy is so vast and versatile that it can feel overwhelming to try to define it.

Just remember, it’s like, super important. There you go.

Newsletter Copy

Newsletter copy is easy to confuse with email 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 how an example of email copy is grocery stores sending recipes? If they’re sending recipes for guacamole with a big emphasis that avocados are on sale right now and you should totally buy them, that’s more of an email marketing tactic.

If, however, you get recipes and tips every month from the same grocery store, with emphasis on pushing you to buy a specific product? That’s more newsletter-ish. It’s a murky line with a lot of overlap.

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 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.

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, and it’s really all about selling your target audience on your brand.

Content writing can definitely intersect with copywriting, but it has a broader purpose. 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
• Newsletters! See, content writing is a maverick!

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 you.

White Papers

My personal favorite. White papers are informational documents that highlight features, methods, technology, and other such information that customers and businesses need to understand.

Not overtly trying to push an agenda, this kind of content writing is more on educating and promoting a product. It informs 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.

Blog Posts

Technically, this is another type of content writing but it’s worth singling out.

In terms of your business, a blog is a great way to keep your site worth coming back to. You don’t just want visitors to come once and then never return again. Informative and well-constructed blogs will attract new customers, keep your old ones returning, and give you a chance to feature topics relevant to your service or product.

They are also crazy helpful for SEO and GEO, as there are numerous opportunities to cover authoritative topics that put you on the virtual map. I have TONS of experience with blog posts and articles. It is definitely one of my biggest strengths as a writer. I have lots of examples on my portfolio. I also have plenty of my own if you’re interesting in checking out my blog.