What’s the Difference Between a Copywriter and a Content Writer?

The landing page on your new website is getting traffic, but potential customers leave without buying. Your marketing strategy needs help. Do you hire a copywriter or a content writer?

Does it matter? A writer’s a writer, right? Not exactly. The skill sets are very different. If you’re a business owner, it pays to know the difference between the two and hire the right person. 

Your decision boils down to one question

What do you want your potential customers to do? 

If you want to persuade them to do something, choose a copywriter. If you want them to learn something, choose a content writer. 

Both types of writing are crucial to your marketing strategy, but in different ways. Let’s look at the differences between copywriters and content writers.

What do copywriters do?

Copywriters create written material – called copy – to persuade people to do something. The desired action may be buying a product or service, becoming a subscriber, or downloading an ebook. Copywriting also builds brand awareness.

Copywriters deeply understand the target audience. They create content that evokes emotions and influences actions by tapping into the target audience’s values, desires, and needs. 

Do copywriters know SEO?

Copy focuses on short-term goals related to advertising and sales. Consequently, most copy doesn’t prioritise the long-term effort needed in SEO to raise a website’s ranking on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).

While specialised SEO copywriters do exist, most copywriters don’t worry as much about using keywords or following other SEO practices. 

What copywriters write

This type of writing tends to be punchy and persuasive. It’s short-form, with a definite call to action. Some examples of copywriting are:

• Taglines and slogans
• Social media captions and memes
• Headlines
• Billboards
• Digital and print ads
• Direct mail and emails
• Website landing pages
• Product descriptions and pages
• Brochures

How to measure copywriting success

You can evaluate how successful the copy is by looking at sales metrics like conversion rates and cost per acquisition. To read more about how to tell if your copy is working, check out the article below.

Content writers

Content writers aim to educate or engage the target audience without selling a product or service. The goal is to nurture long-term relationships by offering content of value to the target audience, building trust and credibility. Businesses may also use content writing as a way to establish thought leadership in their industry or field. 

Content writers and SEO

Content writers incorporate SEO practices so that search engines see their writing as valuable and relevant to users and rank it accordingly. Using targeted keywords, titles, headings, and meta descriptions all contribute to better search engine rankings. Higher rankings mean more organic web traffic.

What content writers write

Content writing tends to be longer-form and requires research. The goal of any good copywriter is to organise information logically for a smooth flow and write in a clear, straightforward and engaging way. Some content writers focus on topics in particular areas like health, beauty, science, or tech. 

Examples of content writing are:

• Digital posts or articles
• Print articles
• Press releases
• Infographics
• Newsletters
• Case studies
• White papers
• How-to guides
• User manuals or documentation
• Ebooks
• Video or podcast scripts

How to measure content writing success

To evaluate the effectiveness of content writing, look at metrics like click-through and bounce rates on web pages. These metrics can measure how engaging users find the content. If improved SEO is your main goal, track search engine rankings and an increase in organic traffic.

Where copywriters and content writers overlap

Sometimes, a piece of writing has to both persuade and inform the target audience. For example, a blog post may close with a strong call to action. Or product descriptions for 3D printers may have to educate the audience about the technology before persuading them to buy.  

Despite the overlap, the skill sets are different. Most writers specialise in one type of writing, although they may dabble in the other. 

How do I know which to hire?

Your business purpose will inform which kind of writer you need. If you want to convert more leads or increase sales, then you’re looking for a copywriter. If you want to build relationships with potential customers or establish credibility, then you’re looking for a content writer. 

Here are other examples related to business purposes to help point out the differences between the two:

• If you need a landing page to drive downloads for a new app, use a copywriter. But if you want a video on how to use the new app, hire a content writer.
• If you need sales pages or product descriptions for a product that’s ready to launch, use a copywriter. But if you need blog posts to capitalise on the keywords your target audience searches for, then use a content writer.
• If you need copy for Google Ads to sell a service, use a copywriter. If you need case studies that describe how this service has helped past clients, use a content writer.
• If you need social media content to advertise an ebook and persuade people to download it, then use a copywriter. But if you need to actually write the ebook, then use a content writer. 

Both types of writing can be valuable parts of your marketing strategy. You’ll save time by knowing which one you need for your business purpose. Want to learn more? Contact us – we’re happy to answer questions and talk about your marketing needs.