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What sorts of writing does Copywriting cover?

by theultimate1
11 replies
Hello Warriors,

This might be more like a n00b post, but that's what I am... with Copywriting, at least as of now.

Just wondering... what all forms of writing does Copywriting cover?

I'm told article/content writing isn't part of Copywriting - Although I seem to see the difference between the two, I'd appreciate your views if you think otherwise.

Copywriting, as they say, is "salesmanship in print." That gives us sales letters, direct mail brochures (perhaps?!), print ads, etc.

What about press releases, white papers, cover stories in magazines, newspaper columns (am unable to get the right word on this one, but I guess you get the idea ), website copy (home page, about us, FAQ, contact us, etc.)? Are there some others that I might have missed?

Thanks for your inputs
#copywriting #cover #sorts #writing
  • Profile picture of the author theultimate1
    Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill View Post

    Copywriting is any writing done with the purpose of selling a service or product.
    Article writing, done for article marketing, is part of Copywriting then, right?

    And so are Press Releases, I assume... Although (real) press releases don't necessarily sell products, they help the company build their brand.

    Thanks for your ideas Ken
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  • Profile picture of the author Hesster
    In the broadest terms, copywriting is any type of commercial or business writing. It doesn't necessarily have to be to sell something. A company might hire a copywriter to write an article for their internal employee newsletter, for example.

    Technically content writing is copywriting. It's just that particular form of copywriting has been overrun with cheap 'writters' willing to sell themselves for less than a penny a word.
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    • Profile picture of the author vivifoster
      Originally Posted by Hesster View Post

      In the broadest terms, copywriting is any type of commercial or business writing. It doesn't necessarily have to be to sell something. A company might hire a copywriter to write an article for their internal employee newsletter, for example.

      Technically content writing is copywriting. It's just that particular form of copywriting has been overrun with cheap 'writters' willing to sell themselves for less than a penny a word.
      so is copy writing similar to creative writing? i'm sorry for noob question. my mind got mixed up with the question above..
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      • Profile picture of the author Hesster
        Originally Posted by vivifoster View Post

        so is copy writing similar to creative writing? i'm sorry for noob question. my mind got mixed up with the question above..
        Similar in what way? They're both writing and generally follow the same rules of language. Other than that, not so much.

        In my opinion, the difference is the purpose why the writing was created. If someone wrote a poem for a poetry book, that would be considered creative writing. If they wrote a poem to slap on the back of a shampoo bottle, then it's copy.

        Copywriting is writing that (usually) has some kind of commercial interest behind it. Whether it's to sell product, improve the company's image, or inform employees. Creative writing is done to please the author, with commercial interest as a secondary concern.
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      • Profile picture of the author Paul Hancox
        Not really, vivifoster. Copywriting aims to get the reader to take a specific ACTION, such as make a purchase, send back a coupon, or sign up to something.

        Creative writing might have other aims - such as purely to entertain or inform (with no action required at the end of it).

        I suppose someone might argue that Stephen King still wants someone to take action on a regular basis, i.e. turn the page.

        But the book doesn't intend for the reader to take action at the end of it, so it's not what we here would call "copywriting".

        Or as Cherilyn pointed out, most of us in this tiny slither of the Warrior Forum are "direct response copywriters" ... we want responses ... and we want 'em directly, not in some piddly indirect fashion
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    Copywriting is about tracking results, testing different versions, profiling target customers to write to. It's more a different frame of mind from article writing -- even if they both write the same piece.
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Scott
      I'm deleting this post because Cherilyn said pretty much the same thing I did.

      Hey, it's early here...

      -Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hancox
    Well, the problem is that the word COPY has different meanings. Journalists also use the word.

    This is from dictionary.com:

    copy - noun. (4) the text of a news story, advertisement, television commercial, etc., as distinguished from related visual material.

    So technically speaking, a journalist could call themselves a "copy writer", according to the dictionary!

    Here on the Warrior Forum, what we usually mean by a "copywriter" is someone who writes some form of sales material - a sales letter, or an ad. A journalist isn't a copywriter in the sense WE use it here.

    (But we should keep in mind that the wider world may not have OUR strict definition of the word.)
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  • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
    It's 'junk mail'.

    Some are good, some aren't.
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    • Profile picture of the author Snlde
      Originally Posted by Rezbi View Post

      It's 'junk mail'.

      Some are good, some aren't.
      LOL

      That's a good one.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cherilyn Woodhouse
    Copywriting is really almost any business writing, which does technically include content for business purposes. However, when we see pissing contests here in the forum about what *is* and what *isn't* copywriting (usually involving a reference to a sticky, talking about how article writing and sales copy are different) you'll often see copywriters confuse the term "copywriting" with the more accurate term, "direct response copywriting."

    Most of us here are direct response copywriters - we write junk mail, basically (as the above poster put it.)

    We're also copywriters - and so are the people who write press releases, newspaper articles, magazine articles, online content, etc.
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