Content writing vs copywriting: what’s the difference?
 

Content writing vs copywriting is the difference between telling and selling.

A copywriter uses persuasive language, typically encouraging you to buy a product or service. Copywriting includes short-form writing, such as adverts, social media, sales letters, emails and web pages. An experienced marketing or B2B copywriter can help you consolidate your marketing across other channels.

Content writers write more objective, informative, longer-form copy, such as blog posts, articles, newsletters, case studies, eBooks, and websites. A storytelling content writer can boost awareness of your products and services when readers are looking for more information about you or are investigating your authority and brand.

Of course, there’s some overlap, so much so that my services include both writing styles. Content writing focuses on search engine optimisation (SEO) and keywords, but copywriters must also understand SEO. In contrast, content writers must understand a copywriter’s concern with brand voice and messaging.

When should you hire a writer who tells stories?

If your marketing goal is to position you or your business as a thought leader in your sector and get your audience thinking and talking, you need a content writer. Blog writing is one example of content writing. Blogs can achieve your goal of ranking organically for target keywords by being comprehensive for readers.

Trained and former journalists (though I say so myself!) make excellent content writers. They are used to doing the in-depth research necessary for authentic, fact-driven storytelling that builds trust. 

A trained journalist has decades of expertise in interviewing, unearthing stories, and writing them to the highest journalistic standards in a language everyone understands. When your goal is to inform, a journalist’s way of front-loading the copy grabs readers’ attention from the start. 

When should you hire a copywriter who sells?

If you aim to improve sales of your products or services by getting people to act, hire a copywriter rather than a content writer. Trained copywriters are sales-driven, so they can help you generate leads and improve your email opening rate. Like a content writer, they can help you rank organically for target keywords. 

For example, SEO writing by a group of copywriters, including me, helped Circle Health Group to improve its search visibility and rank higher on search engines like Google. Read a page from the project – it’s about ophthalmology at The King’s Park Hospital in Stirling.

Search engines like original and accurate content showing expertise, authority and trust (EAT), which copywriters demonstrate in various ways. They’ll use keywords naturally throughout the copy, write clearly, and provide strong calls to action (CTA) for people to follow. Content writers will do this too, of course.

To avoid confusion, hire someone who can do any writing task you ask of them. Give me a call if you’re unsure of what you need. Having trained as a journalist and worked as a copywriter for decades, I can help with content writing and copywriting. I’m also an experienced editor and proofreader, so I can get your existing copy perfect and give it more get-up-and-go.

You might also be interested in reading my blog on how long editing and proofreading takes.