What is the Difference Between Copywriting and Content Writing?

Content Creation plays an important role when it comes to marketing a business, both Copywriting and Content Writing are used for marketing purposes but have different objectives. Many people tend to confuse Copywriting with Content Writing so here’s what you need to know about the roles each of them plays in building a successful business. This blog includes the key differences between Copywriting and Content Writing. 

Key Differences

Parameters	Copywriting	Content Writing
Goal	To persuade	To inform
Purpose	Sell your brand to the target audience	Informing, Educating and Entertaining the audience/readers
Style of copy	Short	Long
Forms of Writing	Copy for online and offline ads, Taglines, Slogans, Landing Page Content	Articles, Blogs, Emails, Newsletters, White Papers, Reports, eBooks, Social Media Content
Writing Mode	Informal	Formal
Effectiveness	Short Term	Long Term

What is Copywriting?

In simple terms, Copywriting means writing text with the aim of advertising or other forms of marketing. The writing is known as copy or sales copy, used to build brand awareness and ultimately persuade the target audience to take a particular action.

How to Become a Copywriter?

What is Content Writing?

Content Writing is the process of planning, writing and editing content for digital marketing purposes. The main objective of content writing is to provide relevant content for websites for a specific target audience. It includes blogs, articles, emails, scripts for videos and social media content such as text posts on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit and Twitter. 

How to Become a Content Writer?

Forms of Copywriting and Content Writing

The forms of writing of both copywriting and content writing are given below:

Copywriting

Copywriting is written in the following forms:

• Brochures
• Billboards
• Email campaigns
• Website Landing pages
• Magazine advertisements
• Press releases
• Radio scripts
• Sales emails
• Social media posts
• Taglines
• PPC landing pages
• PPC ads
• Cost-per-mille (CPM) ads.
• Product pages

Content Writing

Content Writing is written in the following forms:

• Blogs
• E-books
• Email newsletters
• Magazine features
• Newspaper articles
• News Blogs and Articles
• Scripts for social media content
• Social media posts
• Webpages
• White Papers
• Case Studies
• Tutorials/How-to Guides

Roles and Responibilities

The day-to-day job responsibilities of a copywriter and content writer are given below:

Copywriter

The day-to-day job responsibilities of a copywriter include:

1. Writing, proofreading and editing original copy with accurate research, and meeting client/company needs and deadlines.
2. Collaborating with the PR team and other professionals for marketing campaigns.
3. Speaking with internal and external parties to understand their content needs.
4. Conducting accurate and relevant research to generate ideas.
5. Gain an understanding of the target audience for creating a copy.

Content Writer

Typical Job responsibilities of a content writer include:

1. Conducting research on industry-related topics combining online sources, interviews, articles and studies
2. Editing and proofreading content to improve readability for the audience
3. Using SEO practices to improve web traffic for the website
4. Generating interesting headlines to attract the audience
5. Writing print marketing, emails and building a brand presence on various platforms through comments

How to Become an SEO Consultant?

Skills Required

The skills required for making a career in each of the forms of writing are given below:

Copywriter

A copywriter must have the following skills:

• Adaptability
• Commercial awareness 
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Excellent team working skills
• Administrative and organisational skills
• Proofreading Skills
• Be attentive to details
• Accuracy in grammar and information
• Must be extremely creative
• Be able to produce original ideas

Content Writing

A content writer must have the following skills to produce great content:

• Knowledge of different writing styles
• Extensive research skills
• Creating original content
• Great understanding of SEO practices
• Effective Communication skills
• Should be a social media savvy
• Creating a relevant content strategy
• Understanding the niche audience
• Be precise with writing

Where Do They Work?

The industries/agencies for both types of writers’ work are given below:

Copywriters

Copywriters typically work at:

• Advertising agencies
• Media agencies
• Full-service agencies
• Private Companies
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Government Bodies
• Freelancing

Content Writer

Content Writers generally work for:

• Marketing agencies 
• In-house advertising departments 
• Brands and websites
• Freelancing

Content Writers and Copywriters can work in any industry as content creation has become an important part of the Digital Revolution in today’s world. Almost every sector needs content creation to mark its presence in the field of business. 

Must Read: Content Writing Courses

Where is Copywriting?

If your business goal is to sell something on a website through ads, emails and direct responses, then go for Copywriting.

Interesting Fact: Nike’s “Just Do It” is a prime example of Copywriting and its effectiveness. The Copywriting Campaign increased Nike’s sales from $800 million to more than $9.2 billion in 10 years.

Where is Content Writing?

If your business goal is to build brand awareness and publish content for information, then go for Content Writing. 

Copywriting vs Content Writing

Both are written for advertising and promoting businesses, keeping in mind the different intent of writing. Here’s what makes both forms of content creation different from each other. 

1. Copywriting is the creation of content which is meant to persuade the audience for selling a product or service while content writing is written to inform the target audience to encourage brand voice through blogs, articles and social media posts. 
2. Copywriting provides a brief text for engaging audiences through short lengths of content while Content Writing provides in-depth explanations and information about a specific topic for the niche audience. Copywriters typically write 1-2 sentences while content writers need to use 500 to 2,000 words, depending upon the topic.
3. The form of Copywriting is conversational and informal while content writing requires a formal tone as it provides informative content. 
4. Copywriters mostly work for an advertising agency or a company while Content Writers work for various industries.
5. Content Writing needs SEO to keep search traffic high for the website while Copywriting doesn’t necessarily need SEO practices as it expresses commercial intent. 

When to Use?

Here are some pointers to help you use copywriting and content writing more efficiently in your business/profession:

Copywriting

When your company wants to achieve the following objectives, use copywriting:

• Consumer goods or service sales
• Making it clear what your brand stands for Generating a sense of urgency
• Creating an online presence to encourage users to complete a specific job
• Converting visitors into sales or leads

Content Writing

Employ content writing when your company wants to achieve the following objectives:

• Teaching readers about a certain subject
• Providing information to your audience
• Increasing trust and loyalty in order to increase future sales
• concentrating on SEO and increasing web traffic

Must Read: Untap Your Potential with A PhD in Creative Writing

Which Course You Should Study to Become a Copywriter or Content Writer?

There is no specific course available for copywriting or content writing. However, you can pursue a degree in English, Journalism, Advertising or Marketing to begin your career as a Content Creator. Here’s a list of the top 5 universities abroad offering various courses in English, Journalism and more:

Top 5 Universities for English Courses Abroad

1. University of Oxford
2. University of Cambridge
3. Harvard University
4. The University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
5. Yale University

Top 5 Universities for Journalism Courses Abroad

1. Newcastle University
2. King’s College London
3. London School of Economics and Political Science
4. University of Melbourne
5. Monash University

Top 5 Universities for Marketing Courses Abroad

1. HEC Paris
2. Columbia University
3. Imperial College London
4. ESSEC Business School
5. ESCP Business School

Top 5 Universities for Advertising Courses Abroad

1. Auckland University of Technology
2. Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
3. Centennial College
4. Sheridan College
5. Universidad CEU San Pablo

FAQs

In simple terms, content writing is all about educating, informing or entertaining while copywriting is all about persuading. We hope that this blog was insightful enough to help you identify the thin line that distinguishes Copywriting from Content Writing. For more informative blogs, subscribe to Leverage Edu.