Types of copywriting
Many think that copywriting is about writing compelling headlines or ads. Others have expanded the definition to include other content types. Each has its own style and requirements, and here is a quick rundown of the different categories.
- Advertising copy: Usually short-form content that is used in ads (print ads, online, TV, radio, videos, flyers) to promote products or services.
- Content marketing copy: This is usually long-form content for webpage copy, blog posts, eBooks, white papers, and articles that provide valuable information while subtly promoting a brand.
- Sales copy: Often longer than advertising copy but a punchy or targeted copy for landing pages, product descriptions, product brochures, and sales emails to encourage readers to buy.
- Social copy: Short-form copy similar to advertising copy to promote, evoke emotion and encourage participation on social media channels like LinkedIn, X and Instagram.
- SEO copy: Short or long-form content incorporating search engine keywords to increase visibility and drive organic traffic.
- Technical copy: Usually very long-form content for manuals, guides, and other technical documents that explain complex products or services.
- Creative or brand copywriting: Sharp and short content for slogans, taglines, and other creative elements that make a brand memorable.
- Email copywriting: Often similar to sales copywriting where the content is short and punchy, but also optimized for quick consumption on mobile devices.
- PR copywriting: Often used in press releases and corporate announcements and is usually characterized by its formal tone.
- UI/UX copywriting: Copy to help users navigate digital interfaces including button labels, error messages and help messages.
Basic elements of effective copy
The essential elements of a copy will vary depending on the type of copywriting.
Advertising, sales, and email copy
You will need a headline to grab the reader’s attention and entice them to read further. The description should include copy that describes the product or service, benefits and unique selling points or value proposition. Be sure to include a clear directive that tells the reader what to do next (e.g., “Buy Now,” “Sign Up Today”).
Social media copy
Start with a strong headline with an action verb that evokes a sense of excitement and urgency. The length of your copy will depend on your social platform and your audience. For example, you may find that longer LinkedIn and Facebook posts encourage more engagement.
Whatever the length, the post should include storytelling, like anecdotes and real-life experiences, to captivate your audience and make your content memorable. Share stories that resonate with your audience and create an emotional connection. Finally, don’t forget to include the appropriate hashtags, emojis, images and a a strong call-to-action.
Long-form copy
It is important to focus on clarity and accuracy in technical, long-form corporate (annual report) and long-form marketing copy (eBooks and white papers). Ensure you break up long text sections with headlines, subheadings, and images. Ensure that your terminology is consistent and that you use bullets and numbered lists as often as possible to make it easier for the reader.
Writing tips
When writing copy, remember the three elements of good copy: clarity, brevity, and humanity.
For clarity, choose words that are the appropriate size and complexity for your audience. Use fewer words whenever possible (brevity) and weave humanity by using storytelling that connects emotionally with them.
Also, keep in mind the tone and style to match your brand’s voice and connects with the audience that you are speaking to.
Some people also include credibility as a must-have for a good copy, so ensure that your writing is accurate and conveys your authority on the subject.
Skills to look for in copywriters
If you are looking to become or hire a copywriter, these are the copywriting skills that you should consider:
- Creativity: Playing with words to craft compelling and original content requires creativity, especially for advertising, sales, social and email copywriting. Familiarity with copywriting frameworks are also a plus.
- Research: Understanding the product, market, industry, competitors, and audience is a must, especially for longer-form copy in content and technical copywriting.
- SEO knowledge: Knowing how to find and incorporate keywords naturally is a must to be able to do for SEO copywriting designed to improve search engine rankings of webpages, blogs and landing pages.
- Editing: Strong vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills to ensure copy is clear, concise, and error-free.
- Design skills: While not always mandatory, knowing how to visually present material in print and online helps ensure that the copy will stand out.
SEO and copywriting
Copywriting plays a critical role in SEO by creating content that is engaging to the reader and optimized for search engines. Specific areas include:
- Keyword Placement: Strategically placing keywords in the title, headings, meta descriptions, and throughout the content body to help search engines understand what the page is about and rank it accordingly.
- High-quality content: Valuable and well-written information that addresses the needs and questions of your audience, keeps readers on the page longer (increases average engagement time), reduces bounce rates and earns backlinks from reputable sites.
- Compelling and optimized meta descriptions: Descriptions with target keywords can improve click-through rates (CTR) from search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Multimedia integration: Adding images, videos, and infographics (with appropriate alt text) makes content more engaging, helps search engine crawlers to rank images in Google Images and helps visitors land on the pillar page through multiple search channels.
Content marketing vs. copywriting
Content marketing is about creating, publishing, and distributing valuable, relevant and material to attract, educate, inform, or entertain the audience.
Copywriting, on the other hand, serves a different purpose. It’s content that’s specifically crafted to immediately guide the reader (or search engines) toward a particular action.
Valuable content has high authority while valuable copy is creative.
Good copy cannot exist without good content, and good content is even more impactful when good copywriting is used.
AI-copywriting
Copywriting is an areas where AI has had an incredible impact. Beyond ChatGPT (which can be problematic with certain B2B copywriting), here are some tools that can make copywriting easier
AI copywriting tools have become increasingly popular because they generate high-quality content quickly and efficiently. Some notable AI copywriting tools include Copy.ai, Jasper (formerly Jarvis), Writesonic, Rytr, and Conversion.ai, which can help generate marketing copy, blog posts, social media content, and product descriptions.
AI tools also check grammar, including Grammarly, Wordtune, ProWritingAid, LanguageTool and Paperpal.
Will copywriting be replaced with AI?
No. Currently, AI tools lack the depth required for good copy and hence do not eliminate the need for humans. Instead, they enhance human productivity by helping them overcome writer’s block, providing suggestions and structuring copy to follow best practices. It is still essential to have humans inject that cleverness needed to create copy that delights readers and ensures that the content generated is correct.
Let’s write copy!
Are you looking to improve the text on your website to improve conversions or write new blogs, brochures, eBooks or white papers to drive more leads? Let’s chat to see if we can provide content and copy that informs and converts.