What Does a Copywriter Do?

Before you ask, let’s make sure we’re on the same page — are you wondering about copywriting or copyrighting? Or, do you need a content creator? Believe it or not, these are actually three distinctly different things.

Just the other day, I received a request through LinkedIn asking for help with copyrights and trademarks. I told them that what we do is something very different than copyrighting. Copyrights require lawyers, and copywriting requires, well, writers!

Whether you’re a business owner or a creative, it’s really important to know the difference between copyrighting, copywriting, and content creation. 

As a business owner, this knowledge allows you to know what to look for and expect from your contracted work. As a creative, this knowledge allows you to  educate yourself and your clients so that you can manage expectations and deliver what clients actually want and need.

So what does a copywriter do, and how? How does copywriting and content creation bridge the gap between reader and consumer? More importantly, how can a copywriter help your business reach more clients and keep them coming back?

Copyrighting: The Right To Copy

Let’s start by clarifying a common misunderstanding: What’s the difference between copyrighting and copywriting? 

Copywriting is the process of organizing the words that business owners use to interact with their customers; we’ll delve more into that in a bit. Copyrighting is a legal process. 

Copyrighting has been around since the founding of the U.S. and is even included in Article I of the U.S. Constitution. Copyrights are legal designations that give the owner the exclusive right to copy. In other words, a copyright prevents other people from copying your work. 

Lawyers who specialize in copyright law can help navigate the necessary steps to obtain and use copyrights. 

Copywriting: Writing That Sells

Copywriting is writing that is close to the sale. In other words, it’s words that are designed to sell – and it requires a masterful wordsmith.

Copywriting is usually short form and includes email marketing, product descriptions, ad copy sales, landing pages, and other similar marketing. 

You may have heard the term “sales copy” – and that’s the outcome of the copywriting process.  

Copywriting is meant to push people from “I’m interested” to “I need this in my life.” It’s the language that moves the mouse from a hover… to actually clicking the “buy now” button and entering a credit card number.

Being close to the sale, however, doesn’t mean being overly salesy. Readers don’t want to feel like they’re being sold a product; they want to feel that you’re giving them an opportunity to solve their problem.

Good copywriting uses the psychology of buying to build a relationship between the reader and the brand. 

Also, good sales copy doesn’t use sleazy sales tactics like FOMO (the “fear of missing out”) or pressure to drive sales. 

Rather, good copy uses psychology-informed tactics and data-driven insights that persuade the reader to interact with your brand and purchase your product. In email marketing, information like delivery rates, bounce rates, open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates can all be used to understand your audience better.  

What Makes a Good Copywriter?

A good copywriter is someone who, first and foremost, understands the buyer. This person understands how the reader’s mind works and uses this knowledge to tailor the message to a specific audience.

 

For instance, my educational background isn’t actually in business. It’s in psychology, clinical counseling, and criminology. I use this background in the study of human behavior and emotion to understand and drive humans to act through the content that my team and I create. 

Every piece of copy that we write is based on the psychology of buying — and so is our content.

So what’s the difference between “copy” and “content”? Good question! 

Content Creation

If copywriting is close to the sale, then content creation is far from it. Content creation is concerned with building brand awareness and interest. The intent is not to sell, but rather to synthesize information and establish your brand as a place where a reader can find reliable information about a certain topic.

When we created a blog for PrettyLitter (a color-changing cat litter), we did so with the original intent of building awareness of the brand and how litter can affect a cat’s health. 

Over time, that blog grew to include stories about all sorts of aspects of cat health, and readers came back again and again to seek answers and stories about more than just cat litter. 

Through this blog, we were able to build trust, familiarity, and a reason for clients to return. The blog established PrettyLitter as a go-to source for cat information, which, in turn, brought it increased success.

Think of content creation as planting a seed and spreading roots. It’s an investment of time and money that pays off with compounding results over time. When your content answers real questions, it not only works endlessly to find you new customers, but it also helps you to keep your existing customers coming back.

Unlike ads, content can work far beyond the point of its initial release with proper SEO. The internet is boundless, and content can live online forever to reach customers long after an ad campaign has run its course.  

Be Informed

Knowing the answer to questions like, “what does a copywriter do” and “what is effective content creation” can help you build better strategies to attract new clients and keep them coming back. It can also keep you from accidentally asking a copywriter for help copyrighting!

Remember that copywriting is close to the sale and uses data to drive your customers to action. Content creation also involves wordsmithing, but it’s far from the sale and builds trust and reliability between you and your clients. Both are extremely important for your business.

If you are a business looking for a copywriter, contact Cornell to help you leverage your copy and content to better reach your clients. If you’re a creative, grab this free resource to see if copywriting or content creation are right for you.