Content writing or copywriting, that is the question

Erdem YıldızFormer Content ManagerSHERPA

Although copywriting has been a part of our lives for a long time in the advertising context, with the rise of content marketing industry, a similar discipline, content writing (or production) has also become part of our lexicon. So here we are, with two terms which are often mistakenly used interchangeably.

What a copywriter does, and a content writer doesn’t do

Content is mostly taken for granted as textual production even though it has a broader and more comprehensive meaning; moreover, copywriting and content writing both include the act of writing. Therefore an ambiguity over the use of these terms is inevitable. It is true that the scope of this article will be a textual production mostly, but even without emphasizing the textual part, the content is correlated with writing.

Let’s start with a depiction of the scene from the marketer’s and creative writer’s point of view and make some basic definitions.  

Content production (text-based content in this article and content in any form in a broader sense) means the creation of qualified content for indirect marketing. Without any direct and specific action call, content marketing provides entertaining, useful and engaging content to users and makes them feel connected. This is the trust-building process. Considering textual content in this context helps us understand what it really is. In a nutshell, content within content marketing is not related to advertising. It does not make any action call for making money except that it is produced on behalf of a brand, institution or organization. This is the copywriter’s job.

The purposes of copywriting and content writing are substantially different. As a concept related to advertising, copywriting indicates production of any written material with the intent of particular customer actions. These actions can vary from purchasing a new product to invite a customer to contest, from product advice to election propaganda. There is an infinite number of call to action types for a copywriter.

Talking about the Beetle

A famous case can be helpful to illuminate the difference between these two terms. One of the most successful advertising campaigns of the last century was Helmut Krone, and Julian Koenig’s Volkswagen Beetle – Think Small ads. Let’s take a look at the visual and the copy.

Unlike the typical car advertisements (which were basically an ode to luxury), Think Small focused on the minimalistic simplicity and usability of the Beetle; the copy was created to highlight these properties. On the one hand, there are a product and an action; and on the other, a proper text to call for that action. This is what a copywriter does.

On the same product, this BBC Culture article can be given as an example of the “content” based material. The piece is not created for or by the brand (so, it is not content marketing either); it is informative and entertaining, and not aimed at sales or marketing.

The only resemblance between the textual content and the advertisement copy is at the structural level. Both contain components such as a title, subtitles, and descriptive spots. These components are advertisement elements of the text itself so to speak. They must be successful in creating sufficient texts since good content does not have any value by itself. It only makes sense when it reaches an audience. An actual and large audience determines the success and value of content.  At this juncture, unsurprisingly, copywriting turns into a great contributor to content marketing because it is aimed at creative actions.

On the contrary, if we prioritize content marketing and discover its impact, we can see that it goes beyond a temporary benefit with the useful material it offers. With the help of content marketing, the customers acquired with advertising become loyal and long-lasting.

“Content tells, copy sells”

To sum up, the relationship between content marketing and copywriting can function singularly, but to reach the ultimate success, they should assist each other mutually. Even though they can cooperate and overlap, they have distinctive forms and mediums. Content marketing mostly uses the forms below:

  • Blogs
  • Articles
  • Bulletins
  • News
  • Video essays
  • Product demos

Copywriting, on the other hand, can be used in any advertising medium. We have already mentioned that content marketing can make use of the tactical pieces copywriting offers.

In conclusion, we can refer to Elizabeth Campbell’s formula that is quoted in this article. Campbell summarizes the difference as: “Content tells, copy sells. It is as simple as that.” It might be easy to say. However, like any other subject on writing, it demands substantial effort, serious reading, studying and mastery on the subject.