What Do Copywriters Do?

Have you ever considered the number of instances per day which you see advertising? You’ll find it on lampposts, billboards, shop windows, and most other places you look if you live in a town or city. Without expert copywriters, we wouldn’t have those amazing adverts people remember for years afterwards or those inspirational posters that promote events that change people’s lives. They’re pretty important, and you’re probably here to try to figure out why that is. Let’s take a brief look at what specifically copywriting is, then discuss four activities most copywriters can do in their sleep.

Copywriting Defined

Every copywriter will have their own definition of what copywriting is because not all copywriters follow the same processes or engage in the same copywriting activities. For example, some believe that copywriting and content writing are the same thing. In a general sense, copywriting involves the development of persuasive phrases and other wording used as part of advertising and marketing campaigns. One of the best copywriting definitions comes from prolific advert copywriter, Bruce Bendinger, who said:

“Copywriting is a job. A skilled craft. Verbal carpentry. Words on paper. Scripts to time. And one more thing. Salesmanship.”

4 Things Every Copywriter Does

1. Advert Copy

   Whether online or in print format, adverts are stapled brand activities and require skilled wordsmiths to ensure that people read and engage with the adverts. This involves careful development of advert headings, sluglines, descriptive wording, and calls to action. These are usually short snippets of text, and – believe it or not – these shorted copy formats are more difficult to get right than longer content pieces.

2. Website Copy

   Online adverts usually point to a destination URL, which is often a dedicated landing page or a page on the brand’s website. Advert wording is critical to convince readers to click and find out more, but the conversion will be made or broken on the destination page. For this reason, excellent copywriters are also able to develop informative, engaging copy for website pages.

3. Blog Articles

   While normally the role of content writers, some copywriters have also been known to develop blog articles. This is especially effective when the same copywriter has developed copy for adverts and landing pages associated with the blog article. This allows for the same tone and style to carry across all campaign content assets, which is great for ensuring brand consistency.

4. Product Descriptions
   

   Like adverts, online product descriptions found on e-commerce websites are shorter form pieces of content. These are meant to describe products or services in as few words as possible and are a lot tougher that one might think. However, copywriters worth their salt can research products, get to know them from a layman’s perspective, and write product descriptions that are intended to excite readers and generate interest.

Copywriting is needed on so many levels, in both marketing and advertising. This means that companies and marketing agencies alike are always on the lookout for talented wordsmiths.

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