What is copywriting, and how can it grow your business?

Whether you’re a long-established brand or a new startup, you need to market your business to find customers, ensure growth and enjoy long-term success. When it comes to marketing, copywriting is one of the most important aspects of creating a successful campaign, yet it can often be overlooked.

Let’s look at what copywriting is and why it’s so much more than just a load of words.

What is copywriting?

Ask a copywriter if they can help you with a trademark dispute and you’ll be met with a heavy sigh. Despite the similarity in the words, copywriting has nothing to do with copyright; it’s all about writing copy.

Copy is a term used for the written material on a digital or printed publication. It’s all the words and text, as opposed to images, photographs or other design elements. Everything from the description on a jar of cooking sauce to the content of a website is copy – and it all has to be written by somebody.

Copywriters are a hardworking bunch, crafting words that not only convey a certain message but also embody a brand’s identity and encourage customers to take action across a range of online and offline media.

How is copywriting different from content writing?

The main difference between copywriting and content writing is the aim of the piece.

Although copy can refer to any text, it’s usually used within a marketing context to mean text that is used to advertise or promote a product or service in some way. This could be a product page on a website, a printed brochure, or a paid Google ad.

Content writing, on the other hand, is much more focused on simply providing interesting or educational information. While it may be used more broadly as part of an overall marketing campaign to build brand trust and encourage sales, this type of writing isn’t overtly salesy.

What different types of copywriting are there?

There are lots of different disciplines within copywriting, each of which comes with its own set of best practices, challenges and aims.

Here are some of the most common types of copywriting you might come across when promoting your business.

Website copywriting

From concisely explaining your services to sharing a compelling company vision, the words on your website have a lot of work to do. Even within website copywriting, there are discrete disciplines, such as product copywriting for ecommerce sites.

SEO copywriting

Search engine optimisation is all about creating a website that drives relevant traffic to your website. SEO copywriting services often include keyword research, figuring out which search terms will boost your organic search visibility and bring in more traffic.

Blog copywriting

Articles can help you to target what’s known as long-tail keywords. These are search terms that incorporate several words or a short sentence, such as “What is copywriting?” Blog copywriting combines SEO and content writing to build trust and boost website traffic.

Newsletter copywriting

Regularly interacting with your customers is important to keep your brand fresh in people’s minds. Whether you’re sharing company news, explaining a new service or introducing a special offer, engaging newsletter copywriting can entice new leads from a stale database.

Advertisement copywriting

Advertising copywriting takes many forms, from full-page magazine spreads to website banner ads and everything in between. A great advert should be informative, concise and attention grabbing, which can be hard to achieve when space is at a premium.

Social media copywriting

A strong social media presence is a great way to promote your brand and engage with your customers. Social media copywriting requires tailoring the tone and length of the content to each platform, as well as incorporating relevant hashtags to boost discoverability.

Business copywriting

Outside of marketing, there are lots of other things that need to be written for an organisation’s daily operations. Business copywriting encompasses things like job adverts, employee handbooks and internal communications, which must be accurate and on brand.

Should you work with a copywriting agency?

As we’ve seen, there are lots of different types of copywriting, and mastering them all can be tough.

To make sure you get the most out of every piece of copy you put out, it’s worth partnering with an experienced copywriting agency with a proven track record of creating content that entices and entertains while encapsulating everything a brand stands for.

As well as giving you access to masters of the craft, outsourcing your content to a copywriting agency will take some rather hefty jobs off your plate. Copy is everywhere, and ensuring a consistent brand approach takes time and dedication.

Of course, this doesn’t mean handing over the reins entirely and should be a collaborative effort. At Ketchup, we’re devoted to working alongside your brand to embody your voice, connect with your target audience, and achieve your goals through expertly written copy.

Harness our expert copywriting services

If you’d like Ketchup’s talented copywriting team to work their magic on your brand, we’d love to hear from you.