Copywriting

This article is about writing for advertisements and other forms of marketing communications. It is not to be confused with copyright.

Copywriting is the act of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing.^[1] The product, called copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.

Copywriters help create billboards, brochures, catalogs, jingle lyrics, magazine and newspaper advertisements, sales letters and other direct mail, scripts for television or radiocommercials, taglines, white papers, social media posts, and other marketing communications.

They are generally known as website content writers or copywriters if their work appears mostly on the Internet. A content writer helps create online advertisements, web pages, email newsletters, blog posts and social media posts.

Cross discipline copywriters who look at the wider context of their work are called digital copywriters.^[2] The distinction is that these individuals consider the mechanics of the user journey, the external links that are included in the copy for search engine optimization and are highly focused towards creating online sales and dealing with technical issues such as bounce rate.

EmploymentEdit

Many copywriters are employed in advertising agencies, public relations firms, or copywriting agencies.

• Advertising agencies usually employ copywriters as part of a creative team in which they are partnered with art directorsor creative directors. The copywriter writes copy or script for an advertisement, based largely on information obtained from the client. The art director is responsible for visual aspects of the advertisement and, particularly in the case of print work, may oversee production. Either member of the team can come up with the overall idea (typically referred to as the concept) and the process of collaboration often improves the work.
• Copywriting agencies combine copywriting with a range of editorial and associated services that may include positioning and messaging consulting, social media, search engine optimization, developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, fact checking, layout and design. The clients are usually large corporations.

Copywriters also work in-house for retail chains, book publishers or other big firms which advertise frequently. They can also be employed to write advertorials for newspapers, magazines, broadcasters and cable providers.

Some copywriters work as independent contractors, doing freelance writing for a variety of clients. They may work at a client's office, a coworking office, a coffeehouse, or from home.

Copywriters are similar to technical writersand the careers may overlap. Broadly speaking, however, technical writing is dedicated to informing readers rather than persuading them. For example, a copywriter writes an advertisement to sell a car, while a technical writer writes the operator's manual explaining how to use it.