Copywriting: what is it and what can it do for me?

Copywriter? Copy? Many people talk about copywriting, but few really know what it is and what it's for. A copywriter is the specialist in charge of creative writing. In this article, as well as explaining it clearly and concisely, we are going to look a little closer at what a copywriter is and what functions they perform.

Let's start from the beginning... What is copywriting? 

The short answer is that copywriting is a creative writing technique that will help you to sell. But let us go a little further. Copywriting is linked to marketing, especially digital marketing. It is a practice that involves any type of creative writing that inspires action, whether it is advertising, sales material or content marketing.

The difference between copywriting and informative writing such as news or articles, is basically that copywriting motivates the reader to take a specific action, which could be to buy or download something, or set up a subscription, etc. Whilst traditional writing has the function of reporting or communicating, copywriting uses calls to action and other strategies to optimise content.

Copywriting builds attractive texts that will awaken the emotions, engage and convince the reader or capture a customer: ultimately, it's text that sells. As you well know, over the course of a day we all see and read hundreds of sentences, thousands of words... everything is online and standing out equals mission impossible. Unless that is, browsers find distinctive content that will attract their attention and compel them to keep reading. Copywriting can perform this little miracle!

What is a Copywriter and what do they do?

We can now imagine who a copywriter is. But let's look a little further into this wonderful figure, who is pretty close to the divine (performing miracles every day).

The vast majority of copywriters come from the world of journalism and/or digital marketing, and have been specifically trained in copywriting. Being able to write well and be creative isn't enough - they need to have mastery of a number of techniques that will persuade readers to do something specific: fill in a form, subscribe to the company's newsletter, buy a product, etc. And they'll also be a specialist in a certain field: fashion, consumer goods, technical writing, advertising and marketing, SEO copywriting, website copywriting, etc.

The profile of the copywriter is in increasing demand, as companies are beginning to understand how important good writing is to achieving their objectives.

Copywriter skills

Let's look at some skills of a good copywriter:

Flawless writing

In addition to writing correctly from a grammatical point of view, writing good copy means having excellent summarising skills and writing clearly.

Originality

A good copywriter needs to be up-to-date with your product or service, know about industry news and the campaigns the competition are putting out there. And, of course, they need to know how to draft texts in a way that differentiates you from the rest, in your own unique style.

Know your target audience

The first and absolutely fundamental step is defining the audience you're addressing. A good copywriter doesn't write for everyone, they create content for specific people, in specific situations. This makes it easier to connect with their audience with all five senses and stir up emotions.

Versatility

Your text will be different, depending on whether it's for Facebook, or Instagram, or a landing page. Each format has its own tone, rhythm and rules, which a copywriter needs to be aware of. After all, the platform we're on will have an impact on our interaction and behaviour.

Digital marketing knowledge

A copywriter's key objective is to create texts that seduce the reader and motivate them to take a specific action. This is why they'll be familiar with important concepts such as the buyer persona, call to action, keywords, acquisition cost, funnel and CPC.

Copywriter with SEO knowledge

And even more of a challenge - it isn't enough to write well and create compelling content, a copywriter needs to be able to write to be found! In other words, write in a way that makes the search engines fall in love with the text as much as the reader. Put even more simply: make sure your product appears first on search engines.

Most requested copywriting services

Since we've been offering a copywriting service, companies have mainly requested the following:

• Product description
• Websites
• Blog posts
• Landing pages
• Commercial texts
• Press Releases
• Newsletters

 Many companies still get internal staff to draft their digital marketing content, but they soon they realise that the texts aren't attractive to browsers, or that their website - with its incredibly cool and innovative design - isn't actually capturing any leads or converting customers.

Nobody's ever liked clumsily written texts - but now they like them even less!

There's no point creating content with keywords repeated to the point of absurdity just to get Google's attention, if you still can't convey your message in an original, creative and persuasive way.

Practical examples of copywriting

The best way to understand copywriting is to look at a couple of strong examples.

Spotify

We all know Spotify, and the vast majority of us use it daily: at work, when we're studying, in the car, at home, etc. When you open their website, you'll see a clear and concise message that reaches into your soul (especially the phrase telling you no credit card is required):

Listening is everything

Millions of songs and podcasts. No credit card required.

BlaBlaCar

The car sharing platform is another good example of creative copy, designed for the traveller who seeks practicality. That's why the copywriter went for this message:

Your ride. Your choice.

Practical, simple, direct

 Fotocasa

We all know how overwhelming it can be trying to find a flat or house, with so much on offer and sky-high prices. It makes you nervous just thinking about it! Fotocasa's copywriter knows this, and that's why they came up with such a reassuring message.

We all have a place.

Find your home to rent or buy from more than 1.5 M properties

Reel in your readers with our copywriting service

Want your website/product catalogue/landing page to start getting real results? We'll work on the concepts, ideas and words we're going to use. And we can go one step further. Once we've drafted your creative texts, we can translate them - or even transcreate them so the words have the same "miraculous" impact on your readers wherever they are in the world.