Copywriting is not blogging. There's often confusion between the meaning of blogging and copywriting. Many people assume that copywriting means writing articles for online readers or blogging. It's important to know the difference between copywriting and simply writing entertaining stories. If you publish online content that should ideally influence people's behavior, you also need copywriting skills to get better results.
Blogging skills are not enough for selling.
In fact, copywriting is much older than the Internet, blogs and publishing content for online readers, it's the essence of any marketing message whether it's on TV, the radio or in a magazine.
So, what is copywriting?
Copywriting is a type of writing that has the specific purpose of increasing sales. Marketing companies hire copywriters to create their ads. Website owners hire professional copywriters to produce website content and sales ads. The purpose of these forms of content is to communicate a message and lead to a desired action.
For example, if your website sells children's products, your message is simple: Buy children's products!
Call to action and Conversion rate
What is a call to action?
An article is written to inform and enlighten readers, but what should they do with this information? The call to action can be a passive message that shows how a product or service is better, or an active message, like a button that says 'Sign up now!'.
Another buzz word you will hear a lot in digital marketing and copywriting circles is conversion rate. The conversion rate is simply the percentage of people who have performed a desired action after reading a web copy.
Copywriting is writing to inform, to influence and to sell.
Build it and they will buy it is rarely the case nowadays... People often have to be inspired to act in a particular way, and even more so when they are accustomed to another way... In sales, the ability to use words to convince people can make the difference between success and failure. Copywriting uses phrases and slogans that are emotional and effective to lead to a desired outcome. Like any good piece of music, a good web copy conveys the right emotions. After reading a good copy, people should feel compelled to take a desired action.
In summary, the major difference between blogging and copywriting is that copywriting is not only about storytelling, it also contains some form of marketing message and a call to action.
5 Ways you can improve your copywriting skills
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A course about writing is a great way to get started. A good writing course should be like an invisible hand that helps you learn step by step until you perfect your writing art. If there's a good writing course you can recommend, let me know below.
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Study an advertising letter.
Another great way to learn how to write copywriting material is to study business emails and newsletters you receive. Study how the sentences are crafted to communicate a message and emotions which could lead you do something beneficial to the business. Try to write similar content and show them to your friends and family. Ask them how they feel after reading your text. Which emotions have you managed to stir this time?
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Learn more about SEO, writing.
Writing for the web is a very profitable job and you can turn it into a whole business. You should also learn the basics of search engine optimization or SEO. SEO can increase the chances that a reader will discover your web copy with a simple online search.
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Learn from a book.
Even though ebooks are very popular today, you can still go to a bookstore or library and find a book about copywriting. Boostlane offers a few ebooks that you can download for free when you become a member.
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Read copywriting blogs.
Read blogs that teach copywriting. Copywriting is a global concept and you can learn a lot by reading blogs from any country. Let me know below if you know a good website for learning copywriting.
