Today let’s talk about the very powerful yet important forms of writing- content writing and copywriting. These two can be called the 2 musketeers of the digital marketing world. If done right, both of the tools are enough to fetch you the digital success you have been yearning for forever now. 

Even though both of these forms of writing serve an entirely different purpose of marketing, you cannot separate one from the other and rely on one element completely to see results for your business. Content writing- helps your brand increase engagement and establish loyalty. Copywriting on the other hand fetches you returns on your marketing efforts like sales and conversions. Now you tell me, are there either of the superpowers you would like to give up on? 

Content and copywriting are two distinctive subjects that are not interchangeable or synonyms to one another. The reason we are bringing this up here is because most businesses feel it's the same thing. They think it's a given for a content writer to write persuasive and effective copies and a copywriter to be able to pull off a value bomb blog that everybody refers to when in doubt. But is it fair to expect this? Not entirely. 

A writer by heart won’t say no to any form of writing but having the experience and specialization to do justice to the job given is something every client, business, entity expects. That’s when and where segregation happens. 

If you are a writer who is looking to specialize in content or copywriting, or if you are looking to try your hands on a different form of writing than what you already do, this article is only what you need to refer to.

Why Do We Need Content In Digital Marketing?

Having a well-rounded digital marketing strategy is crucial to successful promotion of your business online. However, some elements—such as social media and search engines—are more important than others.

It’s no secret that digital marketing has taken over the world. In fact, more than three-fourths of consumers are using online resources to find new products and services. The primary goal of a strategy is to reach people. 

Research suggests that as much as 80% of consumers use the Internet to gather information. Online business works best when it’s based on social media and a solid search engine optimization plan.Let’s get started and do some talking around writing! We will go over their non-conventional definition so that you understand it this time for real. We will look at their pros and cons, scope, and which kind of writer holds the accountability to earn better and grow better in these two phenomenal writing domains.

1. With Content, You Educate The Masses

Before choosing a product or service, customers first seek information to determine whether it is what they need. Therefore, you should have content that educates people on the benefits of your offerings.

A potential customer needs to understand what you have to offer before they can decide whether or not to buy from you. To make sure they are aware of all the options available, you need to provide informative online content for interested parties.

Educational content includes your product pages, blog posts, home page, and about us page. Educational content may also include tutorials, reviews, and other content that helps your customers learn more about your business. 

How does it work? For example, if you’re selling the top 10 electronic gadgets, then instead of writing how they work individually, you could provide links to how they work – Youtube videos, Amazon reviews and other links that relate to the product you are selling.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Is A Cherry On The TopAlthough people often use search engines for other reasons, writing content that targets sites like Google can help to increase your site traffic. Since users trust the sites that appear near the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), optimizing your site for the search engines can benefit you. More like SEO content/copy writing. 

But it’s important that search users do not get discouraged when their searches don’t produce relevant leads right away. For that reason, it’s best to start writing blog content optimized for searches (such as your business name, location and products) immediately to attract the right kind of traffic at the right time.

Your customers are constantly looking for new solutions, and one day they may visit your website via a search engine. If you want to attract visitors, don’t miss out on the opportunity to tell your story using SEO-friendly copywriting to craft branded content optimized for search engines.

3. A Room To Create Quality BacklinksTrust that the internet is a big place. If you really want a link, offer something unique and value-rich that people can't easily find anywhere else. The content you actually create is far more valuable than the backlinks it might generate. 

If you provide valuable and unique content, people will share it. If you waste anyone’s time with mediocre ideas or blatant crap, they will not share it. Write quality content, and then reap the benefits.

Let’s first start with the definitions

Content Writing vs Copywriting

First things first, to be a good writer you need to know your way around words, sentence structurization, tonality, flow, and some quirky vocab which are easy to digest by your movie as well as expert readers. Your writing should be clear, crisp, persuasive, interesting to read and the most crucial- add tons and tons of value to the readers. By now you know the content and copywriting go hand-in-hand. The more you familiarise yourself with both of these writing styles, it's natural for you to get biased towards one domain more than the other. Can you be good at both, yes. But can you be nailing both, depends! 

Content writing is long-form writing. It involves you churning out paragraphs after paragraphs that are worth reading without making a reader feel like taking a nap.

It is all about creating relevant, useful content for your audience. You must choose topics that are interesting and relevant to your target audience so you can gain their trust and convert them into customers. It includes blogs, articles, white papers, case studies, ebooks, infographics, etc. People who wish to become top-notch content writers can explore professional and at the same time rewarding fields like journalism, blogging, creative writer, magazine writer, fashion writer and what not! The world is your blank canvas to create magic with your words.

Copywriting is short-form writing, more like writing snippets, punch lines for ads, and so on.  It involves putting no more than 4-6 lines on a piece of paper to make an impression that lasts. Not only that but persuasive to a level wherein the product and services sell.

Do you think you can do that with a handful of words? If yes, it might be your calling. Copywriters are at the center of the advertising process. They get your audience’s attention, get them to read their text, and convince them to act on it. They are the ones who write the words, sounds, and pictures that you see in ads. Content pieces like emailers, social media captions, website copies, advertising copies, etc all fall under the core job responsibilities of a copywriter. They need to write with an intent to drive users and customers to take an action, also called a CTA (call to action).

Now that we know what is expected of content and copywriting individually,one might supersede others in terms of its flexibility, freedom, scope, pay and so much more. Let’s find out where you can get an edge and how to make the most of it. But always remember, it doesn't really matter which style of writing has more weightage, but eventually what matters is what is your heart’s calling. On that note, let’s continue.

Goals Of Content Writing And Copywriting

Both of these writing tools are powerful and serve different purposes for any business. Naturally, both of these forms of writing follow a different route to give your business a taste of success. 

Let’s dig a little deeper and understand their broader contributions.

Goals A Copywriter Needs To Fulfil:-1. Engaging With Your Readers, Customers, Users & Target AudienceCopywriters know they are not writing to please themselves but their customers, users and target audience. No matter how amazing that line reads, no matter how many hours you put in those sentences to frame, if it does not fit, it does not fit. Simple! So the first aim of a copywriter is to engage the audience. The better the engagement with a website copy, the better you can expect for people to hit that CTA button. Sounds simple, but to be able to do that? Not so much! It’s expected of you to dig to a level wherein you know the exact pain points, frustrations of a potential user of the product that they have no other option to but to subconsciously do what you intend them to do. Good copywriters learn to captivate an audience by interacting with it. You don't always need a concrete idea of your ideal customer or reader, because good writers can use their experience and intuition to engage readers anyway.A copywriter needs to say this to themselves, out loud and clear- I write to get your attention and persuade you, one reader at a time. I know that I can win you over, but I also understand that you may need some convincing. It’s my job to make sure you look past my words, shake off the technical jargon, and link your hands with mine as we climb our respective journeys together.If you are clear on these things, you are halfway there to join the runway of amazing copywriters on the planet. (even that ever becomes a thing!) 2. Good copywriters don’t only sell, they educate as well

Even though copywriters are intended and hired to sell stuff (products and services), they do not need to sound salezy at all. You need to be persuasive in your writing to a level wherein you do not scare your customers away to see you as clickbaits and red flags. Being authentic is the key to writing great copies. Start with adding a lot of value to the content and then slowly drive them to signing up, logging in or even buy now! Undertaking research on a subject is the nature of the job. A good writer will not only do this but also continue to educate him or herself on the subject in order to share his or her findings with readers in a meaningful way. The worst thing that can happen in that instance is that the client will read the first draft and let us know that the message is a little off-target. If this happens, the writer can simply revise to adjust the information.3. Copywriters Use Persuasive Language To Drive Sure Shot Sales 

Nobody wants to read a textbook. Readers want to read something that’s engaging and entertaining, but still gets in all the facts. You have an opportunity to connect with your target audience, share information and build trust. The best way to tell if you’re using a tone that resonates with your readers is by having others read your content and giving them honest feedback about whether the language resonates with them or not. 

Experts swear by the effectiveness of Product X, but consumers are far more interested in how it can improve their lives. Let's take a hypothetical situation to make the difference clear. Product X improves your chances of survival by 20 percent in case of a zombie apocalypse. Persuasion: Those who don't use Product X during a zombie invasion will suffer the same fate as its non-user, who was devoured by zombies. See what we did there? That's the genius a persuasive copywriter brings in. 

It is my opinion that the most effective writing will combine the elements of the other two types of communication. An engaging writer will create curiosity in readers, keeping them reading to discover the answers to questions that have been posed. Education provides the knowledge so readers can understand how to solve whatever problem arises during a specific situation.

Converting readers into customers (or whatever else you want them to do) is what it is all about. The best writers are good at the process of persuasion. Persuasion occurs when the writer opens an imaginative channel between him or herself and the reader, who is then free to enter the writer's world. The best writers are expert at this, and it constitutes their greatest contribution to the reader.

Goals A Content Writer Needs To Fulfil

1. Content Writers Should Write Because They Have a Purpose

A content is useful only if it serves a purpose. It can be either educational, promotional, guide or any other form you want it to be. Businesses assume content is generated only for the sake of it. Or the maximum they can attach a value to it is it will be helpful for SEO purposes. But no matter how nicely you optimize your content for the machine, as long as its not for the readers, it's useless. 

2. You Content should either Engage, Entertain or Inform

Content writers need to hook their audience from the moment one reads the first line and the finish line. Not only this, but choosing the right headline is indeed a deal maker or breaker. Your headlines should speak what the gist of your content is or why even should a person invest their time in reading the entire article/blog. 

It does not matter which niche your interest lies in, what matters is how well you do justice to the topic. If it's a fashion article, is it engaging and at the same time informative enough? If it's a sports article, is it giving enough insights and value to sports enthusiasts? If it's a business case Study, does it talk about the pain points of your potential customers and how your product helped it overcome? Be it whatever genre, it should hold a meaning to someone who is coming to read it.

3. Your Content should be Convincing or Persuasive

Keeping positive and optimism alive in your content, it should be convincing and persuasive in all healthy manners. As opposed to inspirational content, persuasive content is meant to convince your audiences through facts and figures, making their decision easier by addressing the rational side of their interests. Data-driven content can be a more effective way to convince your audience and turn them into customers.4. Content Writing & Content Marketing Should Go Hand-in-HandYour audience is out there somewhere. They might be eager to hear from you, but they’re drowning in a flood of information. Your content marketing helps them find your voice and know that their problems can be solved by your products or services.

Content marketing generates awareness, traffic and sales. It builds a loyal community that identifies your organization as the expert in your field. Content marketing creates a level of trust with your prospect and potential customer that affects future purchasing decisions.

Content marketing enables companies to interact with their customers by delivering valuable information that entertains them. This strategy relies on engaging the audience emotionally; a benefit to both attracting new followers and establishing credibility as an expert in one’s industry.

Which Team Are You On? Content or Copy?

Honestly, it does not matter. Great content is the foundation of any successful digital marketing strategy. Without it, you’ll struggle to attract leads and close the deals that turn them into customers. Our writing team can help you share your unique story in a way that makes your customers feel like you understand them and can relate to their pain points.

You will be better able to attract attention, collect leads, and convert prospects into paying customers if you produce great content.