Content Marketing vs. Copywriting: What’s the Difference?

Historically, the term “content marketing” referred to the practice of creating and freely sharing valuable content as a way of converting prospects into customers. The common term “copywriting” referred to composition of material that was designed to get the reader to take a specific action, such as the wording found in sales pages, direct mail, advertisements and infomercials. Both of these methods of writing are important in a marketing campaign, but what is the true difference between the two? Well, not much. Although the individual scope of each is different, copywriting and content marketing work hand in hand, one with another, to develop content for a variety of uses that converts traffic and engages an audience. Instead of considering copy writing and content marketing as two breeds within the same species, consider the two as separate techniques that can be implemented individually, or combined to create quality content with a call to action. Let’s look at how they work together:

Content NEEDS Effective Copywriting

There are a ton of blogs out there on the internet with awesome content, and very few readers. If you are writing valuable stuff that you know people would like, but you aren’t finding the traffic you had expected, it could be because of ineffective copywriting. Copywriting is a skill; a technique of writing that draws in an audience and calls them to perform a certain action, whether it’s signing up for your email-list, scheduling a consultation, buying a product, or sharing your page on social media sites. One of the first places to emphasize your copywriting skill is in the headline. No one clicks on a boring headline. The headline needs to effectively communicate the content of your article, and give the reader a reason to spend their time reading the rest of your words. Cute, clever and witty headlines are attention grabbing, but without communicating the reader benefit, it may be difficult to capture an audience. Take the technique of copywriting and apply it to your content marketing material to create a publication that people return to on a regular basis. The goal is to create a large and loyal audience, so utilize effective copywriting to convince your readers that your material is worth their time. Feature a specific call to action so that the readers know what it is you want them to do, and start growing your reader base.

Copywriting NEEDS Quality Content

The relationship between content marketing and copywriting goes both ways. As important as copywriting is to content, content is equally important to copywriting. Writing copy without valuable and useful content is writing an empty sales pitch, which no one is interested in. The thing to remember is that copywriting attracts the readers and content keeps them, which is vital when trying to build a loyal readership. Here are some tips to keep in mind: If your content looks like an ad, it will be overlooked and ignored. The way to get around this is to make your advertising valuable by embedding it in quality, readable content. Be generous with your free content. Giving away tons of valuable free content builds priceless reputation and branding points and generates an audience of potential leads. Content marketing is great for search engine optimization, but don’t forget that you are writing for humans, first. Use voice in your writing and create functional and informative content to reach an audience of humans. Overall, don’t publish content that sucks. Not only will it return little results, but it can do way more damage than good for your reputation, branding, and business. Combine copywriting with creative and valuable content to create a loyal audience and build more traffic. And finally, our very own call to action: If you are interested in reading more about internet marketing, check out the topics on our blog, newsletter, or simply fill out our inquiry form to reach our team of internet marketing strategists. Or, feel free to call us directly at 919-341-8901.

Tags: Digital Marketing