What is the difference between website content writing and copywriting?
There is always some confusion about what is website content writing and what is copywriting.
This confusion is not there in the non-Internet world.
You know that a person who writes for newspapers and magazines is a journalist or a writer.
A person who writes ad copies is a copywriter.
A person who writes books is a novelist or an author.
The distinctions are clear.
But when it comes to writing for websites, there is a confusion about website content writing and copywriting.
This confusion is normally among the clients who are either unaware of the difference or don’t want to pay for copywriting but want to use the services of a copywriter.
Website content writers and copywriters come with different skills.
As a website content writer, you are mostly writing information.
A website content writer writes blog posts, SEO articles, social media updates and web page content.
A copywriter writes marketing copy or sales copy.
These are different writing styles.
I have different rates for website content writing and copywriting: I charge more for copywriting.
Copywriting, or rather online copywriting, is marketing and sales related, whereas, content writing helps you build your brand.
Can one work without the other?
I can’t deny. People have built entire businesses upon the fundamental base of good content, without resorting to copywriting.
In simple terms, website content writing gives you brand presence and online copywriting does the selling for you.
The job of a website content writer is to bring people to your website. The job of an online copywriter is to make those people buy from you.
Of course, a single writer can achieve both the tasks, just like I do.
When I’m writing for a blog or a press release or a social networking update, I am writing as a content writer.
When I’m writing copy for a landing page or homepage or even one of the main pages of a business website, or an email campaign, I’m writing as a copywriter.
Why I charge more for my copywriting services
I should begin explaining this by saying that I charge less for my content writing services.
The reality of the world is, you don’t mind paying less, but you certainly mind paying more.
It’s easier to be a content writer (compared to being a copywriter).
When someone hires you for your content writing services, he or she does not expect you to increase his or her sales.
At the most, he or she wants you to improve SEO and provide writing that is free of spelling and grammar mistakes.
If the writing is interesting, contains a personality and a stylish, well, it is icing on the cake, but, as long as the writing is good and covers all the topics (the keywords), the icing isn’t as important.
Copywriting comes with the cake, with the icing, and with everything else that must make the cake completely delicious.
No scope for compromise.
The stakes are higher when you are writing copy and the stakes are higher when you are hiring someone as your copywriter.
Your business depends on this type of writing.
If the copy is not effective, if it is not convincing, if it is not informative, if it is not compelling, people are not going to buy from you.
No matter how much traffic you are getting from search engines, if the traffic does not convert, it is of no use.
Hence, copywriting can make or break your business.
Content writing on the other hand, definitely makes your business, but the chance of it breaking your business is less and even if it causes some sort of harm, you can easily and quickly recover.
But writing is writing, you may say.
Yes, I agree.
I maintain a certain level of quality whether I’m writing content or writing copy.
I don’t cut corners just because I expect to be paid more for one type of writing and less for another.
The quality and the style is more or less the same.
I charge for copywriting more because people are ready to pay more for copywriting because it is crucial for the business.
Everybody with an ability to write straight sentences can be a content writer.
But, only a highly skilled and expert writer can be a copywriter.
This is the difference.