I often get asked ‘what does a copywriter do?’ and, while that’s not a bad question, I’m more inclined to tell you what I can offer and why you should care.
Any web copywriter worth their salt infuses their work with the science of sales and uses psychology to influence human behaviour. But truly great copywriting also has the same capacity to delight, sadden or shock that great artwork has.
If you have any experience with content farms, you’ll already know that doesn’t come easy. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t come cheap either. It does, however, often result in your sales going through the roof.
Good copywriting often comes down to quick wins and using deceptively simple techniques to correct seemingly insignificant mistakes. But still, nailing down what copywriters actually do is tough. It’s not all like this…
Everything from a routine typo to a cluttered homepage or an inconsistent tone of voice can disrupt your reader. As soon as they have to work to figure out what you’re saying, they either lose interest or you lose credibility in their eyes.
When that happens, you lose out on sales.
It doesn’t always say so in the job description, but it’s generally up to copywriters to make sure a couple of things happen:
– Look for ways to ensure that a business is maximising growth by testing and optimising content on home pages, in emails etc. (That’s the direct salesy bit.)
– Help business owners create and use a unique voice that makes them impossible to ignore. (That’s the fluffy branding bit.)
For a modern copywriter, one day can look very different to the next – it’s not uncommon to jump between writing homepages, sales letters and content for social media. It really depends on the client!
What does a copywriter NOT do?
As good a question as ‘what does a copywriter do?’, but a little trickier to answer. This varies massively from copywriter to copywriter, so you’ll have to ask them. Sorry!
SEO – some copywriters think that search engine optimisation ‘corrupts their copy’. I’m not one of them. I’ve long since learned to love the SEO!
Journalism – a lot of copywriters think writing articles for the press about a product they’re intimately involved with is a violation of their ethical code!
Design/Development – again, not always the case. I know my way around Photoshop and a CMS or two, but I think I’m an exception rather than the rule. Good for me.
Work with patents or trademarks – seriously, I wish there was some way to distinguish vocally between copywriter and copyrighter…