The Copywriter’s Handbook: Words that Win Sales

Copywriting is one of the most essential elements of effective online marketing. Copywriting is the art and science of strategically delivering words (whether written or spoken) that get people to take some form of action. Copywriters are some of the highest-paid writers in the world. Copywriting is the act of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action. Copywriters help create billboards, brochures, catalogs, jingle lyrics, magazine and newspaper advertisements, sales letters and other direct mail, scripts for television or radio commercials, taglines, white papers and other marketing communications. They are generally known as website content writers if their work appears mostly on the Internet. A content writer helps create online advertisements, web pages, email newsletters, blog posts and social media. Cross discipline copywriters who look at the wider context of their work are called digital copywriters. The distinction is that these individuals consider the mechanics of the user journey, the external links that are included in the copy for search engine optimisation and are highly focussed towards creating online sales and dealing with technical issues such as bounce rate. Advertising agencies usually employ copywriters as part of a creative team in which they are partnered with art directors. The copywriter writes text or script for an advertisement, based largely on information obtained from the client. The art director is responsible for visual aspects of the advertisement and, particularly in the case of print work, may oversee production. Either member of the team can come up with the overall idea (typically referred to as the concept) and the process of collaboration often improves the work. Copywriting agencies combine copywriting with a range of editorial and associated services that may include positioning and messaging consulting, social media, search engine optimization, developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, fact checking, layout and design. The clients are usually large corporations.