What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the art of writing copy (text) that communicates your message and persuades your potential customers to take action.
Many businesses hire a copywriter to write the copy for their websites and other sales and marketing materials.
Too many websites fall short when it comes to their content. The copy on their website is either poorly written or lacking in-depth and keyword focus.
Research has proven that poorly written content can have a massive impact on the reputation and trustworthiness of your business.
Most importantly though, poorly written website copy results in potential customers leaving your website and buying from your competitors.
What Does a Copywriter Do?
A copywriter obviously spends a good proportion of their time writing content for websites, emails and other sales and marketing materials.
However, the best copywriters spend just as much, if not more time researching and learning about their clients business and industry.
There are, of course, various types of copywriters from website copywriters to creative advertising copywriters to technical copywriters.
Each kind of copywriter will usually have a different skill set required depending on the kind of business they work for.
For example, for a website, you’ll need a creative copywriter who, ideally, will be skilled in website copywriting and technical SEO copywriting.
The Copywriting Process
If we use a freelance copywriter as an example, their typical copywriting process when taking on a new client would usually look as follows;
(1) Client Interview & Research
A good copywriter will always use a good amount of time to research their client first in order to get a feel for who they are and what they do.
They will typically interview, research and learn about the client’s values, products, services, history and communication style.
(2) Competitor & Industry Research
Another important task done by most copywriters is to research their client’s competitors and learn about the industry.
This gives the copywriter a deeper understanding of the client’s business and allows them to extract valuable insights from their competitors.
(3) Planning the Content Strategy
Before writing any content it’s important for a copywriter to put together and agree a content strategy with the client.
For website copywriting projects, this may involve keyword research and planning the structure of the content on the site.
For other copywriting projects it may just be a case of understanding the overall purpose and objective of the content to be produced.
(4) Copywriting
Once a copywriter has a better understanding of their clients business, industry, products, services, tone and the purpose of the content, they will finally start putting together the first draft of the copy.
Most professional copywriters will create at least two or more drafts before referring back to the client for approval and publishing.
Conclusion
Many businesses underestimate the importance of copywriting and how much difference good copy can make to their bottom line.
By hiring a professional copywriter, you can increase the trust amongst readers and persuade them to buy your products and services.
Check out our professional copywriting services if you’re in the market for a website copywriter or need help with some SEO copywriting.