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If its portrayed with words, it’s copywriting. When marketers talk about copywriting, they tend to needlessly complicate the matter and confuse clients with fancy words and concepts, making it out be some form of nuclear physics when in reality copywriting can be summed up as everything that is written on the internet. From blog posts to company white papers, from website copy to SEO implementation, from sales to press releases and everything in between, copywriting is the very essence of digital marketing and online business.
This is a unique branch of digital marketing, one that requires a skilled, talented, and experienced mind with the ability to transform data, brand identities, and whole marketing strategies into compelling content that will resonate with the hearts and minds of the target audience. With that in mind, let’s explore the five key types of copywriting, and how you can use them to propel your company forward.
Creating copy that sells
Sales copy is the most prevalent content type in the online world, and it’s used to create advertising text, product and category descriptions, advertorials, as well as sales scripts and to boost entire sales strategies. While all copywriting should be data-driven and backed by a deep understanding of the target demographic and the underlying factors that control a customer’s decision-making process, sales copy in particular relies on deep industry insights. This makes it difficult to create copy in a way that attracts and inspires the reader instead of pushing them away, which is also why not all copywriters will commit to creating sales copy.
Nowadays, the only type of sales copy that works is the one that doesn’t come off as overly sales-y, as the modern customer is apprehensive and doesn’t like to be bombarded with ads or pushed towards any decision that isn’t their own. For this reason, creating sales copy requires someone who can delve into the customer’s subconscious, and write content that delivers facts but also a compelling story.
Writing compelling web content
Speaking of compelling stories, web content is another vital form of online content that drives digital marketing forward. The online world thrives on the abundance of information, and if you want to have any chance of long-term success in the competitive digital marketplace, you have to invest in quality web content to enrich your brand’s identity, feed the SEO machine (more on that in a bit), boost your reach, and improve engagement with your target audience.
Web content includes your site’s copy, blog posts and articles, social media writing, and every other type of copy that creates a narrative for your audience on the web. The key element of effective web content is creativity. This is your opportunity to create a compelling narrative for your audience that will inspire them to bookmark your site, start following you on social media, spread the word of your brand, and ultimately make the decision to buy your products or services.
Writing for international markets
The digital revolution has made it possible for any business to become a global venture virtually overnight. Simply launch a digital business and you have the ability to communicate and work with a global clientele, but that doesn’t mean that you should use the same language no matter the market or the demographic. If you have a presence in a new market, it’s imperative that you optimize your ads, brand identity, and marketing as a whole to appeal to the local customer base. This is where transcreation steps in.
Every market in the world has its unique culture and social structure that you need to be mindful of, which is why it’s important to leverage professional transcreation services to not only translate your content into the local language, but to also optimize it for unique sensibilities of the local culture. This elevates your chances of making a positive impact and establishing a meaningful relationship with the local community.
SEO-driven copywriting
Search engine optimization is the foundation of every strong inbound marketing strategy, and should be an integral part of your content-creation process. Simply put, you can’t expect your content or your site to rank high in the relevant SERPs if you’re optimizing it for Google and other relevant search engines with keywords and technical features (like readability) that pertain to your industry and niche. That said, you can’t simply stuff keywords into the copy, rather, you need to let a skilled copywriter weave them into the story seamlessly so as to preserve the narrative and the flow of the content.
Education and compliance through technical copywriting
Finally, technical copywriting is another important type of content business owners should emphasize in their marketing strategies. Unlike sales or storytelling, technical content serves the concrete purpose of educating clients, customers, and potential partners on any relevant brand, service, or product features.
These are typically extensive texts such as white papers and in-depth industry guides that delve deep into the inner workings of a business, which necessitates the need to hire a copywriter who is meticulous, diligent, and as concise as possible in their writing. The key is to get the point across without adding any fluff or leaving any important details behind, in order to educate consumers and ensure compliance with all regulatory bodies.
Wrapping up
Even though visual content such as videos and infographics are becoming increasingly relevant nowadays, there is no denying that written content is and will remain king. Now that you understand the importance and applications of different types of online copy, go ahead and leverage each one to achieve specific business goals.
