So what is a copywriter?

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Trackback URL

I’ve been a copywriter for over 15 years, but many of my friends and acquaintances still don’t have a full handle on what I do.

Some even think my work has to do with legal protection of intellectual property, as in ‘copyright’. I must be doing a bad job of explaining it. So what exactly is a copywriter? In a nutshell it’s simply a fancy term meaning a writer, someone who writes words for a living, essentially in the marketing context. 

I suppose we don’t make it easy, after all, why the term copywriter? Why not just writer or wordsmith?

I think it was originally a newspaper term: ‘copy’ referring to written matter intended for publication as opposed to non-text elements on a page; for example photos, diagrams and charts.

A copywriter is commonly found in advertising; their job aimed at persuading people to act on a ‘call-to-action’, whether it’s to complete a coupon to request further information or to respond directly by completing an order for the advertised product.

But, copywriters are not just writers of advertisements. Copywriters can be found writing a variety of publications, both in print and online.

Increasingly, due to the marketing imperative of sharing information with consumers, copywriters are in demand to write a raft of corporate publications including annual reports, corporate capability statements, marketing brochures, manuals, how-to guides, and customer magazines and newsletters

Responding to request for tenders (RFTs) is another area where copywriters can prove invaluable. In a highly competitive environment, companies need to respond to tenders with convincing proposals that are precise, organised and persuasive.  Proposals need to clearly differentiate your firm’s unique qualities otherwise your bid will never be considered. But who has time to write a carefully worded and tailored proposal? This is an area where a freelance copywriter excels and more than worth the investment in the outsourcing cost.

In the financial services field where information has to be conveyed regularly, copywriters can save a firm considerable time and effort; after all, why waste time on a non-core activity when you can outsource to an expert? It’s an area I specialise in. Since inception of Lucid Lingo I have written copy for many product description statements (prospectuses), investor reports and marketing collateral for funds management companies, banks and superannuation funds.

On the Internet, copywriters can also contribute to the success of websites, writing copy for webpages and copy for emails in email marketing campaigns.

As I’ve written before, content is the key to optimizing your website. Many businesses either don’t have the time or the skill to do this, which is why an external copywriter can come in handy.

Copywriters are also increasingly employed to ‘ghostwrite’ blogs and provide status updates in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.