What is a copywriter? Or rather, what the blinking ‘eck does a copywriter do?
More often than not, I’m met with a blank expression when I tell people what I do, so I’ll attempt to put into words (I should be good at that part…fingers crossed, eh?) what I do day-to-day.
I’ll start by laying out what a copywriter isn’t:
Anything to do with the ‘copyright’ of products, brands or films. While the word sounds the same, it’s spelled differently, but let’s not be pedantic here.
Someone who ‘copies’ the work of others. Well, I can’t say the same for other copywriters, but all my ideas are legit my own. Yes, really; I’m not as daft as I look.
So, that’s ruled out a couple of things. But you’re still probably no clearer - neither am I sometimes, to be fair, as copywriting these days seems to cover the length and breadth of marketing, including social media management.
What is copywriting?
‘Copy’ means ‘text’ or ‘content’ - so copywriting is essentially the writing of any kind of text.
Seriously, any kind of text you can think of, including for websites, brochures, e-newsletters, menus, signs for vans and cars, banner ads, Spotify adverts, radio adverts, press releases. If it has a physical (or digital) surface, try me; I could probably write something on it.
If you’ve broken your arm, bring your brand new colourful cast my way; I’d love to pop my name on it. Although that could be added to the list of what copywriting isn’t, to be fair.
So, what does a copywriter do on a day-to-day basis?
After all, I’m dillying and dallying and, in doing so, I still haven’t answered the title of this blog post, have I? Pah.
Some copywriters work for themselves, others work ‘in-house’ for a company or an agency. Some copywriters work on long-form copy while others work on short-form copy.
Long-form copy or content includes blog posts (usually of around 500 words or more), website content (think ‘About Us’ pages and more), whitepapers and brochures.
Short-form copy, meanwhile, could be anything from slogans to short, sharp bursts of content - for Twitter or Instagram, for example. It all falls under ‘copywriting’ though.
Just to confuse matters further, copywriters can be known as any of the following - if you know any more to add to my list, let me know.
Content writer
Writer
Digital writer
Digital content executive
Conceptual copywriter (this is a specific kind of copywriter - usually the kind of copywriter who is tasked to come up with ideas for, say, a promotional film or campaign, although we standard copywriters may do that too)
Digital marketer (although this can encompass lots of roles).
Copywriters are essentially just sales people who can write well.
Do you need a copywriter?
It depends. Do you have something you’d like to promote and you’d like a professional copywriter Yorkshire to write about it in a bid to drum up some custom? Get in touch for a no-obligation chat if you think I can help.
Until next time…