When I started out in my writing career, I made most of my income from journalism.

Pretty much everyone has heard of journalists and they have some idea about what they do – even if their ideas were a bit more glamorous than the reality of me churning out pop culture news stories for people to fight in the comments on Facebook about, all for not very much money.

Now, when I tell people I’m a copywriter, most people who haven’t worked in marketing or the media usually ask me what it is. My broad explanation is that journalists write words for newspapers and magazines while copywriters write for advertising and marketing purposes.

But the rise of the internet has made this distinction a little more blurry with content writing sitting somewhere between the two, using skills from both disciplines.

So, what is the difference between copywriting and content writing? And which might be best for your brand or campaign?

How is copywriting different from content writing?

Broadly speaking, copywriting and content writing are both forms of marketing, in that they are words used to sell a brand, product or service. You’ll sometimes hear them used interchangeably, but their main difference is that they have different goals.

Copywriting is about persuading someone to make a sale or to get them to undertake a specific action, whether that be buying a new pair of shoes or signing up to your online course.

Content writing, meanwhile, is about entertaining, informing and educating readers. It may have something to sell as a long-term goal, but that’s not the main point of the content.

Copywriting vs content writing examples

So, how does this work in practice?

As copywriting is writing that intends to sell, it’s often more likely to be short-form, to the point and covers what you might think of as more ‘traditional’ advertising methods.

Examples of copywriting include:

Social media ads
Search engine ads
Billboard and display advertising
Print adverts
Flyers and brochures
Slogans and taglines
Web landing pages
Sales emails
Product descriptions
Scripts for TV or video ads

Content writing is more about building a brand and contributing to the long-term strategy of a business, as opposed to making a direct sale. It’s more likely to be longer-form and intends to be useful or interesting to readers generally, rather than trying to get them to immediately perform an action.

Examples of content writing include:

Blog posts
Press releases
Bios – i.e. short profiles of company founders or public figures
White papers and e-books
Advertorials or sponsored content
Email newsletters
Case study interviews
Social media posts (that aren’t #ads)

The two areas will overlap a little, but you get the idea.

Can a content writer become a copywriter? (Or vice versa)

Although they both have different purposes, many writers will be able to do both, as long as they keep in mind their different intentions.

Someone reading a blog post about their industry on a company blog, for example, isn’t likely to appreciate an obvious hard sell from the writer trying to get you to buy their product – even if the company’s long-term goal is to sell more.

Meanwhile, someone reading an advert will be expecting a sell – they’ll want to know exactly how the product will benefit them and why they should buy it, with the copy getting straight to the point.

As a journalist, content writing is often the easiest transition for those from a magazine or newspaper writing background as you’ll likely have many useful skills already: long-form writing, interviewing, SEO optimisation, in-depth research.

However, copywriting can prove a little more tricky. As a journalist, though you may take an angle on a story, you usually try and remain open to different perspectives and represent the ‘truth’ of things (whether this happens in practice is, of course, another issue…)

Copywriting is about selling, not investigating. As long as you keep that distinction in mind, there’s no reason why a writer couldn’t tackle copywriting, content writing and journalism all combined.

Which is better – copywriting vs content writing?

Ideally, any good marketing strategy will need and make use of both. A business will need content that both aims to sell directly AND builds brand loyalty.

Content writers can drive organic traffic to your website or socials, while copywriters turn that traffic into leads.

Neither is ‘better’ than the other, but both work together nicely to create a robust content plan for a brand.

About The Author

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About The Author 〰️

Hey, I’m Rachel and I’m a freelance writer, editor and consultant, creating engaging content for brands and publications in the culture and lifestyle space. Find out more about my work here.

Content writing vs copywriting: what’s the difference?