J.K. Rowling is no copywriter

Writing well -vs- writing to sell

What’s the difference between being a good writer and being a good copywriter? The difference is subtle. It’s less like comparing apples and oranges and more like comparing oranges and mandarins. In order to be a good copywriter you need to be a good writer – but good writers don’t necessarily make good copywriters. If you’re not at least a little confused, perhaps you’re not paying attention.

Think of content as writing that exists to communicate information in a clear and effective manner. Think of copy as writing that’s designed to sell something to the reader. The blog on this website is an example of content. Our home page is an example of copy. The page you are reading is a mix of both content and copy.

It takes more than good English

In any business you’ll need a mix of content and copy. Knowing where and how each should be used and executing to achieve their respective goals are highly specialised skills. Big companies pay (literally) millions of dollars to the worlds very best copywriters – that’s how important quality content and copy is to them. It should be just as important to you.