content marketing copywriting

Two distinct strategies that many people confuse or mix up: Content marketing. Copywriting. They aren’t the same thing, although both intertwine with each other in benefits and results. Think of it like this: Content marketing gets your prospects invested in what you do. Copywriting makes them want to follow up on that investment with action. That, right there, is the key difference. And here’s the magic of both: When you mix the best of these two strategies together, awesome things start happening. Your content won’t just be educational and valuable for your readers – it will also make them want to take action. That action could boost your likes and shares, increase your social media following, grow your email list, AND best of all – lead to sales. It’s also why these two strategies are so perfect for each other. They make each other more powerful. The right content marketing meshed with stellar copywriting could give you success in the form of 4.5x the leads you had before. To that, add 3.5x more traffic if you create content consistently, according to HubSpot. Let’s go a little further, though. What are the nitty-gritty differences between content marketing and copywriting? How do you blend them together in a winning formula? Creating the copy can be the most challenging part of great content marketing. I totally get it. So, let’s talk about it. Grab a mug of your favorite hot drink (coffee, tea, etc.), and dive in with me. [bctt tweet=”Learn the differences between #copywriting and #contentmarketing and how both fit together to help you win online, in @JuliaEMcCoy’s guide” username=”ExpWriters”] Content Marketing and Copywriting: What the Heck Is the Difference? You can use them together, but they’re not the same thing. Here are the major differentiators between content marketing and copywriting. Content Marketing: Many Tactics, Various Ways to Succeed Content marketing is about creating content that nurtures your readers. The content you provide is served to prospects with the end goal of building trust and loyalty with them so they’ll turn into customers. Educate them concerning their pain points, and they’ll end up turning to you for more solutions. That’s content marketing at its core, and it can be done through a wide array of tactics – think blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, email campaigns, and more. It’s about creating content (which can mean writing, but also all kinds of other production methods) and distributing it so your prospects become customers and stay customers. Copywriting: Using Writing to Motivate the Desired Action Copywriting, on the other hand, is about using your writing to strategically spur the reader to do something. Good copywriting is not annoying. It sells whatever you want to sell without the reader realizing they’re buying in. Good copywriting is gently yet irresistibly persuasive. It helps move the prospect to sign up for your email list, click on your link or ad, follow you on social media, make a purchase, and more. As such, it’s used for stuff like landing pages, sales pages, ads, and direct mail campaigns. Great copy is essential to content marketing. [bctt tweet=”Great copy is essential to content marketing.” username=”JuliaEMcCoy”] Content marketing copywriting is cohesively intertwined. Think of it like this: What Happens When You Apply Great Copywriting in Content Marketing? What do better results look like with these two strategies? For one, engagement. Look at this blog example from Intrepid Travel, an adventure travel company based in Australia. The blog is called “The Top Destinations for Travel in April.” This could easily get very same-y and unoriginal, as there are scores of similar blogs out there. However, what keeps you on the page is the copywriting. [bctt tweet=”What keeps you on the page is the copywriting.” username=”JuliaEMcCoy”] Check out this intro: It invites you to stick around and keep reading without actually saying any such thing. It also promises what you’ll find in the series of guides: “Your easily digestible list of places to visit, things to experience, and amazing weather to chase around the world.” The blog copy also cleverly links to where you can book one of the company’s travel adventures: On the sales page for the “8-day Best of Jamaica” trip, more compelling copywriting entices you to imagine exploring this locale: “Experience the island in all its Caribbean colour, from Rastafari and reggae to the gorgeous unspoiled coast.” Finally, there’s a call-to-action at the end of the blog that urges you to check out the other guides in the series: The result? It’s not just informative, fun, interesting content – it’s content with a purpose. This content is working hard for this company. It’s providing value for their audience, but it’s also urging them to take multiple actions throughout the blog. This banks on the solidity of the writing and research. If these two things were sub-par, then you wouldn’t feel inclined to click on anything within this content piece. But, since both are on point, Intrepid Travel can use that built-in trust to get you interested in taking the desired actions. To put it simply, content marketing and copywriting are holding hands and skipping together into the sunset in this blog post. Now you may be wondering: How do I get these same results? How do you create awesome content marketing copy? Well, my friends, I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve that can help you get there. 6 Essentials to Nail in Your Content Marketing Copywriting (Or, How to Appeal to the Online Reader/Buyer) 1. Use the Flow, Luke If you want your online writing to be a little more engaging… If you want to draw in readers and make their eyes compulsively move down the page… Flow is crucial. Use the flow, you must. However… Writing with great flow on the internet is markedly different from writing with great flow elsewhere. Smart Blogger addresses this in one of their best posts ever. In this piece, they tell you exactly why your flow needs to work differently online. Basically, reading online involves a … Read more