Copywriting

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For exclusive rights in work of authorship, see Copyright.

Copywriting is the process of writing the words that promote a person, business, opinion, or idea. It may be used as plain text, as a radio or television advertisement, or in a variety of other media. The main purpose of writing this marketing copy, or promotional text, is to persuade the listener or reader to act — to buy a product or subscribe to a certain viewpoint, for instance. Alternatively, copy might also be intended to dissuade a reader from a particular belief or action.

Copywriting can include body copy, slogans, headlines, direct mail pieces, taglines, jingle lyrics, World Wide Web and Internet content, television or radio commercial scripts, press releases, white papers, and other written material incorporated into advertising media. Copywriters can contribute words and ideas to print ads, mail-order catalogs, billboards, commercials, brochures, postcards, online sites, e-mail, letters and other advertising media.

On websites, copywriting may also refer to the methods of writing and wording used to achieve higher rankings in search engines. Often referred to as content writing, it includes the strategic placement and repetition of keywords and keyword phrases on webpages. As search-engine algorithms get smarter every day, this search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting is more and more about writing for human visitors as well as for search engines, about offering fluent and readable content written in an SEO-wise manner.

[edit] Copywriters

Most copywriters work as employees within organizations such as advertising agencies, public relations firms, web developers, company advertising departments, large stores, broadcasters and cable providers, newspapers and magazines. Copywriters can also work as independent contractors freelancing for a variety of clients, at the clients' offices or working from home.

A copywriter usually works as part of a creative team. Agencies and advertising departments partner copywriters with art directors. The copywriter has ultimate responsibility for the advertisement's verbal or textual content, often including the acquisition of copy information from the client. (Where this formally extends into the role of account executive, the job may be described as "copy/contact.") The art director has ultimate responsibility for visual communication and, particularly in the case of print work, may oversee production. Either person may come up with the overall idea for the ad or commercial (typically referred to as the concept or "big idea"), and the process of collaboration often improves the work.

Copywriters are similar to technical writers, and the careers may overlap. Broadly speaking, however, technical writing is dedicated to informing readers rather than persuading them. For example, a copywriter writes an ad to sell a car, while a technical writer writes the operator's manual explaining how to use it.

Because the words sound alike, copywriters are sometimes confused with people who work in copyright law. The careers are unrelated.

Famous copywriters include David Ogilvy, William Bernbach and Leo Burnett. Many creative artists spent some of their career as copywriters before becoming famous for other things, including Dorothy L. Sayers, Viktor Pelevin, Eric Ambler, Joseph Heller, Terry Gilliam, Salman Rushdie, Don DeLillo, Lawrence Kasdan and Shigesato Itoi. (Herschell Gordon Lewis, on the other hand, became famous for directing violent exploitation films, then retired to become a very successful copywriter.)

The Internet has expanded the range of copywriting opportunities to include web content, ads, commercial emails and other online media. At the same time, the Internet has made it easier for employers, copywriters and art directors to find each other. Whereas professional freelance copywriters were once rare (except those between full-time jobs), today freelancing is a more viable job option, particularly in certain copywriting specialties and markets.

Additional educational opportunities have also emerged. However, while schooling may be a good start or supplement in a budding copywriter's professional education, working as part of an advertising team arguably remains the best way for novices to gain the experience and business sense required by many employers, and expands the range of career opportunities.