Copywriting

Copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion, or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing (as in the body of a newspaper article or book), the term copywriter is generally limited to such promotional situations, regardless of media (as advertisements for print, television, radio or other media). The author of newspaper or magazine copy, for example, is generally called a reporter or writer, not a copywriter.

(By the way, although the word copywriting is correctly and regularly used as a noun or gerund, and copywrite is sometimes used as a verb by professionals, copywrite is not listed by major dictionaries. as a noun is always incorrect.)

Thus the purpose of marketing copy, or promotional text, is to persuade the reader, listener or viewer to act — for example, to buy a product or subscribe to a certain viewpoint. Alternatively, copy might also be intended to dissuade a reader. Copywriting is "getting across the perfect message, with the perfect words."

Copywriting can appear in direct mail pieces, taglines, jingle lyrics, web page content (although if the purpose is not ultimately promotional, its author might prefer to be called a content writer.), online ads, e-mail and other Internet content, television or radio commercial scripts, press releases, white papers, catalogs, billboards, brochures, postcards, sales letters, and other marketing communications media.

On websites, copywriting may also refer to content writing for the purpose of achieving higher rankings in search engines. This practice includes the strategic placement and repetition of keywords and keyword phrases on webpages. Known as "organic" search engine optimization (SEO), it is best done in a way that does not distract, bore or confuse the human reader. Achieving optimal results is something of an art.