Types of Copywriting and Why Quality Writing Matters More
PC: Canva
Imagine this: you’re a brand new copywriter. You’ve written a few blogs for some faceless clients, and you have a big enough portfolio to start trying to land some bigger fish.
You’re scrolling through job postings on Upwork and LinkedIn and Indeed and ProBlogger and even MySpace (kidding) for anything, please, anything, pulling your hair out in frustration and you always get stopped short when the potential client says, “I’m looking for someone with experience in direct response copywriting” or “I’m looking for someone with experience in the B2C space.”
The what space?
Let’s talk about what these mysterious acronyms mean today, and why they matter to you - or if they do matter to you.
If you’re new here or just want to keep reading, don’t forget to read about what copywriting is - and why you should care. (Hint: it’s because consumers typically engage with a lot of written material on a website before making a purchase).
Oh - and one final, fun secret. A lot of these “types” overlap. For example, if you write for webpages, you probably are also an SEO copywriter. Or if you write for social media, you are probably also an SEO copywriter. It doesn’t mean you’re an expert - but most clients expect you to know SEO best practices.
8 Common Types of Copywriters
1. Website copywriting
Some nitpicky people might say that website copywriting only involves writing a landing page - where people literally land for the first time on a website. I say website copy is anything that could be on a website.
It’s the page title that reels them in. It’s that catchy slogan. It’s the intro paragraph on the home page. It’s a unique Call to Action. It’s also informative blog posts, like this one.
Guess what? Blog posts are often landing pages. People often find a blog first in pursuit of more information about a product.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is simple - keep the visitor on the webpage and keep them on the website. Keep them reading long enough that they find a well-placed hyperlink to another website page. That’s website copywriting, in a small nutshell.
2. SEO copywriting
This one, in my totally unprofessional opinion, is made up. Why? Because every copywriter has to know SOME level of SEO.
Sometimes, as a copywriter, your project manager or client will give you keywords. Sometimes, if you know how to do keyword research, you will suggest keywords. Most, if not all copywriters, know how to seamlessly work a keyword in, internally link, and write good meta descriptions, title tags, and H1s for pages.
You learn as you go, and there are a lot of free or cheap training on SEO by HubSpot Academy and LinkedIn Learning out there that are actually really high-quality. That’s my argument for why this isn’t really a type of copywriting. On to the next one!
3. B2B copywriting
B2B, or business-to-business writing, is writing where your job is to appeal to key decision-makers at other businesses. If you’ve ever written for someone that sold a product or service to another business, rather than to your average Joe, you’ve written B2B copy. Congrats.
Your job is to know the pain points of the businesses you’re trying to appeal to. What do they struggle with?
The biggest thing I struggle with when I’m writing B2B copy is getting to know the tone of the industry. Particularly in healthcare and tech spaces, it is often much more serious and much less sales-y than in B2C copy - but I’ve found it varies from business to business, no pun intended.
I also find that it wildly varies how knowledgeable the audience you’re writing for is. Typically in B2C writing, the audience is always assumed to be a layperson. We’re having a fun conversation when I write.
B2B writing is not always a fun conversation. It’s a reassuring solution or the feeling you get when someone gives you a firm handshake.
4. B2C Copywriting
Here, you’re writing for a consumer audience. Think individuals who google, “Which journal is best for me?” and they find your blog post on why the Blue Dinosaur journal is the best journal for people with anxiety, and to start living their best life today, they should buy the Blue Dinosaur journal now.
Sell a lifestyle, not a product
That’s B2C copywriting. You sell the thing to the person looking for the thing. One of my favorite pieces of advice I ever read about writing copy in general, but I think this is so applicable in this space, is that you shouldn’t just list out the good features of a product; you should be telling the person you’re writing to how the product will add value to their life.
So it isn’t, The Great Microwave heats food 4 times faster, spins around at the speed of light, and sings while it cooks! No, it’s The Great Microwave makes cooking easier and makes you happier. Say goodbye to stressful nights sweating over the stove. Make dinner time the best time with the Great Microwave.
Paint a picture for your audience of how their life is going to be. You’re selling them a version of their life that, let’s be honest, will probably never exist.
How many people do you know with SUVs that go offroading in the desert? Yeah, no one. But that’s the lifestyle that’s sold in SUV commercials. And it works.
5. Product/e-commerce copywriting
I’m no expert when it comes to product copywriting - although I do it for my own stuff - but it’s what it sounds like. Copy written about a product. Let’s note one key thing here.
If someone is looking at your product, you’ve got a decent shot at getting their money.
They may not be ready to buy, but they’re interested. Do you have emails ready to send them if they leave their cart? Do you have compelling product descriptions? ( I find these fascinating - so much power in so few words!)
Do you have services or product pages that reel people in? This is product copy. E-commerce is a booming industry, so if you can break into writing about products, more power to you. Please report back and tell me how it goes.
6. Direct response copy
This is the type of copywriting that makes you feel awkward when you're writing it. Good writers can do direct response really well, and the rest of us just sound like the guy on TV trying to sell you a car.
Direct response wants a direct response, so the emphasis is on BUYING RIGHT NOW.
It’s buy now, registration is closing, one-time offer, kind of stuff that will probably not work on you unless you’re ready to buy or have a lot of disposable income and no one to leave it to when you die.
7. Ad Copywriting
Ad copywriting is a lot like product descriptions in that it needs to be direct and it needs to be extremely concise. Big message = not a lot of words. Ad copywriting is meant to raise interest, though. It’s great if ad copywriting sells you right away, but ad copywriting tends to target people at the TOFU.
Not the stuff you eat - the people at the top of the marketing funnel who didn’t care about your Really Cool Oven until they saw your really well-written ad.
Of course, ads can also aim to maintain interest, inform the buyer, or even announce a "last chance sale!"
As previously stated, these types of copy do overlap quite often.
A lot of ad copy is digital now, and I would imagine - although I’d need to ask an ad copywriter- that it’s harder than ever to write compelling ad copy in a world that has such a short attention span.
8. Social media copywriting
This kind of copy is meant to engage your audience. Like ad copy, you're going to be restricted by word count, whether it's a few hundred characters or a few hundred words.
Social media copy does what ALL copy does in a different format: provide a solution to a problem. That’s why we see so many LinkedIn posts that start with, “8 ways I grew my audience: steal my method!”
Social copy. That’s why you’re reading this post about types of copywriting 😛
The tricky thing about social media copy is that people are always scrolling, so you’ve got to catch their attention quickly and appropriately for the platform you’re on. On Instagram, that’s an aesthetically pleasing slide deck. On LinkedIn, it’s with a long-form post or a catchy one-liner about your cat. You pick. On Twitter/X, it's pithy one-liners or helpful threads.
You get the idea.
Every Other Type of Copywriting Under the Sun
There are so many other kinds - marketing copy (hint: that’s ALL of this - all copywriting is marketing), creative copy(like your 5-word Facebook Ad isn’t creative enough, geez), email copy - we didn’t even talk about email copy! - and so on.
Here’s one of my other favorite pieces of advice: if you know how to write well, it can be transferred to any type of writing. As in, if you started out in web copy, you can learn ad copy.
Why? Because all copywriting has the same goal(s):
to persuade the reader to take action
to raise consumer awareness
to inform the buyer
to add value to the reader’s life
The skills you do in one arena are transferable. There are a lot of people out there who will tell you that isn’t true by way of saying they want you to have 5 years of experience in email marketing to apply for their entry-level job.
I’m here to tell you that it is true. You don’t have to be an expert at every type of copy. You don’t even have to be an expert at one. You just have to find someone willing to give you the chance to get better.
Job descriptions right now are crazy. So focus on what you can control and what you do know. There is a client out there for (almost) everyone.
What Isn't a Type of Copy
Before I go, let me mention something that isn’t a type of copy:
"It’s what we call clientless copywriting — for the type of copywriters that make money without taking on clients.” - from the website of the American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).
“Clientless” copywriters convince people they are the “gurus”, the “rockstars”, the “ninjas” in their fields and eventually sell eBooks, courses, memberships, and master classes to the everyday creatives and aspiring creatives of the world while outsourcing any actual client work to other people and charging a helluva lot of money for those courses and masterclasses on how to get those actual clients.
It’s a great way to gain some wealth. It’s clever. The writing and marketing is usually so good. See Mario Forleo and Laura Belgray for examples of this. But you know what it often isn’t? Anything like the copywriting and other creative work each of us do, day in and day out. You know what else it isn’t? Transparent, ethical business.
If you want to make money teaching people how to do something, I think that's great. Just be honest about your journey.
Let’s all be client-full, honest copywriters this week, friends! Leave your questions and comments down below - and tell me, what did I forget to add? What do you agree or disagree with?
If you’re still wondering what copywriting is - and why any of this is relevant- read about just how important copywriting is to businesses over here, and how we can use the power of words to help you grow.
