One of the key ways we transformed Hello Amigo projects and simplified things for our clients was to provide content writing and copywriting. Having worked with a variety of industries and teams, we consistently found it to be a stumbling block for clients to provide production-ready content and copy. Whether it’s due to a lack of time, skill, or desire, we don’t want our clients to feel stressed about writing. So content and copy have become a standard deliverable included in our website projects and asset design services.
CONTENT VS. COPY: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
First of all, you’re probably wondering what the difference is between content and copy. Content writing is more focused on being informative and insightful, while copywriting typically focuses on being persuasive and takes a sales pitch approach. Content is often a longer form of writing, such as a blog post or e-newsletter, compared to copy, which is generally a shorter form of engagement with the audience, like a digital ad or landing page. There is definitely overlap between the two. And you can use both at the same time, like on a website with a distinct call to action to submit a contact form and a blog.
ESTABLISH OR MATCH THE TONE OF VOICE
Understanding the tone of voice to use is the first step to writing content and copy. How we convey information is just as important as what we say. When we start a content or copy project, we ask for samples of previous marketing materials or, if it’s a new brand, we discuss the tone of voice they’ve been using to talk about their organization. The tone of voice determines how something is said — formal and serious, playful and witty, or perhaps informed and trustworthy. The type of organization and the information they’re sharing dictates the tone of voice.
WRITE FOR THE TARGET AUDIENCE
It’s critical to remember who is going to be reading the content or copy and how they’re going to be engaging with it. What state of mind are they in and how are they coming across the information? Someone leisurely scrolling social media and being served an ad for a hair product they’ve shown a general interest in is different than someone actively searching for the services offered by a specific hair salon, even though the product and salon are related topics. With content and copy we always seek to balance brevity with enough information to make a decision.
REVEIW AND REVISE
These days, we have incredible tools at our disposal to evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of our content and copy. For example, regarding content, we can see what website pages receive the most visits and where those visitors are coming from. This can provide incredible insight on what information should be prioritized and made most accessible. For copy, we can see how ads perform, and A/B test different headlines or calls to action. We can review content and copy to make improvements and optimize to better serve the audiences and support our clients’ goals.
If you’d like discuss content or copywriting, we’d love to have a word with you. Our services can be used to review an existing website content strategy, write recurring blog posts to support SEO, prepare print materials like annual reports and brochures, or craft the messaging for an advertising campaign.
