Blogging VS Copywriting: What’s The Difference?
Blogging vs copywriting – what’s the difference between the two?
Copywriting is writing words that persuade the reader to take action, while blogging is essentially writing content that informs, educates, or entertains.
However, there is a little more to it than that.
When I first became a freelance writer and got paid to write blog posts for companies, I often wondered what the difference between blogging vs copywriting was. While on the surface, it’s easy to explain the differences, blogging is a valuable marketing strategy that plays a larger role in content marketing.
In this post, you’ll discover:
- The difference between blogging vs copywriting
- How blogging and copywriting play a key role in business
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What is Blogging?
OK, so first it’s helpful to understand what blogging is.
Blogging is content that is published online on a blog or blog page, usually with the aim to inform or entertain an audience about a certain topic.
For example, a blog post could be an informative article about how to start a website. Alternatively, it could be an entertaining piece, commonly used on sites like Buzzfeed.
A blog, on the other hand, is a type of website, or section of a website, where blog posts are published, typically in reverse chronological order. These posts are written by one person or by a team of writers.
A blog can be part of a business website and used as part of a content marketing strategy. A blog, such as HubSpot, for example, boasts blog posts that target every part of the buyer cycle – some blog posts aim to inform and educate people at the top of the buyer funnel, while other posts aim to convert readers into subscribing to HubSpot (these readers are at the bottom of the marketing funnel).
There are also personal blogs, which are a way to share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with the world. These may be monetized or simply ‘hobby blogs’ where the author writes for fun rather than for money.
Finally, you have niche websites that are in the form of blogs but tend to focus on one specific topic. These blogs are usually monetized by display ads, affiliate links, and/or digital products.
Common features of blogging:
- Regular posting to keep the website active (can be good for SEO)
- Always uses headlines and subheadlines
- Includes external and internal links
- May allow for reader comments
- SEO optimized to improve search rankings
Blogging can offer a number of benefits, including:
- Establishing thought leadership
- Providing value to customers
- Answering questions that potential customers may have
- Driving traffic to the website
- Generating income
- Nurturing readers into customers
Blog writing examples
Here are some blog writing examples to give you an idea of what different types of blogs look like.
ActiveCampaign
Email marketing provider, ActiveCampaign, has a blog page on their website featuring articles that meet all stages of the buyer journey. For instance, latest news, product updates, ‘how to’ articles, and articles that consider the values of potential customers like ‘How The ActiveCampaign Teams are Making a Difference and Giving Back.
Making Sense of Cents
Making Sense of Cents is a personal finance blog that’s a great example of personal blogging meets niche website. This website/blog is monetized with sponsored posts, affiliate links, and digital courses.
Dog Food Advisor
Dog Food Advisor is an affiliate blog with articles covering product reviews, news, and informative guides aimed at dog owners. This blog is mainly monetized with affiliate links.
How to create a great blog post
What are the ingredients that make up a great blog post?
Here are some tips for writing a brilliant blog post:
- Start with a clear idea of what you want to write about and why it’ll be valuable to your readers.
- Research your topic thoroughly and gather any relevant data, statistics, or examples to support your points.
- Create an outline to help structure your post.
- Use a catchy and descriptive headline to grab the reader’s attention and give them a sense of what the post is about.
- Use subheadings, bullet points, and formatting to break up the text and make it easy to read.
- Use images, videos, or other media to add interest and provide visual examples or explanations.
- Write in a clear, concise, and engaging style that is appropriate for your audience and the tone of your blog.
- Edit and proofread your post to ensure that it’s free of errors and easy to understand.
- Add internal and external links to relevant sources and related content to provide additional value to your readers.
- End with a conclusion that summarizes your main points or includes a call-to-action for the reader, such as signing up for your email list.
How to start blogging
Now you know what blogging is, you may be interested in starting a blog.
To create a blog, follow my step-by-step tutorial here and you’ll be able to set up your first website with ease.
What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the art of writing compelling and engaging text with the goal to persuade the reader to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for an email list.
These words are normally written by a professional writer known as a copywriter, and appear in marketing and advertising materials, such as brochures, websites, social media posts, and email campaigns.
Common features of copywriting:
- Persuasive to encourage the reader to take action
- Clear and easy to understand for the target audience
- May be creative to engage the reader
- Always has a call to action, such as ‘sign up now’ or ‘join our newsletter.’
- The language and messaging should connect with the target audience
So, why should you use copywriting?
Here are 6 benefits of using copy:
- Increase sales
- Improve customer engagement
- Enhance brand awareness
- Greater website traffic, particularly when used in ads aimed at such conversion
- Increase customer loyalty
- Transform a product or service into a must-have experience
Forms of copywriting
There are different forms of copywriting, each with its own purpose and style.
Here are some of the most common forms:
Direct response copy
Copy that aims to convert readers into taking action immediately, such as sales letters, video sales letters, sales emails, and sales pages
B2B copywriting
Copy that is aimed at business buyers rather than individual consumers. Typically, there are several people involved in business transactions.
Advertising copy
Copy that is used to sell products or services through various mediums, such as television, radio, print, and online ads.
Copywriting examples
Here are some of my favorite examples of copywriting done well.
The Leverage Lab
Just look at that juicy headline! This headline is for an email training program called The Leverage Lab – it clearly communicates the benefit to the reader and stands out above the fold. There’s also a nice call-to-action button at the top in a contrasting color which immediately catches your eye.
There’s obviously a lot more to this sales page but it’s got some brilliant copy elements.
How to start copywriting
There isn’t one clear-cut way of getting started with copywriting.
I started by becoming a freelance writer first. I then began work on small copywriting projects and built up my skills from there. You can also use a course or books to help grow your copywriting skills.
Do blogs count as copywriting?
While blogs can be used for various marketing purposes, such as driving traffic to a website and demonstrating thought leadership in a particular industry, they’re not necessarily considered forms of copywriting.
Do copywriters write blogs?
Yes, copywriters can write blogs as part of their work. Many businesses hire copywriters to create blog content that promotes their products, services, or ideas. A copywriter might be responsible for researching and writing blog posts on a variety of topics, such as industry trends, company news, or product updates, with the goal of engaging and persuading the reader to take some sort of action.
The style and tone of the blog post will depend on the target audience and the specific purpose of the blog. A copywriter might work with an editor or content strategist to plan and organize the blog content and ensure it aligns with the overall marketing and communication goals of the business or organization.
As an in-house copywriter, I also work on planning and writing blog content, and I’ve also done so in a freelance capacity too.
Are bloggers copywriters?
There are some similarities between bloggers and copywriters. Both can write compelling content, designed to engage the reader and persuade them to take action. However, there are some key differences between the two roles.
Bloggers may write articles that help to build a relationship with their readers, rather than just selling a product or service.
Copywriters, on the other hand, usually write a range of copy, including emails, sales and landing pages. These tend to be focused on persuading the reader to take a specific action, such as making a purchase.
Is blogging content writing?
Blogging can be considered a form of content writing as it involves creating written content for the purpose of publishing it online.
Content writing simply refers to the creation of written materials for the purpose of communicating information or ideas to a specific audience. This can include a wide range of materials, such as articles, blog posts, social media posts, email newsletters, and website content.
Blogging VS Copywriting: The Overview
I hope this post gives you clarity on the difference between blogging vs copywriting.
To gain more insight into either blogging or copywriting, make sure you check out the blog.
