Copywriter, content writer, SEO copywriter – who are they and how are they different?

Internet marketingis a very broad industry. One of its important factors is creating contentwhich is then useful at every stage of customer acquisition. For this reason, the recognition of the profession of copywriter

has increased significantly in recent years.

Particularly since a copywriter is not equal to a copywriter, and in the meantime many specializations have been created within this profession.

In this article, therefore, we will look at,what a copywriter, content writer and SEO copywriterdoes. We’ll also find out who are the UX and AI writers that more and more companies are looking for. This overview will certainly help you determine how these related professions differ from each other and whose services you should usedepending on your needs. We will also try to suggest what skills are required for each specialty, so that it will be easier for you to improve your craft.

Who writes content for SEO?

The field that is content writing has grown tremendously over the past few years. Especially after content writing was separated from copywriting itself. Although sometimes it’s really hard to tell what came first – the egg or the chicken

If you look through job ads related to writing in marketing, you will see many different names. Their descriptions, while 90% similar, also contain significant differences.

It took a really short round of listings to see ads on the most popular job boards and groups in a certain social medium for, among others:

• copywriter,
• content writer,
• UX writer,
• content marketing specialist,
• AI writer,
• seo copywriter.

Under these names sometimes hide exactly the same people. Especially since today the writer of applied texts has to deal with most of the content formats found on the Internet (and not only).

In the text we explain the most important of the above-mentioned names and point out the main differences between them. But beware – they really hide in the details.

Copywriter – who is it?

The very copywriting (which, of course, is handled by a copywriter) is older than the Internet itself. But where did the name come from? Let’s take a look at the English dictionary:

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English copy means primarily ‘to copy’. However, the word also has a less common meaning, which, according to the definition above, means {words used to present a promotional message in an advertisement}.

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Hence, a copywriter is simply a person engaged in creating strictly marketing content. The concept itself should not be confused with another English word copyright, related to copyright.

Copywriting has undergone various transformations over the years and at some point became strongly specialized. Therefore, we distinguish, among others:

• creative copywriters,
• seo copywriters.

Creative copywriter

The goal of creative copywriting is to create a message that encourages your audience to take a specific action. Usually this is to make a purchase. It can also be to arouse the right feelings, which is useful for branding. Hence copywriters are called salesmen in writing.

The first full-time copywriter is considered to be John Emory Powers, who lived from 1837-1919. He worked for some of the largest retailers in the US and wrote advertisements for them. One of them, during the course of their collaboration, he helped double the profits generated. Interestingly, he later acted as a freelancer.

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This is what the world’s first copywriter looked like

Interesting examples of creative copywriting, but this time already in Poland, are – note – Agnieszka Osiecka and Professor Jerzy Bralczyk.

Agneska Osiecka, i.e. Poland’s most popular lyricist, in 1982 won a competition by the Coca-Cola company for the first slogan advertising the beverage in Poland. It read “Coca-cola is it.” In turn, another slogan of the same company (created in 2000) is attributed to Professor Bralczyk. Thus, it is to him that we owe “Coca-Cola: what a joy”.

The work of copywriters of that era consisted of writing ads placed in magazines, newspapers, catalogs, sales letters and on billboards. Later also on radio and television.

Today’s copywriters also do this, but part of their work has become also content used in Internet marketing.Some actually deal exclusively with writing the latter, and that’s where they started their careers. Copywriters in general were referred to as the first people in Poland who began to earn money from writing Internet texts.

The work of individual content writers can vary significantly. Some (usually those employed by established marketing agencies) will have a hand in creating the marketing communications of an entire company from scratch. In this article, however, we focus primarily on those who are closely associated with online marketing.

For this reason to deal with copywriting is not enough only a good knowledge of Polish.It is necessary to be familiar with the psychology of sales, as well as the principles of marketing (traditional as well as online). It is also important to be able to understand the target audience to which the message is directed and much more.

What kind of content will a creative copywriter create for you?

As already mentioned, copywriters mainly focus on creating sales content, that is designed to encourage the target audience to take a desired action. These will usually be shorter materials, which nevertheless still require skill and a lot of work.

1. Landing pages -The purpose of these types of pages is to generate leads. They are usually an extension of another advertisement that leads to that landing page.
2. Call to action – a properly worded call to action on a contact form or email completion can have a key impact on conversion.
3. Content PPC ads – ads of this type usually have a small character limit, so copywriters need to be able to fit the right message in.
4. Content of banner ads -similar to the above, you need to fit a sales message in a few words.
5. E-sales emails – in the case of at least online stores, a properly executed sales email campaign can generate a lot of sales.
6. Promotional video script – recordings of this type tend to be shorter and should include a concise, action-stimulating message.
7. Advertising slogans – preferably ones that are memorable like “Drink milk, you’ll be great”.

What should a good copywriter exhibit?

Thereby, it can be said that a copywriter should be treated as a salesman. By the nature of his work close to him to some extent also to a real marketer.

Hence a good copywriter should:

• • Understand the needs of the target audience and use language that will reach them.
  • Understand the company he works for and know its marketing goals.
  • Explain complex issues in simple terms.
  • Use storytelling skillfully to tell stories that evoke emotion in the reader.
  • Have a very good command of the Polish language.
  • Understand basic SEO (Check out also SEO tutorial for copywriter).

SEO copywriter – who is it?

The most important thing for us in the case of SEO copywriting is that Google follows certain rules that help it understand and properly position the indexed content. This usually boils down to proper placement of keywords.

Years ago, when Google didn’t work as effectively as it does now, publishing a large amount of short texts written for a relevant phrase on external websites was successful in the SEO process. In this phrase there was a link directing to the target page, which was positioned on this keyword. This type of texts became known in Poland as pretzels, or just texts written for SEO. It is from creating them that many people started their careers at making money from writing.

The aforementioned pretzels didn’t carry much value for the reader and were mainly aimed at search engines. However, a lot has changed at Google since then.Panda, Penguin, RankBrain or semantic search algorithms have made quality content for the viewer a priority.

For this reason, SEO copywriters in their work have also started to put more emphasis on quality, natural content, while keeping it as optimized for search engines as possible – which is not an easy task at all. Factors such as placement of said keywords, text layout, meta descriptions, etc. come into play. Mistakes made when writing for SEOis described in more detail in her text by Izabela Aftyka.

What kind of content will an SEO copywriter create for you?

These will mainly be texts used for SEO purposes, that is:

1. Product descriptions-from short, simple descriptions for simple products to more elaborate ones, for example, for expensive electronic equipment.
2. Home page content – the home page in the case of a company website can itself be a sales letter that will weigh heavily on conversion.
3. Precle – the previously described simple texts written mainly for Google bots.
4. Simple articles – these articles are published on company blogs, but are usually much shorter and less rich in content.
5. Synonymic texts – texts written in a special way using synonyms and similar meaningful phrases. This type of article is then thrown into a mixer, which creates many others from it. They cover exactly the same topic, but by mixing synonyms, duplication is avoided.
6. Descriptions to directoriesYou can find numerous directories on the Internet that collect profiles of various companies. The description for such a directory itself is usually a short text that describes the nature and activities of the company. It should also contain keywords related to the industry itself.

The qualities of a good seo copywriter

How to stand out as a seo copywriter?I’ll answer, but I’ll also point out right away that this is my opinion: typical SEO copywritingis rather going away. As I pointed out, Google is getting better and better at understanding analyzed content. This makes it increasingly difficult to bend the algorithm with texts written strictly for SEO. Remember, too, that the skills of a seo copywriter are changing as search engines change. One might even be tempted to say thatthe importance of writing content for SEO has completely changed its face. SEO content, or more precisely, working on it, now requires definitely more skills from its author than it used to.

What does this change consist of?

The aforementioned types of texts, such as pretzels or simple articles, seemingly continue to have some use in SEO. However, it is better to invest in a specific, elaborate guide on a company blog than a dozen simple SEO texts. However, as I pointed out earlier, it is a good phenomenon that SEO copywriting also places more and more importance on the reader, not just bots. The new features of SEO copywriting are relentless. The author must now do keyword research and add more understanding of search intent.

What, then, can SEO copywriters stand out? If a typical copywriter is a marketer, then an SEO copywriter should have a lot in common with a true SEO-writer. Their calling card can be not only SEO copywriting, but also keyword research, optimization of copywriting and content marketing content for key phrases, linking, etc.

Professional SEO copywriting also consists of:

• very good knowledge of Polish language,
• very good knowledge of SEO principles and techniques,
• writing for search engines and users, i.e. creating texts well optimized for key phrases that at the same time read naturally,
• understanding text structure under seo,
• familiarity with keyword research and analysis tools like keyword databaseSenuto,

You can learn about how to create content using such tools here.

Who is a content writer?

While in the Polish market this notion is not quite widespread, in the West you can see that the specialization discussed now is much more outlined there. And so, what is this content that a content writer?

Content marketing is supposed to make the customer want to make a purchase by itself. However, for this to happen, you need to gain his trust. This will happen by sharing useful content with him for free – on the principle: “since there are so many free web development tips on his blog, I’m curious to see what his paid course contains – it will definitely be a good buy”.

Content writers therefore create content to build trust with a company’s target audience.These are, for example, articles on company blog, how-to guides, or e-books. Usually these are materials of a low sales naturethat only attract potential customers. Texts written by content writers also contribute greatly to better positioning of the website on which they are published. They then have a significant role in gaining customers from organic traffic. In most cases, therefore, they will be longer content, in the creation of which deep knowledge of the topic coveredand the ability to conduct thorough research are necessary. A content writer should know his niche enough not to make factual errors even on more difficult issues. As I mentioned, the content he creates will be elaborate, so in his case it is all the more crucial to pay attention to linguistic care and editorial fierceness.

What kind of content will a content writer create for you?

Content marketing includes, for example, the following formats:

• • Articles for a company blog – A blog is one of the basic and most effective tools a company can use to gain customers through SEO. In this articleby Dorota Bajczyk, you’ll find tips on how to encourage readers to return to your blog. You should also check out the article What to blog about? 9 topic sources and 34 article ideas.
  • Extensive how-to guides – although they can also be classified as blog articles, they are characterized by the fact that they explain step-by-step the performance of a certain action, the use of program functions, etc. Therefore, they require deep knowledge of the subject.
  • Industry news – if the content writer is familiar with a particular niche, he or she can follow the events taking place in that niche and write about them on an ongoing basis.
  • E-books – a very elaborate form of content of a diverse nature. E-books are often used as a so-called lead magnet, that is, for example, in exchange for downloading them, the user provides his data and subscribes to a mailing list.
  • White Papers -This advanced type of report informs the reader about a complex problem/issue and how the company, through its philosophy and tools, proposes to solve it. White Paper is based on hard data. It is created in a formal tone and is usually used to win business.
  • Case Study – problem > solution > effects. This is a way to show how your product or service proved useful to the customer. The case study is written in a somewhat journalistic style.
  • Infographics – a content writer should be able to concisely and attractively include the most important information so that it can be presented in an attractive, visual form. Of course, the work of a graphic designer is also necessary here.

What should a good content writer exhibit?

If a copywriter is closer to a marketer, then a content writer has a bit in common with journalist and editor. I am speaking from my own experience now, because I personally declare myself precisely as a content writer. I write mostly in related niches (SEO, online marketing, e-commerce), which helps me create more difficult, elaborate texts. While copywriters can break down the buyer persona, I enjoy digging into reports, statistics and even scientific research.

A good content writer should therefore:

• • Create elaborate content that truly helps their audience.
  • Organize text properly for easy reading and scanning.
  • Have a very good command of the Polish language.
  • Have a very good knowledge of English, in which most of the best sources of information are available.
  • Use statistics and research to increase the credibility of the content you create.
  • Have a deep knowledge of the industries in which they write.
  • Be able to come up with new ideas for content.
  • Use journalistic skills in some situations, e.g., when directly soliciting information from experts.
  • Understand basic SEO issues.

AI and UX Writer – who are these characters?

The two names also appeared at the very beginning of the text. In fact, they should come as no surprise. With the rise of SXO, UX writing has confidently entered the living rooms. In turn, the development of AI has strongly changed the face of content creation as such.

Example? If you use Senuto, the messages you find next to each tool were just created by the UX writer. The same is true of any messages in, for example, banking apps or games on your phone (#candycrushgroup).

AI Writer is a fairly fresh creation and we don’t really know yet if it will stand the test of time. The content creation field, however, is adapting quite quickly to changes, so companies are looking for copywriters and content writers fluent in content generators and AI support of other types. The goal? First and foremost, optimize your work time!

Copywriter – SEO copywriter – Content Writer –– UX writer – how they differ from each other?

Finally, a few more words about the above categories.

The very designation of people who write texts for marketing purposes as copywriters came from the fact that the typical writer is associated with the creation of novels or poems – fiction in general. Therefore, more terms are being coined to specify the types of content that individual masters of words specialize in.

Is the division I have presented in this article the only valid option? No. Many copywriters proficient in creating marketing content can certainly also write a good article for a blog. The same will also be true for content writers, but the other way around.

I also believe that both copywriters and content writers should be able to optimize content for keywords, so this cannot only be the domain of SEO copywriters.

The purpose of this article was to show how broad an industry content creation is for online marketing. What’s more, if you are looking for a specialist, you will have a better idea of how to find one.

Therefore, I hope this article has helped you discern yourself in the world of written word professionals .