Why is Copywriting often confused with Copyright?
Copywriting is a word often confused with copyright. Let us clear up the confusion.
We all know what is copyright. In your writing assignments in school, you are aware that to copy someone else’s work, such as essays, plays, songs poems, paintings, photographs or any type of material is illegal without permission. In the United States on July 30, 1947 this law was enacted to protect people who are the original authors of any material as mentioned above. They maintain exclusive rights to whatever they produce or create. The law expires 95 years after publication or 70 years after the author’s death. After that time, the works become public domain, that is, they can be used without penalty or requesting authorization.
On all materials created or produced the term “all rights reserved” is written therein to inform the public that it is copyrighted, it is a protected intellectual property with ownership rights. The law describes ownership rights and the terms and conditions in the event it is used without the owner’s consent. It describes the unauthorized duplication of any material and the royalty to be paid if authorization is permitted. Some owners consent to use their work without penalty, but consent must be requested.
On the other hand when I think about Copywriting, Peggy Olson from the TV series Mad Men comes to mind. She was the first female copywriter of the firm Sterling Cooper since World War II. When her writing skills became known in the firm she became a candidate for writing Ads for the goods offered by Sterling Cooper’s clients. Her secretarial days ended and she became the star copywriter for Sterling Cooper.
According to BBC.com/reel/video/p0db2xwf/, the origin of advertisement in the form of copywriting, came from a poor potter, Josiah Wedgwood in the 19th century. He understood how to attract a desire for his goods. He found the perfect audience who would be his potential clients and marketed his goods to their tastes. The power of his words in his marketing programs was perversive enough to even appeal to the queen. When he attracted the queen’s attention his confidence soared, and he went on to form his Wedgewood Company in 1759 to attract an upper class clientele. Wedgewood is still to this day a marketable product. It is claimed the marketing techniques used today such as direct mail, money-back guarantee, free delivery, celebrity endorsement, illustrated catalogues and 'buy one get one free' were the practices started by Josiah Wedgewood.
But fast forward to 1948 when David Ogilvy founded Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency in New York. Today he is known as the “Father of Advertising.” His campaigns focused on how to “persuade prospects, influence readers, and create memorable evergreen contents.”
Advertisements are found everywhere - on billboards, browsing the internet, phones, newspapers, magazines, social media, YouTube, TV, movie houses and more. These Ads are written by copywriters who collaborate with web and graphic designers to craft persuasive and compelling messages to influence consumers. Their words are crafted with the intent to take action.
Like Peggy Olsen some copywriters work directly with businesses which means they are conformed to a specific product or service, or the business may have clients with a range of different products or services. Other copywriters, however, choose to work freelance. Working freelance, though less secure in financial stability, gives them the option to choose the product, the service or even the client. This also has the advantage of working at their own pace.
Either way, the copywriter conforms to and satisfies the clients' wishes and desires such as:
To craft content in the voice of the client: This means that the copywriter must be versed in writing with many voices, different tones and styles to match those of the client he or she represents.
Clear and concise scripts: Copywriting are usually written with the intent to take action. They can be informative and engaging to influence the reader to click on the action button.
An eye for detail: Though scripts are clear and concise it is important to capture the audiences' interest. The product or service will be informative or educational where necessary. Precise descriptive words and language skills are important.
Research and why it is important: The majority of a copywriter's work is done by extensive research. It is the foundation upon which the copywriter will learn about the product or service, to investigate the prospective audience, to study and understand their needs, desires, habits, motivation and pain points in order to reach out to the specific audience. Audience search criteria can be found on google. Words and phrases which align with the audience can be found there. Not to miss out on the competitors. A knowledge of their habits help to gain a competitive advantage.
Copywriters' skills even extend to editing, proofreading and understanding the use of SEO to maximize reach.
This is a concise description of copyright and copywriting. It should help to clear up any confusion.