Types of creative copywriting

Copywriting is writing that drives action, be it for consumers to sign-up for newsletters, free trials, or to buy from you.

It comes in many forms – video scripts, blog posts, physical pamphlets etc.

 

1. Marketing Copywriting

This is the type of copywriting that people are most familiar with. Marketing copywriting can be anything you see and hear that is promotional in nature.

Marketing copywriting includes:

• Online display ads.
• YouTube videos.
• Radio commercials.
• TV commercials.
• Flyers.
• Billboards.
• Branded stickers.
• Direct mail.

2. Social Media Copywriting

There are many different social media platforms you can use to communicate with your audience. Doing research to find out where your customers are spending their time will help you write the right message for them.

Based on that research, you can tailor the voice and tone of your social media copywriting to speak to your audience effectively.

3. Brand Copywriting

Communicating what your brand represents is a big part of gaining recognition in your industry and connecting with customers. You can do that through writing with a specific image of your brand in mind. It can come in the form of a logo, theme song, phrase or a brand personality trait.

However, this image must resonate with your audience or else it will fall short. For brand copy to work, the customer needs to stay at the top of your mind. Are your customers the jingle-loving type like McDonald’s customers or the motivational commercial type like Nike’s? These questions can be mostly informed by your buyer personas.

4. Direct Response Copywriting

Direct response copywriting is a type of communication that is compelling enough for the customer to take action. It is any form of copy that encourages the recipient to take an action right away.

Direct response copywriting can be used in:

• Landing pages after clicking on an ad.
• Open-ended emails.
• Pop-ups.
• Limited time offer explanations.

5. Technical Copywriting

Technical copywriting is a piece of copy that aims to explain technology (like cloud-based technology) while selling a product (like IBM’s new Mono2Micro).

To sell a technical product, copywriters must first explain what it is, how it works and why customers should buy it instead of a competing product. Then, once the customer understands the product, they’re able to decide whether to buy or not.

6. Public Relations Copywriting

Through a uniform structure and journalistic voice, public relations copywriting aims to inform media publications and the public with a pointed directive of promoting a business, product or service. It’s often written by a public relations specialist. They write about an event from their organization and share the copy with several different media outlets.

Public relations copywriting can be found on sites like PR Newswire, but the same story could be shared through news outlets and radio shows if it gets picked up. It works to form a relationship with the public and organizations in a direct communication medium via news media organizations.

The audience for a press release is specific to B2B reach like:

• A journalist looking for leads.
• An entrepreneur looking to invest.
• A business owner doing research.

7. Thought Leadership Copywriting

Thought leadership copywriting comes in many forms but is usually from a prominent figure in an industry. If a top health care executive came out with an article recommending the public to adopt a new type of personal care practice, that article would be known as thought leadership copywriting.

This type of copywriting can be written for B2C markets as well. For example, New York Times opinion articles are written by writers who use the well-known news medium to communicate their thoughts on a particular issue. It amplifies their opinions on said issue and gains authority as an expert on that topic.

8. SEO Copywriting

SEO copywriting involves optimizing copy using keywords and phrases for search engines to more easily discover the copy and list it as a top result. A sales page can be optimized for a search engine results page (SERP) if done correctly.

9. Email Copywriting

Among the many reasons to use email marketing, writing great email copy is the one of best ways to directly connect with your most targeted audience. There are many methods for writing great email copy that works with your marketing campaigns and your customers.

Email copywriting includes:

• A great subject line.
• A thoughtful preview sentence.
• An intro sentence for the body of your email.
• A compelling CTA