Blogging and Copywriting: What’s the Difference?

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Listen, I get it. We want things to be clear. And simple. And well-defined. But in the loosey-goosey world of writing, some things overlap. Take blogging and copywriting. What’s the difference? Are they different?

Let’s discuss.

Blogging and Copywriting: What’s the difference?

It all comes down to purpose. Consider the person who starts a blog as a hobby, just to share their navel-gazing thoughts. That’s blogging at its purest, the true definition of a “web log,” which is where the word “blog” comes from.

The purpose is almost diary-like, right? The person is writing it mostly for themselves or a handful of friends and family. The person isn’t expecting to make money. They’re just . . . writing.

I’d never in a million years call that copywriting.

If the blog gains traction over time and the person starts treating it like a business, then the game changes a little.

See, blogging can be a subset of copywriting.

Refresher time: What is copywriting? At its simplest copywriting is any writing that sells a product, service, or cause. Your grandma isn’t going to hire a copywriter to blog about her garden, but the garden store down the street might very well hire a copywriter to blog for them.

The goal of the garden store’s blog is to capture people who are already googling relevant phrases linked to what the garden store is selling. The idea is that if you bring in someone to the site who is already searching for, say, “best mulch for flower beds” (1900 searches a month) thanks to a kickass blog post on that subject, the person might appreciate the value they’re getting from the article, stick around the site, and maybe order products, services, or the garden store owner’s latest book.

You get the idea. The blog post was written to answer a prospective customer’s specific question and engage them enough that they’ll come back or stick around and maybe one day become a customer.

As a freelance copywriter, I’ve written hundreds (and maybe thousands) of educational blog posts like that over my career. And yes, clients call me a copywriter. And yes, they hire me to write blog content.

That’s precisely why I consider blogging a subset of copywriting.

Now, you might be thinking, “An educational blog post probably isn’t going to get someone to buy right then and there, right?”

Right you are! Most prospects need more than one well-written blog post to convince them to buy. But that initial blog post still provides an important first step in their overall buying journey.

Jargon alert: People who are just starting their buying journey are in the “top” of the sales funnel. Our job as writers is to provide high-quality content to attract these folks who are likely doing searches in Google. Once we lure them to the site via the blog—and they hopefully take another action, like subscribe to the blog or sign up for email alerts—the goal is to stay in front of them and help nudge them down the sales funnel until they are ready to come out the other end as a customer.

Bottom line: I consider blogging an essential service that I offer as a freelance copywriter. In fact, I’d say blogging probably makes up 70 percent of my copywriting business. Today alone, I blogged about vaginal atrophy, social media screening services, how to market a senior living community, and tips for being successful in beauty school.

Blogging and Copywriting: Some Folks Will Say It’s Content Writing, Not Copywriting.

I use the terms copywriter and content writer interchangeably. The purists will tell you that copywriting is all about selling. It’s all about conversions. It’s all about shorter, action-oriented copy. The same purists will tell you that content writing is all about engagement. They’ll say the goal is to engage the audience, not sell.

But businesses don’t pay writers to write stuff merely to “engage” prospects and customers. Businesses have an ulterior motive: They want the sale. They want the customer. And they want to keep the customer. Businesses realize content marketing is a long game. But they wouldn’t put any money toward it if it didn’t ultimately lead to sales.

Understanding how copywriting works

Engaging people is part of the selling process, especially at the beginning when prospects are learning about the brand. You also need to engage people at the end of the sales process when you’re asking them to fork over their hard-earned cash. (If you can’t keep their attention, good luck getting them to take the action you want.)

Sometimes, you’re engaging people who aren’t aware of the brand, which means they’re probably not ready to buy yet or maybe ever. But still. The reason the brand bothers with “engagement” in the first place is because it hopes a good chunk of those “engaged” folks will become sales somewhere down the line.

It’s true that businesses (and writers) tend to focus more on engaging the audience than “hard selling” when people are just learning about the brand or they’re in the very early stages of researching solutions to their problems. It’s also true that writers will use more persuasive tactics in the content designed to get people to convert ASAP.

But good copywriters understand this distinction. They know how and when to write content that simply engages (like educational blog posts), and how and when to write engaging content that sells (like an email trying to get someone to “buy now”).

(And vice versa. Good content writers know how to sell. What we happen to call ourselves is semantics more than anything else at this point.)

How do Blogging and Copywriting Work in Real Life with My Clients?

When I blog for clients, I will . . .

  • Do keyword research using Semrush. (I highly recommend this tool and following the Semrush blog.)
  • Create a blog editorial calendar, one that works in harmony with all the other marketing initiatives the company has for the quarter.
  • Talk to subject matter experts, as needed.
  • Research, research, research.
  • Draft the blog post and social media posts to promote the blog post (and sometimes newsletter content to promote the blog posts as well).
  • Monitor traffic/engagement.
  • Revise/refresh past blog posts, as needed, based on analytics.

So, to recap: blogging can be an important subset of copywriting. And if you decide to enter the wonderful world of freelance copywriting, I can (just about) guarantee that you’ll do your fair share of blogging.

Are you new to copywriting? Here are my go-to resources for learning the ins and outs.

I use Amazon Affiliate links below. If you use one of the links to buy something, it won’t cost you more, but I’ll earn a small commission. I only recommend stuff that I believe in. I own both of these books.