The practice of writing text specifically intended to persuade or prompt action — for advertising, sales pages, emails, and similar marketing content — as distinct from general writing or editorial content.
Why it matters
Copywriting is a specific skill, distinct from general writing ability, focused on clarity, persuasion, and driving a specific action, and even small differences in copywriting (a headline, a CTA's exact wording) can produce outsized differences in performance relative to their cost to write and test.
In a sentence
"We brought in a copywriter specifically for the pricing page, since converting on that page mattered enough to warrant a specialist."
Related terms
- Often confused with: Content writing (copywriting is specifically persuasive, action-oriented writing, like an ad or a landing page; content writing more broadly includes informational or editorial writing, like a blog post or a guide, which may not have a direct conversion goal).