A common misconception people have is that a creative writer can be a copy writer or vice versa. That may be true for some, but they cannot apply the same style and principles every time. It won’t work and won’t accomplish what it should do.

So how do you identify if a work is a product of creative writing or copy writing? Here are their three main differences: 

When you open a novel, you’re generally expecting to get some entertainment. No one reads a storybook to get bored. You are reading because you are interested in the story. The content creates a picture, evokes emotions, and incites reactions that has you turning pages.

Copy writing is supposed to attract you into reading it because you are initially not interested. The goal of the copy is to sell a product or service to you. It has to abide by SEO, length, and certain topic, the tone, and even language.

Creative writers such as Shakespeare weren’t concerned with how the audience would understand their message. It is your duty as the reader to comprehend the story. That’s why analyses and critiques exist. The aesthetic value of the work is given more importance when it comes to creative writing. It has to sound good and look good or else it won’t be appreciated by anyone.

You can’t do that with copy writing though. If your audience does not understand what you’re saying, it’s already a potential sale lost. A copy writer should be as clear as possible, in a way that theycan communicate your message to anyone. The copy should be short, concise, and direct. There’s no point in trying to beat around the bush. 

This does not mean you should direct sell all the time though. It could turn off customers in certain types of business. That’s why many online businesses today outsource copywriting services so they can still sound interesting while selling their products or services. It can make a whole world of difference!

They say that when a literary piece has produced many interpretations, the writer did a good job. If you’ve been in a literature class and viewed a story in different lenses, you’ll know what we mean. For copywriting, that’s a big no-no. If every reader interpreted your copy differently, you did a bad job. A really bad one. You should only have a single message, and that is to sell, to attract, to engage, or to convert.

Both styles of writing are equally important and are considered valuable skills. It’s important to note that each have their own uses and cannot be interchanged with one another. They are different from journalistic writing, editorial writing, and speech writing. So when you’re looking for a person to write excellent copy for your marketing strategy, you should outsource a copywriter, not a creative writer.

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