What is the difference between a Content Writer and a Copywriter? This is an important question, as the two are not the same but are often mistaken as interchangeable terms for the same role.

Content Writers and Ghostwriters write articles, blog posts, eBooks etc. The content is customarily information based. These types of writers will normally charge by the word or by the article. The pricing for content varies wildly. You could pay anything between 99 cents and $20 for a 400 word article. If you check out a sites like ezine articles you will find good examples of content writing.

Copywriting on the other hand is concerned with selling, and this art of writing persuasive copy, takes many years to learn and master. If you need a sales page, auto responder emails etc… you go to a copywriter. A top quality sales page could cost you anything up to $20,000. If you check out the Clickbank market place and read some of the product sales pages, you’ll be reading copywriting.

Go check it out… and you’ll see how different they are.

Many content writers say that they can write copy, but they can’t. If they could they would have only written copy, because the money is just soooo good.

In Conclusion:

Hire a Content Writer, if you need:

. Articles
. Blog Posts
. eBooks

Hire a Copywriter, if you need:

. a Sales Page
. Auto Responder emails
. Landing pages
. PPC Ad Creatives

Key Things to Look for When Hiring a Copywriter

Samples – You want proof they are delivering quality
Style – Can they fit in with your existing branding? Can they reflect your business’ ethos?
Credibility – Are they trustworthy, Do they have a website, portfolio to show for?
Price – We’re in a recession. Everyone’s looking to save a few dollars here and there.

Create a Checklist with the most important criteria at the top, here is a sample of ours:

1) Samples
2) Native English speaker
3) Style
4) SEO knowledge
5) Grammar
6) Experience
7) Subject matter expertise
8) Price

This entry was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.