Tag: World Travel Market

These days, there is much discussion about Copywriting versus Content Marketing. There is also a lot of confusion between the two. While copywriting is certainly a component of content marketing, the two terms are not interchangeable.

Terminology confusion

While in London recently, attending the World Travel Market, I had the privilege of meeting with a number of the industry’s leading professionals. Most understood that what I do is apply my travel and tourism experience to the art of crafting words. However, I did find some were looking less for a writer and more for somebody to market their content. This compelled me to try to unpack the fundamentals of both areas of expertise.

What is Copywriting?

Reaching out to those at the event in London, I asked:

1) Do you utilize “words” to persuade, promote, or raise brand awareness about your offering?

2) Are projects such as blogs, websites, brochures, and similar activities lagging because you do not have the in-house workforce to complete them?

3) Do you already have a public relations or marketing team in place, but want to turbocharge their efforts?

I followed with the thought that if the answer was yes to any of these questions, there is a good chance that contracting a seasoned, travel industry wordsmith would be beneficial.

A copywriter is the antithesis of an accountant. While they are able to make numbers bend to your benefit, a copywriter does the same with words. Be it blogs, websites, brochures, or anything else that involves language arts, you will see copywriters in on the action. Hense, the common Internet definition of copywriting is “the art and science of strategically delivering words (whether written or spoken) that get people to take some form of action.”

How Content Marketing differs

If you sat through Marketing 101 in college, you would recall that the definition of Marketing is, “The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P’s of marketing:

(1) Identification, selection, and development of a product,

(2) Determination of its price,

(3) Selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer’s place, and

(4) Development and implementation of a promotional strategy.

Content marketing follows this marketing model. While the creation of copy is one of the major pillars, its cornerstone may be found in the distribution of valuable, relevant and consistent content.

What has changed in recent years is the main channel to buyers. The Internet has built new avenues that allow businesses to talk directly with their customers while also lowering the cost threshold to do so. However, this new ability has upped the importance of hiring a great copywriter. Your words matter now more than ever.

Live content as opposed to dead content

Many people can write, but most individuals are not copywriters. What’s that mean? Well, the majority of business leaders have honed their writing skills during their days of higher education, and they certainly are very familiar with their offering.

However, those professionals who exclusively generate compelling copy for a living are naturally more skilled in this art form. The kind of copywriter you want to work with, not only stays up on all of the grammatical nuances inherent to the vocation, but they are also naturally inquisitive, imaginative, and possess a robust capacity in the areas of sales, marketing, and buzz creation. As a result, unlike the occasional writer, copy pros are able to convert your goals into a written call-to-action.

Telling Stories in a new way

Organizations have been telling their story since the dawn of time. The game changer is the Internet, and that is what gave birth to what is now known as Content Marketing. Copywriters create the content, and content marketers proactively disseminate it.

Everyone has a story. How may we help you tell yours?