Copywriting Vs Copyrighting

By Author: Peter James
Total Articles: 37
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What the Heck is Copywriting Anyway?
I'm asked this question often and there seems to be some confusion about what copywriting is.
So, I hope to shed some light on the subject.
Copywriting, by definition is the act (I call it art) of writing advertising, marketing or promotional copy.
Let's break it down further.
Copy is the written word used in your marketing materials. Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero said it best when she explained that copy is the DNA of your marketing efforts. Take a moment to think about that and the importance of good copy may become a little clearer. Strip your marketing, advertising and promotional materials of all words and what do you have? If you're serious about projecting a good image for your business, you'll have a slick looking graphic layout. Even though pictures are supposed to be worth a thousand words, pictures alone cannot adequately sell your wares.
Content is king. It moves your customers towards the sale and explains the "what's in it for me factor." Copy is very important, indeed. Copy allows you to tell your story in a way that motivates and brings results.
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... Confusing the art of copywriting with the act of copyrighting is a common error. As I pointed out earlier, copywriting is the art of writing copy.
Copyrighting is the act of claiming formal ownership of a piece of writing, usually via the US Copyright office.
Even a particular yellow page company seems to be confused about that. I'm pretty clear about letting people know what I do. I indicate the same thing in all of my marketing and advertising as a part of the branding and positioning process: Write On ~ Creative Writing Services POWERFULLY communicates business messages to increase results. We do this via articles, advertising, marketing and copywriting.
Apparently the art department at the yellow page firm didn't think that I know what my company does and decided to change the term copywriting to copyrighting.
Imagine my surprise when my already-approved copy was changed by an artist without my consent. I'm still waiting for my refund because I got a little fired up when people kept calling me to help copyright their work. That isn't what I do and of course, to be polite, I explained what I really do when people called and I sent them to the US Copyright website. After a few of these calls, I used the power of words to write the yellow page company's corporate office and request a refund.
Oddly, the calls about a service I don't provide, in some twisted way, are proof that people do use the yellow pages. And, I'm a firm believer that placing an ad in the yellow pages is an important part of the marketing funnel for some businesses.
Luckily most of my referrals come via word of mouth from satisfied customers and from internet marketing. Therefore, I won't be renewing my yellow page ad. Sorry to digress with a small tangent. I know that everyone makes mistakes and I'm not trying to be a bully. The story was just a great illustration of how people are still confused about the meaning of copywriting, as well, as an aside, about editing.
Did you know that a similar situation happened with L.L. Bean's Back-To-School Catalog in 2006? A misprint of a toll free number appeared with the prefix of 800 instead of 877 because a rogue employee "just knew" all toll free numbers started with 800. That mistake was rather costly as L.L. Bean had to do some fancy footwork to purchase the misprinted number from another company (a guesstimate of 6 figures). Ouch!
The moral of this story: Content is king. Make sure your copy counts as your sales are counting on your copy.

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