In a given setting, a writer is expected to have a specialised skill-set like many others. With the frantically growing Internet, some terms are now more well-known than they were before. Terms such as copywriting, technical writing and content writing are just some of them.
There are things that a copy writer can do but a common content writer cannot and a technical writer would not even think of. So let’s take a look in what respect these 3 professions are so different from each other.
The objective behind writing
The intent which inspires the work for these writers is what defines them the most. Content writer is the one who provides content for different media; print or web. The content could be of diverse styles and size, as the writer may change its difficulty level according to the audience.
Technical writers are people who generally work to explain a technical process to an ordinary person. The idea here is to convey a complicated technical concept in a language that could be understood by a layman.
Copy writer is definitely different that the two above. The purpose of producing a copy is to ‘sell’. This is an essential extension of a marketing apparatus in a company, which needs to pursue the targeted demographic to act as required. It may be buying a refrigerator or simply donating money for a good cause.
Skills and background needed
A content writer could be anyone. They come from various fields and what they really need is an ability to produce an error-free content as required.
Technical writers do need some sort of technical knowledge and hence some educational background in a technical field is sought after. A technical writer requires impressive instructional skills to teach others about something they have never learnt or used before. Plus, you may need the prior knowledge of using few publishing tools.
Copy writer are more creative in the bunch. As a copy writer, you need to be someone appealing to your audience. This is someone with innovative ways to get people’s attention and the persuasion skills to convince many.
What do they write for?
You can find the works of a content writer almost everywhere. This ranges from writing for web pages to creating articles for a variety of subjects. It could be a review for a movie or a blog describing the best tourist attractions in your country.
Technical writers work on communications ranging from Instruction manuals, internally-circulated industry documents, user manuals or user guides, online help files, API documents, educational books, or legal forms. For example, the manual you got with your mobile phone is created by a technical writer.
A copy writer creates copy for sales letters, corporate blogs, white papers, advertisements and press releases. They write brochures, pamphlets and similar marketing collateral required by their organisation.
Here’s a table outlining the main differences:
