Glossary of Copywriting Terminology: Understanding Common Copywriting Terms
When dealing with a copywriter, some terms may come up that you are not familiar with. If that happens, never be afraid to speak up; Copywriters are pros at translating industry jargon into layman’s terms, and they’re happy to help. But if you’d rather enter the conversation like a pro, here’s a rundown of some of the basic copywriting terms and what they mean.
Benefits: How your product or service can help your potential customer or meet their needs (versus features).
Shout: An additional copy in your project that is “called” with graphics, such as an infobox (often called a sidebar) or a featured quote (often called an extracted quote).
Call to action: The specific action you want a potential customer to take after reading your marketing materials, such as calling a toll-free number or sending a reply card.
Case study: A one to five page success story that explains how your customer solved their problems using your product or solution.
Collateral: Any form of printed marketing material, such as a brochure or sales sheet.
Content Marketing: Provide prospects and customers with material they want to read (such as articles and white papers) instead of promotional material (such as brochures).
Characteristics: The qualities or specifications of your product, such as its measurements and materials (compare with the benefits).
landing page: The page a visitor “lands” on when they enter a web address or click a link to your website from another website.
Microsite: A miniature website with a narrow focus, such as a specific product or campaign website. A microsite is typically three to five pages long and often contains in-depth visitor tracking or analytics capabilities.
breeding: Stay in touch with prospects who are not yet ready to buy your product or service.
Sell sheet: a one-page information sheet that lists the key features and benefits of a product or service.
Motto: A short sentence accompanying your company name; the best state has key benefit. For example, “Nothing runs like a Deere” and “Every kiss starts with Kay.”
Thought Leader: A person within your company or organization who has unique, innovative, or interesting ideas about what’s going on in your industry, and whose experience can be leveraged for writing and marketing projects.
Unique Selling Proposition: The key to your product or service that makes it different or better than others in the market. What is the one reason your prospects want and need your product?
White paper: A three to ten page report that describes a problem or challenge in your field or industry and presents solutions to solve that challenge.