Professional copywriting is a vague expression for most people. Obviously everyone knows what is a writer. But then, what is a copywriter?

The meaning of the word has not changed for the last seventy five years. But it has expanded considerably. There are various shades in the meaning of professional copywriting. A basic definition would be writing that is persuasive enough to motivate someone to take an action. We all have read the work of copywriters.

We can distinguish two different styles of professional copywriting. One, would be for the offline marketing while the other  would be for the web. Both styles are different. It is true that there some basic commonalities.

The writer writes to people who have needs and wants. Yet the media is different. In the offline marketing, a professional copywriter would write a sales letter. Generally, in copywriting one does not write articles, nor advertisements. The copy is specifically for sales.

We all have received in the mail envelopes containing, well what we usually call “junk mail”.  Oh! But are they really junk? See, year after year we receive them in our mail box. It’s because people read them and act upon them.

The sales package offers a product or service. There could be many different pieces in the envelope. But there is a main page which  would be the sales page. It’s usually a very long, long letter. It may talk about a product or service. It will usually mention the problems that people encounter and how this product has helped them.

The end of the professional copywriting letter always finishes with an offer. The product cost so much, and order now. There is usually a bonus or two being offered. Then you will see a section for the customer to put his name and address.

The professional copywriter will always have a guarantee and a telephone number, perhaps a fax number too. The writer who wrote this letter is a copywriter. There is knowledge and skill being applied. The intention of this writing is to request a prospect to fill up the information and make payment.