In this blog post we’ll explore the pivotal role of copywriting in driving meaningful interactions for businesses amidst the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Discover the core principles, types, and objectives of effective copywriting, and learn how to leverage generative AI to enhance your writing process while maintaining creativity, persuasion, and above all a human voice.

Words have never been more valuable—and worthless. They have the power to connect, create trust, convince, and ultimately drive actions that benefit businesses and organizations, and of course the audience they serve. Yet a vast number of businesses get stuck in a never-ending loop of content that leads down the drain.

While AI tools like ChatGPT have sped up the content creation process, we’re already seeing digital regurgitation that steadily loses grounding in humanity, thus meaning and value. In fact, Rice and University of Stanford researchers use the achronym MAD (Model Autophagy Disorder) to describe how AI models and their output quality collapses when repeatedly trained on AI-generated data. As the name implies, the model essentially ”eats itself” and loses information on the tails (the extremes) of the original data distribution. So the more non-human generated content we put out there, the crappier results generative AI will output, because its bots are everywhere online, tirelessly training. Hence, if a business is set on using generative AI for its content creation needs, they would still do well to hire a knowledgeable and skilled copywriter to get the prompting and editing process right.

Understanding Copywriting

Copywriting is the art and science of strategically delivering words, whether written or spoken, that prompt people to take a specific action. It is closely tied to marketing and is an essential tool for promoting and selling businesses, brands, products, and services. The primary goal of copywriting is to encourage the reader or viewer to take action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for an email list, or engaging with a brand in some way.

Multiple definitions from reputable sources emphasize this core aspect of copywriting. As Copyblogger states, it involves delivering words that get people to take some form of action. AWAI specifies that copywriters are responsible for creating text for various marketing materials, from brochures to emails, with the aim of prompting action. HubSpot reinforces the idea that copywriting is about getting people to take action after reading or hearing the words.

In essence, copywriting is about moving people to act through words. Whether it’s a tweet, a billboard, an email, or a product description, the underlying objective of copywriting remains the same: to prompt action.

The Two Types Of Copywriting

Copywriting is pervasive and everywhere you look, from billboards on highways to promotional emails in your inbox, event flyers, website content, product listings, and even video and podcast scripts. What unites all these forms of copywriting is the intention to drive action.

There are two primary categories of copywriting:

1. Direct Response Copywriting: Aiming to elicit an immediate action from the reader or viewer, examples include Twitter ads designed to get clicks, billboards encouraging drivers to exit for a particular establishment, landing pages for email signups, emails prompting a reply, and product descriptions encouraging adding items to the cart.
2. Brand-building Copywriting: Unlike direct response copywriting, branding-focused, or brand-building, copywriting doesn’t necessarily seek an immediate action. Instead, it aims to build brand awareness and connect with the audience over time. Examples include magazine ads that expose readers to a brand, blog or social media posts that educate, inspire, entertain, and engage readers, and white papers that establish a brand’s authority.

Both types of copywriting play crucial roles in marketing, and the choice between them depends on the specific goals of a campaign.

The 4 Core Objectives Of Good Copywriting

Effective copywriting is built on four core objectives known as the AIDA framework:

1. Attention: The first step in effective copywriting is capturing the reader’s attention. Without their attention, all other efforts are in vain. Attention-grabbing techniques include making promises, creating urgency, and inducing curiosity.
2. Interest: Once you have the reader’s attention, the next objective is to provoke their interest. This involves keeping them engaged with your content. Techniques for generating interest include storytelling, providing how-to education, and mirroring the reader’s emotions or experiences.
3. Desire: Engagement is essential, but the ultimate goal is to harness the reader’s desires. Effective copywriting connects the reader’s existing desires with the product or service being offered. It’s about demonstrating how the offering can fulfill their needs or wants.
4. Action: The ultimate metric of copywriting success is action. Persuading the reader to take a specific action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up, or contacting the business, is the primary objective.

These four objectives guide the entire copywriting process, from capturing attention to motivating action. Effective copywriters understand how to move readers through each stage of the AIDA framework.

How To Use Generative AI To Write Better & Faster

While AI tools like ChatGPT can and should not replace human creativity and judgment, it can enhance the copywriting process in several ways, for example:

Brainstorming and Outlining: AI is excellent at generating ideas and creating outlines. Use ChatGPT to brainstorm content ideas or create structured outlines for your copy.

Sentence Generation: Combat writer’s block or speed up your writing process by using AI to generate sentences or phrases that you can incorporate into your content.

Grammar and Punctuation Checks: AI can help identify and correct grammar and punctuation errors, saving you time during the editing process.

Language Translation: If you need to translate your copy into another language, AI can provide accurate translations as a starting point.

Just remember, it’s crucial to remember that generative AI tools are most effective when used by experienced copywriters who understand the nuances of persuasive writing and can incorporate the content appropriately.

Have you hopped on the AI train yet, or are you more of a trainspotter? I’d love to know if and how you use AI in your work and daily life. Maybe I can share a trick or two. Get in touch to spark a conversation!

/Anna