A fundamental skill for all businesses and organizations is to use language effectively in sales and marketing materials. The task of creating the text for these materials is known as copywriting. The purpose of copywriting is to persuade the reader to act – to respond to an advertisement, to buy a product or service, to donate to a cause, to join an organization.
Copywriting is part of direct mail marketing post cards, self-mailers and sales letters; display advertisements; brochures; press releases; white papers; catalogs; and all other marketing communications material. Copywriting differs from technical and business writing because it is persuasive rather than expository. Like technical or business writers, copywriters may present information, but their primary goal is to influence the behavior of readers. Copywriting can also violate the rules for standard business writing to achieve a desired effect or to make the writing more interesting.