Copywriting: The Role of Copywriting in Marketing

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The Purpose of Copywriting

Copywriting allows businesses to communicate the value of what they offer through words designed to capture their audience's interest.

Its purpose is to help people understand why a particular offer might be useful to them.

In marketing, this role is especially important because even a great product can go unnoticed when it is presented poorly or not presented at all, since people today are unlikely to invest the mental effort required to figure out for themselves what problem a product solves and why they should consider buying it.

Research from MIT on customer needs and product development supports the importance of connecting product features to benefits customers actually value, (source: "Managing a Dispersed Product Development Process," Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Copywriting serves precisely to make this connection clearer.

It transforms what a business wants to communicate into a message that means something to the reader, making its marketing communications more effective and increasing the chances that a potential customer will decide to buy.

The Functions of Copywriting in Marketing

Copywriting performs five important functions in marketing.

Each plays a role at a different stage of the relationship between a business and its audience.

1. Attract Attention

Every day, people encounter numerous advertising messages.

Most are ignored because they do not seem interesting enough or relevant to something people need.

Research from Stanford Graduate School of Business shows that consumers respond more positively to advertising when it provides relevant and useful information, supporting the importance of relevance (source: "In Searches, Those Paid Ads Pay Off," Stanford Graduate School of Business," Stanford Graduate School of Business).

Copywriting helps a business overcome this initial obstacle by creating messages that capture the attention of the right people.

For example, a company that sells mattresses might use a message such as "Do you often wake up with back pain?" which immediately catches the attention of someone suffering from back pain, rather than simply writing "Discover our new mattresses," which fails to generate the slightest interest in anyone.

2. Communicate Value

A product may have excellent features, but customers do not want to put in the effort required to figure out what those features mean for them.

Copywriting helps solve this problem by explaining the specific benefit someone can gain from using the product.

This does not mean technical features are useless, but rather that they become more valuable when connected to a real need (source: "Identifying Customer Needs from User‐Generated Content," MIT Sloan School of Management)

3. Persuade and Generate Conversions

Capturing attention is not enough to achieve business results because someone may find a product interesting without deciding to buy it.

Research on the consumer decision journey distinguishes consideration and evaluation from the actual purchase, demonstrating that interest does not automatically translate into a sale (source: "The Consumer Decision Journey," Harvard Business Review).

Copywriting aims to guide people toward making a decision through messages that clarify the value of an offer and explain what step to take next.

This step is called a conversion, which might involve making a purchase or requesting a quote, or even subscribing to a mailing list.

4. Build Brand Identity

Copywriting also helps shape how a business is perceived by its audience.

Every brand communicates through a recognizable style known as its tone of voice, which is the way a business chooses to address people through words (source: "7 Steps for Establishing Your Voice and Tone Guidelines," Mailchimp).

For example, a company that sells children's products might adopt simple, reassuring language, while a brand offering financial services might prefer a more formal style to convey professionalism.

The choice obviously depends on the audience the business wants to reach and the image it wants to build.

What matters is maintaining a certain level of consistency over time.

If a brand uses highly professional language on its website but communicates in a completely different way in its emails, it comes across as inconsistent, and this can seriously damage the company's credibility.

Copywriting therefore helps build a consistent identity over time, one that people can recognize even through the way a business expresses itself.

5. Build Customer Relationships

The relationship between a business and its customers does not end after a purchase, since someone might need information on how to use a product correctly or have questions about the service they received.

Copywriting helps maintain this relationship through communications that address customers' needs even after the sale.

Imagine someone who has just purchased a coffee machine.

The company could send them an email with a few tips on how to make a great espresso.

This type of message does not attempt to sell another product immediately but instead provides practical assistance that can improve the customer's experience.

And when a business communicates in this helpful way and delivers on its promises, it helps build trust.

Research from Harvard Business School supports the importance of customer interactions after a purchase, showing how the overall experience can influence whether customers return and remain loyal to a brand (source: "Want to Leave a Lasting Impression on Customers? Don't Forget the (Proverbial) Fireworks," Harvard Business School).