Is Copywriting An Art or A Science?

Copywriting–is it an art or a science?

Can you learn copywriting or is this a skill that great copywriters are born with?

There’s a raging debate online about whether copywriting is an art or science. And does it really matter? I believe copywriting actually combines the two. Sometimes you lean more heavily on one and other times, the other.

You need them both–art and science– in order to really hone the craft of copywriting.

Definition of copywriting

For the sake of clarity, let’s define copywriting.

Wikipedia defines copywriting as ‘the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is content written with the aim to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.’

There’s more about the difference between copy and content in this post here.

Love it or hate it?

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of in-between when it comes to copywriting. That’s because you either love it or hate it.

Those in the hate camp seem to fear it. They claim to not be ‘good’ at it. And faced with a blank sales page, they experience classic stress reactions–dry mouth, sweaty palms, and brain fog.

One of the study goals I’ve set for the current year is to explore the art and science of copywriting. I want to understand everything there is to know about this skill. I’ve invested in several courses, completed a few of those so far, and connected with some people I think have outstanding copywriting ability. I’ve invested my time in books, blogs, and picking the brains of good copywriters.

As much as folks fear and dread copywriting, this skill is definitely something anyone can learn. Like pretty much anything online, with the desire and enough time, attention, and the proper teachers/mentors/role models, you can learn how to do great copywriting.

The science of copywriting.

Copywriting borrows the best from different scientific disciplines. Knowledge of the science of psychology becomes very useful in copywriting–remember, the goal of copywriting is to persuade someone to take action.

Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and human behavior. There are 4 primary goals in the discipline of psychology:  to describe, explain, predict, and change behavior. Understanding how people think in general and how the mind works are both extremely important to understanding how behavior can be predicted and possibly changed. To be persuaded. Not manipulated.

Additionally, knowing how to do scientific research will help you create the best copy. Confidently knowing your audience–who you’re talking to, how they think, what they want, and what’s holding them back from getting what they want–are all mandatory in creating compelling copy.

The way you’re best able to understand your audience is to do research and find out.

There’s no room for guessing with copywriting.

If you want to get the answers to your questions, go directly to your audience and ask them. Then use their answers–their exact words and their colorful descriptions in your copywriting.

Combine those descriptions with the science of psychology and you have a winning combination to persuade someone to take action that will help them achieve their desires and goals.

The art of copywriting.

How is the art of copywriting manifested? You can see this art in the choice and combinations of the written words.

Words create stories, hope, stimulate desire, and persuade the reader to continue reading and to ultimately take the desired action. Like a painter who uses paintbrushes and color to paint a picture, a copywriter tells a story (or paints a picture) with their words. The reader takes in the words and creates a picture in their mind.

The reader can imagine a world in which some type of challenge they have is now gone. They can imagine what life would be like with this solution. And since they’ve been searching for a solution to this challenge, they’re compelled to do what the words ask and take the desired action.

This choice and combination of words is the art of copywriting.

What’s your opinion?

To wrap it up, I would love to know what you think. Love it or hate copywriting?

And what’s your opinion on this raging copywriting debate? Art or science?

Leave a comment and let me know your feelings on this topic. There’s no right or wrong here. We’ve all got beautiful opinions and I would love to have you add your voice in the comments below.

Here’s mine: I believe that science can combine with artistic wordsmithing to create beautiful stories that compel and persuade. That, to me, is beautiful copywriting.