Whilst creative writing is more art than science, informed opinion is that copywriting is far more science than art. This is, by and large, an accurate assessment, although it would be a serious mistake to dismiss the importance of creative flair in copywriting.
Comparing the two, a novelist will use artistry to produce a great piece of work, but this cannot happen without a formulaic plot structure. The science is used to give an order to the artistic prose. A copywriter will use science to optimally trigger buying impulses. Marketing strategies have been around for long enough that there is little guesswork involved in what does or doesn't work.
You can argue about the percentages - which will vary depending on what exactly you are promoting - but creative writing is more art, and copywriting is more science.
Despite that, it is not true to say that creative writing goes for the heart and copywriting goes for the brain. The seat of our emotions is not in the heart, even if we romantically attribute it to that place and often physically feel it there. Our emotions happen in our brains as chemical reactions that are then fired around our systems and experienced all over the body.
Copywriters should not forget that humans are emotional creatures. The paradox is that to trigger these emotional responses requires a scientific approach by the copywriter; an observance of certain rules proven to have worked time and time again.
This is great news for you, the budding copywriter. There is no need to sit down and ponder some dazzling new approach. You don't need to sign up to any creative writing course to be a successful copywriter. In fact, as a copywriter, you can shoot yourself in the foot by trying to be too creative, as this can interfere with the elements that have been proven over time to work effectively in promoting interest and sales.
If you're not sure about this, consider how much attention you pay to a billboard as you are driving by. For one thing, you can't physically pay it much heed without getting distracted and causing a car wreck. Its message therefore needs to be highly succinct, which leaves little room for flowing creativity. It is the headline that counts. However, there is certainly an art to creating a memorable slogan that will stick in the mind after one brief glance.
The vast majority of advertising that ends up in front of you is unsolicited. You didn't ask to be shown it, therefore if it is to work effectively it has to grab your attention almost instantly or you will dismiss it. A good copywriter appreciates this fact, and gears their copy to press the right buttons in their audience as quickly as possible. This is the science. Perhaps some people may term it an art form, but even the word "form" suggests that there is an accepted structure that must exist for it to work.
The Client Brief
This may further define the copywriter's job as more of a science than an art. If a car company wants you to promote their latest model and the selling point is its hybrid engine, then your brief is defined. Waxing lyrical about its upholstery is not going to cut it. That may be a requirement once the hook is in, but companies usually have their own ideas about where the focus of an ad campaign should be, thus copywriters generally do not have the freedom to play around and experiment as a true artist might.
A good copywriter will listen to the brief and know exactly what it is that the client wishes to convey. As a copywriter, it is your job to express those points powerfully, according to the methods that you know have traditionally worked best.
Of course, this is also where the art comes in because you must be able to give life to whatever words you use. Writing about a new sleeping pill, there is no doubt that the most junior employee of the pharmaceutical company could come up with the line: "Makes you go to sleep when you couldn't before". A copywriter will be called upon because the client automatically and rightly assumes that a good copywriter will combine a competent level of writing skills with intelligence, common sense, creativity and imagination. The intelligence and common sense to take on board the brief and know how to apply tried and trusted marketing rules to it, and the creativity and imagination to perhaps add that special sparkle to the finished message.
Ultimately, defining copywriting is a semantic exercise, and it doesn't much matter what you call it so long as you remember that there are rules that must be obeyed. When an artist mixes colors on a palette, it is both art and science. Science dictates how the colors mix together - you can never mix red and yellow and not get orange - whilst the art is in tweaking the proportions to achieve the subtleties.
As a copywriter, being able to grasp both is obviously beneficial as it gives you the flexibility to adapt to all briefs, but you should not be overly concerned with subtleties. Subtleties are often lost on people, especially those people who don't have the time or inclination to uncover them.
Remember always that your average audience needs bold colors, and those you can easily learn to produce.
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