{"id":34156,"date":"2022-05-13T06:08:28","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T06:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/copy"},"modified":"2026-09-30T09:12:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T09:12:29","slug":"copy","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/copy","title":{"rendered":"Copy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Copy<\/strong> is text created to communicate a specific proposition and guide an audience&#8217;s response. It may inform, persuade, reduce uncertainty or indicate an action, depending on the purpose of the asset and the stage of the journey at which a person encounters it.<\/p>\n<p>The term refers to the <strong>written message<\/strong>, not to the profession or the entire process that produces it. A headline, an advertisement description, button text or an email sequence can all be copy. Effectiveness depends not only on brevity or creativity, but on clearly expressing what is offered, who may find it relevant and what should happen next.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxpad alignright wp-image-34144 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/57.jpg\" alt=\"Copy\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/57.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/57-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Copy formats<\/h2>\n<p>Copy changes according to the <strong>channel<\/strong>, available space and expected level of attention. The same proposition may require different versions without changing its central meaning.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Advertisements:<\/strong> headlines, descriptions and extensions that present an offer within format limits.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Landing pages:<\/strong> messages that organise the promise, benefits, evidence and action on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/landing-page\">landing page<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commercial pages:<\/strong> names, descriptions, advantages and conditions for products, services or plans.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Email and messages:<\/strong> subject lines, preheaders, body text and automated replies that guide an interaction.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Interfaces:<\/strong> labels, notices, error messages and microcopy that help a person complete a task.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Social media:<\/strong> text that gives a post context and adapts the message to behaviour on each platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A long document can also contain <strong>pieces of copy<\/strong>. Length alone does not determine the category: the function of the message, its context and the response it is intended to support are what matter.<\/p>\n<h2>Message elements<\/h2>\n<p>Useful copy coordinates several <strong>elements<\/strong>. There is no universal formula, but the asset should let a person understand the proposition without having to infer essential information.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Audience:<\/strong> identifies who the message addresses and which knowledge, need or obstacle that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/target\">target audience<\/a> shares.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Proposition:<\/strong> explains what is offered and its specific usefulness in the current context.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Benefit:<\/strong> translates features into a relevant consequence without promising outcomes that cannot be supported.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Evidence:<\/strong> adds data, demonstrations, testimonials, conditions or verifiable details when they are needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tone:<\/strong> maintains a voice appropriate to the brand, channel and reading situation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Action:<\/strong> uses a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/call-to-action\">call to action<\/a> when there is a clear next step.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Hierarchy<\/strong> is also part of the message. Headlines, subheadings, lists, buttons and legal notes should order information so that the main point is recognised before secondary details.<\/p>\n<h2>Creation process<\/h2>\n<p>Writing copy requires <strong>decisions<\/strong> before drafting begins. Starting with wordplay or persuasive formulas before defining the purpose often produces messages that attract attention but lack precision.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong> specify whether the asset should explain, attract attention, answer an objection, start a registration or support another observable behaviour.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Context:<\/strong> identify the channel, device, traffic source and information that the person has already received.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Research:<\/strong> gather customer language, product features, conditions, objections and available evidence.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Priority:<\/strong> select one main idea and separate essential information from supporting arguments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drafting:<\/strong> build a coherent version with understandable vocabulary, specific verbs and proportionate claims.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Review:<\/strong> check accuracy, readability, consistency, accessibility, legal requirements and suitability for the channel.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Review should remove <strong>ambiguity<\/strong>, repetition and absolute claims. It should also verify that the text still makes sense outside the design and that no button relies solely on position or colour to be understood.<\/p>\n<h2>Terminology differences<\/h2>\n<p>Copy, copywriting and copywriter are related, but they describe <strong>different things<\/strong>. Separating them prevents a piece of text from being confused with the whole strategic task or with the person who performs it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Copy:<\/strong> the text or group of messages shown in a communication asset.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Copywriting:<\/strong> the discipline and process of researching, writing and reviewing those messages, covered in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/copywriting\">copywriting<\/a> entry.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Copywriter:<\/strong> the professional who carries out that work, as explained in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/copywriter\">copywriter<\/a> entry.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Editorial content:<\/strong> usually develops a subject in greater informational depth, although it may contain headlines, links or calls to action written as copy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Slogan:<\/strong> a stable phrase associated with a brand or campaign; not every piece of copy is or needs to function as a slogan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The boundary depends on <strong>function<\/strong>, not on a length rule. Microcopy may explain without selling, while a long asset may guide a commercial decision.<\/p>\n<h2>Copy evaluation<\/h2>\n<p>Copy should be evaluated against its <strong>objective<\/strong> and the environment in which it appears. A high click-through rate may help an advertisement, but it does not by itself show that the message generates valid registrations, sales or understanding.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Attention:<\/strong> viewable impressions, headline reading or initial interaction, when these can be measured reliably.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Understanding:<\/strong> the ability to identify the offer, its conditions and the next step without misinterpretation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Response:<\/strong> clicks, forms started, registrations, purchases or other actions defined in advance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Quality:<\/strong> lead relevance, returns, complaints, abandonment or gaps between the promise and the experience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Comparison:<\/strong> results from an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/a-b-testing\">A\/B test<\/a> with a hypothesis, one main variable and a sufficient observation period.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Results also depend on <strong>design<\/strong>, the offer, targeting, speed, price and the later experience. Attributing every improvement or decline to the text alone therefore requires the other variables to be controlled and the version seen by each group to be documented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Copy is text that communicates a proposition and guides a response. Learn about its formats, elements, creation process, differences and metrics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":81205,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1331],"class_list":["post-34156","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-persuasion-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/34156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=34156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}