The majority of copywriters are employed by organizations. These can encompass all manner of different industries. For example television and radio stations, advertising and public relations organizations, newspapers and magazines and so on. The Internet has brought about an increased tendency for copywriters to be freelancers, and many organisations are turning to the Internet as a source of copywriting. Indeed many webmasters and SEOs take advantage of the extremely cheap labour market in countries such as India and China to source content for websites, sometimes much to the detriment of the websites for, let’s face it, English grammar and spelling in such website content is often appalling.

Copywriters may carry out a similar job to technical writers, but whereas it is the copywriter’s task to persuade a reader, it is the technical writer’s task to explain a process to him. A freelance copywriter is frequently assigned work by an organisation. Until the copywriter is paid for a particular original article, the copyright to that article belongs to the copywriter. However once paid for, that copyright is passed on to the organisation that commissioned the work.

There is little doubt that the range of opportunities open to copywriters has increased dramatically as a direct result of the Internet. These opportunities encompass advertisements, commercial e-mails and, of course, web content. The more relevant content there is on a website, the more likely it is to rank highly with search engines. The Internet has also made copywriting research much easier. Whereas once the copywriter had to make a trip to the local library, today everything is literally at his or her fingertips. It is also much easier for potential employers to get in touch with copywriters, and social networks such as twitter and Linked In play a major role in this. This medium has also allowed copywriters, who would usually be shunned by organisations because of their age, to continue with a writing career or even start one well after their normal retirement age.

© Michael J Mason 2009