When people ask me what do you do, I tell them I’m a copywriter, which doesn’t necessarily mean what they think it means.

Here are the two biggest misconceptions people have about copywriting. I’m sure there are more, but these listed are stand out to me.

1. Copywriting is all about strategy

“Go write the best marketing copy they can in the perfect budget for this desired product.”

Why do most copywriters (and even organizations) hold marketing ideas to be the most important thing?

The truth is, copywriting is actually a lot more than writing strategy. There are countless functions going on in your head that make your script attractive, informed, actionable, etc.

Take the everyday example of a client and trying to sell its products to an audience. Why do your descriptions have a descriptive and descriptive tone? Because you’re trying to make your client’s future audience feel empathy. Do you change the framing? Explain something that explains what’s behind this emotion rather than dazzle them with hype?

Or have you ever seen an example of a client giving a presentation without any writing skills? Probably not, because you can’t find a professional speaker without great writing skills.

2. Quality over quantity

Does that sound familiar?

I’ve always wondered why brands so commonly rely on the quantity of the art, when the quality of the execution more effectively impacts the credibility of the brand.

Over the years, I’ve tried to interpret what I was learning in school. And I keep coming back to the same answer.

If you focus more on the quality of your job than the number of words you are writing, you’ll do your job well.

Why do some sub-part names become misspelled when they’re in places you don’t intend them to be? Because the writers must remember to check their transcript for the missing parts when they’re rewriting.

What happens when I interview designers for a product project? I use the excerpted sections on their resume, alongside headshot and portfolio photos. But that’s all I write. I write about those great traits they had, and their successes and mistakes, but I’ve never seen any of their writings.

Copywriting may not be about writing solutions. But it should be about creating an experience that makes your brand easy to recall.