Website Copywriting Terminology

Awareness: creating a favorable impression of a product or service

Benefits: the advantages associated with using a given product or service

Blind Envelope: direct mail advertisement disguised as ordinary correspondence

Body: the text of the written content

Call Out: a brief section that stands out from the written content, in order to draw readers' attention to a particular feature of the service or product

Collateral: printed material including brochures and pamphlets aimed at providing information and increasing sales

Copy: a reference to all the writing found in all marketing material including direct mail, brochures, websites and ads

Exposure: a form of non-monetary compensation offered to writers for their work

Features: qualities of the product or service

Headline: copy element above the body of the written content that calls attention to the important message

Johnson Box: headline in a direct mail letter, often sent within a rectangular box

Kicker: an element of copy just above the headline that creates interest in the content to follow

Sidebar: a vertical stretch of copy usually including client testimonials or case studies in longer brochures

Subheads: mini-headlines inserted in the content in order to break the monotony of long texts

Teaser: a brief copy on direct mail envelops that raises interest

Unique Selling Proposition (USP): a feature that distinguishes a company's product or service from that of the competitors