Updated 2 November 2026. First published in 2021.
Sales copy and conversion copy. Both terms are widely used and are part of every copywriter's toolkit. However, what are they? And is there even a difference?
Post summary
What is sales copy?
What is conversion copy?
Why use conversion copywriting over SEO content writing?
Hiring sales copywriters
What is sales copy?
Stellar sales copy focuses on how the end customer benefits from what's being sold, what marketers call the "value it brings to the customer".
Sales copy is written to sell, so it's rarely the right style for blog posts, where readers want information first. It works best on sales pages, product pages and landing pages.
That doesn't make it dull. While you don't need to turn a sales page into the next Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, a sales copywriter plays with language, tone and voice to give readers a reason to keep reading.
Every word has to earn its place. Nielsen Norman Group found that people read about 20% of the words on an average web page, so the words they do read need to sell.
Sales copy aims to convince the visitor to buy a product or service. It needs to present what a business sells so attractively that the reader can't find a reason to say no.
This is easier said than done.
What is conversion copywriting?
Conversion copy is an intentional, data-driven way of writing text that gets readers to take an action.
The term can mean different things depending on the context. Conversion copywriters write adverts, web copy, email newsletter campaigns and even entire sales funnels.
With conversion copywriting, business owners gain invaluable insight into their sales funnels and customer personas.
Skilled conversion copywriters are highly prized because doing it well is intricate and time-consuming. When done correctly, it can have an immediate impact on a business's return on investment (ROI).
Simpler copy usually converts better. Unbounce's analysis of more than 41,000 landing pages found that the more difficult words, reading time and total words a page had, the lower its conversion rate tended to be.
Harder, longer copy converts less
Correlation between each copy measure and landing page conversion rate
Source: Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report, 2024, based on more than 41,000 landing pages and 57 million conversions. Difficult words have three or more syllables.
So what's the difference between the two?
Sales copy gets readers to buy something, typically a product or service.
Conversion copy gets people to take an action, such as subscribing or signing up (it can include buying as well), with the process methodically mapped out.
| Sales copy | Conversion copy | SEO copy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | A purchase | Any chosen action, from a sign-up to a sale | Organic traffic from search |
| Where it's used | Sales pages, product pages, ads | Landing pages, emails, funnels, ads | Blog posts, guides, service pages |
| Research starts with | The customer's needs and objections | Customer research and conversion data | Search data and keywords |
| Measured by | Sales and revenue | Conversion rate at each step | Rankings, clicks and AI citations |
| Example | "Order today and get free delivery" | "Start your free 14-day trial" | "What is sales copy?" |
Why use a conversion copywriter over an SEO content writer?
Expert sales copywriter Tori Reid explains the main difference between SEO and sales copy like this.
“In a nutshell, SEO content drives traffic. SEO writers use Google’s keywords built on viewership data. Or, ‘who clicked to view or read articles that used this keyword’.”
Sales copywriters get their "keywords", phrases and topics directly from buyer personas, building a list of triggers to use within the copy.
Yes, SEO content can win conversions, such as sales or sign-ups. However, it's not nearly as consistent as conversion copywriting, and there's a reason for that.
SEO content is engineered to drive traffic. Sales copy is crafted to drive sales.
So when you need copy to sell, hire someone with real experience of writing to sell, not just writing to rank.
SEO experts and business owners would love the best of both worlds, content that draws organic traffic and converts it. The good news is that the best writers can deliver both, because they know which skill each page needs. A blog post needs to rank and inform, while a sales page needs to persuade. Strong SEO copywriting brings the two together, using search data to find the audience and sales skills to win them over.
When to hire a sales copywriter?
First, think about all the places that need copy, such as
social media ads and posts
print ads
billboards
sales pages
product pages
You'll want to hire a conversion copywriter when your central goal is to turn traffic into leads or sales. That traffic may come from organic search, social media, paid ads, newsletters or direct visits.
Hire a sales copywriter who has written the exact type of copy you need for that specific type of traffic.
For example, a Google Ads copywriter may not be an expert in Facebook ad copy, or vice versa.
The research, targeting, formatting and writing can be completely different for each copy project.
Project types sales and conversion copywriters do
If the focus is sales rather than SEO, you'll want a sales copywriter who's an absolute legend at the specific type of copy you need.
Projects that conversion copywriters typically take on include
business names and taglines
company branding
email campaigns
Facebook ads
Instagram ads
social media posts
print marketing materials
video scripts
sales pages
product descriptions
web copy (brand messaging)
calls to action
non-SEO landing pages
When you're choosing a conversion copywriter, look for three things.
Samples of the same format, such as sales pages, ads or emails like the ones you need.
Experience in your sector, especially in technical, financial or health industries, where accuracy matters as much as persuasion.
A clear research process, including how they learn about your customers before they write a word.
Some projects are so niche that it's hard to find a copywriter who matches your brand. In that case, look for a general copywriter with experience in your sector, rather than one with a particular writing specialism.
This is especially true for technical and health industries.
Don't forget, the success of any marketing campaign depends on copy that converts.
A sales copywriter's process should include market research, writing copy that resonates with a specific persona and calls to action that persuade people to buy.
Copywriting formulas that still work
Sales and conversion copywriters often start with a proven structure. Formulas don't replace research or creativity. However, they give a draft a clear shape that leads the reader towards an action.
| Formula | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| AIDAAttention, Interest, Desire, Action | Grab attention, build interest with a benefit, create desire with proof, then ask for the action | Sales pages and longer ads |
| PASProblem, Agitate, Solve | Name the reader's problem, show what it's costing them, then present your solution | Emails, landing pages and short ads |
| BABBefore, After, Bridge | Describe life now, picture life after the problem is solved, then show how you get them there | Social ads and case studies |
| FABFeatures, Advantages, Benefits | Turn each feature into what it does, then into what it means for the customer | Product pages and descriptions |
Whichever formula you use, the benefit matters more than the feature. "Cloud backup every hour" is a feature. "Never lose a day's work again" is the benefit that sells it.
Sales copy, conversion copy and AI
AI writing tools can produce a sales page draft in seconds, and they're useful for brainstorming headlines and variations to test.
However, conversion copy depends on what AI can't do for you. That means talking to customers, understanding their objections, knowing your market and testing what works. Without that research, AI copy tends to sound like everyone else's, and generic copy rarely converts.
The strongest approach is a human-led process, using AI for speed where it helps, with a copywriter shaping the message and checking every claim. Then test the results and keep improving, which is where conversion rate optimisation comes in.
Need copy that sells? Our copywriters and content writing team write sales pages, ads, emails and landing pages that turn visitors into customers.
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Sales copy aims to get people to buy a product or service. Conversion copy aims to get people to take any chosen action, such as signing up, booking a demo or buying, and it's built on research and data about each step of the customer's journey. All sales copy is a form of conversion copy. However, not all conversion copy asks for a sale.
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No. SEO copywriting is written to rank in search and attract visitors, while conversion copywriting is written to persuade visitors to act. Many pages need both, so the best writers use search data to reach the right audience and sales skills to convert them.
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Hire a copywriter when your pages or ads get plenty of traffic and few sales or enquiries, when you're launching a new product or market, or when you don't have time to research and test properly. Small changes to a high-traffic page can make a big difference, so it often pays to start with the pages that already get the most visitors.
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Look for samples in the same format you need, such as sales pages, ads or emails, and experience in your sector. Ask how they research your customers before writing. A good conversion copywriter will want to understand your audience and goals first, and will expect to test and improve the copy after launch.
