The Secrets Of Writing Meaningful Microcopy

Your website’s copy is just as important as its design. It’s what communicates your brand’s message to users and helps them understand what your business is about and how your products or services can solve their problems. It’s also what tells users what you want them to do and how they should do it.

Microcopy is the smallest portion of your copy that arguably makes the biggest difference. Here’s what to know about it and how writing great content can help you connect more closely with users to build brand loyalty and generate repeat business.

What Is Microcopy?

Microcopy is the small bits of content on a website that are intended to get a user’s attention or give them instructions, like a section headline or call to action. It guides users through the website experience from start to finish in a way that nurtures leads and boosts conversions.

And when written well, good microcopy can foster a loyal relationship between customers and your brand, helping them to feel cared for and satisfied with the products or services they receive.

What Your Microcopy Needs To Do

With microcopy, you need to be able to communicate a lot with very little. Not only do you need to make sure users understand what you’re trying to say, you also want to do it in a way that makes users feel good about your company’s ability to meet their needs or solve the problems they’re facing.

Your microcopy should:

• Be concise, clear, and simple to understand
• Appeal to users and entice them to engage
• Empathize with problems your users have
• Explain to users what you want them to do
• Build trust between users and your brand
• Be genuinely helpful and offer real value
• Motivate users to click, call, download, etc.
• Encourage customer satisfaction

Microcopy Examples

Here are some standard microcopy examples and how to make them better:

Error 404 Page

OK – “Error 404, Page Not Found”

Better – “Oops! We can’t find this page. Let’s get you back home.” 

Cookie Settings Notification

OK – “This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and analyze traffic. By clicking to continue, you consent to our use of cookies.”

Better – “This website uses cookies, but they’re not that tasty. We use cookies to deliver customized content, increase site security, and improve your user experience. We never sell or give away your personal info. Click to agree and continue.”

Order Success Notification

OK – “Order placed.”

Better – “Success! Your order has been placed. Sit back and relax while we do the rest.”

Log In Error Notification

OK – “Incorrect password.”

Better – “Oops, wrong password. Try again or click here to reset your password.”

Welcome Message

OK – “Enter your name.”

Better – “Thanks for joining! What’s your name? You can always change it later.”

Sign Up Message

OK – “Sign up for our newsletter”

Better – “Get a FREE gift when you sign up for our newsletter!”

Tips For Writing Meaningful Microcopy That Motivates

Writing great microcopy can be tricky, which is usually the case for shorter content that needs to pack a heavier punch. You’ve only got a few words to make a big impact with, so it’s important to choose them carefully and arrange them in the most effective way.

To make your microcopy the best it can be, you need to:

• Understand your target audience. Know what your target audience wants and how they communicate, so your microcopy can reach them on a personal level.
• Write like you would speak. Microcopy should be casual and conversational, like you were talking to your audience in person.
• Keep it short but impactful. Every word in a piece of microcopy should have weight and add value – there’s no room for fluff or verbosity here.
• Give it some personality. Avoid dry microcopy that sounds like it was written by a robot. Make sure your text has some personality and feels human.
• Test your microcopy. When making changes to your site, you’ll want to split test different versions of your microcopy to find what works best with your audience.

Get More Out Of Your Content Marketing With McDougall Interactive

At McDougall Interactive, we know how important good content marketing is, especially in today’s competitive digital landscape. We can help you develop a customized content plan designed to get the best possible results and will work with you to optimize the content you create and publish.

Contact us today to learn more about taking your website content to the next level by calling 877-623-4291. Our team is standing by to give you the tools you need to maximize your microcopy and more.