Why Little Words Matter: Write Microcopy for Digital Products with AI (+Free Checklist)
Admin / August 3, 2024
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Now, consider these two statistics —
This problem isn't just exclusive to apps. If you run a website, you might be racking your brain trying to figure out why users are bouncing off the page.
Where’s the disconnect? Why are customers dropping off so quickly?
Among the reasons, is the first impression, where microcontent fails to inform, delight, or motivate.
Microcopy may be tiny but it serves a big purpose: empathetic (micro) guidance for your users with a touch of brand personality.
The question is — how exactly do you write microcopy that converts? In other words, how do you get your customers to stick around?
Welcome to your practical, no-nonsense guide to writing microcopy. You’ll learn where microcopy is commonly used, the principles of effective microcopy, and tips to psychologically motivate your customers with precise, evocative language.
What is microcopy?
Microcopy, or microcontent, is the small copy that your customers don’t choose to read, but have to read to get to where they want to go.
They’re tiny little buggers: button labels, error messages, form instructions, placeholders, new feature announcements, in-app guidance, confirmation messages, etc.
What does microcopy do?
This tiny text motivates your users to take action, guides them through your product from start to finish, and provides context about your system’s behavior.
When these details are an afterthought in your writing process, you’ll see customers dropping off like bored flies.
This is because a new customer is like a tourist in your foreign system. If they find you to be a helpful and friendly guide, they’ll come away feeling positive about you and your brand. This also means that they’re more likely to return because they’ll remember how you made them feel.
Microcopy, therefore, is proactive and contextualized gentle guidance.
Take a look at Booking.com’s landing page. We’d probably know what to do even if they hadn’t written the “Where are you going?” in the search bar field, but the goal isn’t to just have customers visit your website. It’s to enhance your customers’ experience of your product journey and plant signposts to reduce even the slightest bit of friction.
Where is microcopy commonly used?
Once you know where it lives, you’ll see it everywhere…
Why does microcopy matter?
When I was the Writing Lead for a mental health wellness app, we spent hours iterating on the same tiny words. Why? Because the better the in-app guidance was, the more likely users were to click through to the next screen. And if they clicked through all the way to the end, the more likely they were to become paid subscribers.
A subset of UX writing, when done thoughtfully, it has the power to increase conversions by as much as 17.18%.
Guess what purpose Rewritai’s microcopy serves here:
Motivator: “I want to try a new AI writing assistant but I don’t want to pay or enter my credit card details. Oh wait, perfect!”
Low risk, high reward.
I imagine microcopy as the small paper cups of water strategically offered during a marathon at different points in the run. And the most refreshing sips are those that come just when you need them — in other words, they anticipate your needs.
In fact, in exchange for contextualized interactions in which customers feel known and understood, 79% are willing to share relevant information about themselves.
How to write powerful microcopy: A checklist
The task at hand isn’t easy — writing tiny text that informs, educates, guides, motivates, empathizes, comforts, and delights? How could you possibly fit this all into one digital product?
The key, as with most writing, is research and practice. Rest easy. I’ve done the heavy lifting for you so you can copy-paste this checklist verbatim.
In my experience, there are three pillars of powerful microcopy:
Let's dive in!
I. Decreasing cognitive load
The cognitive load theory explains that our brains can only handle a limited amount of information at a time. And when instructional design is poorly architecture, we need to keep moving our attention to understand the context. This is the Split-Attention Effect and it could be overwhelming your customers who don’t have the time, energy, or motivation to move around your system without the promise of a surefire payout.
You want your customers to move through your product journey without expending too much brain power on deciphering guided instructions.
1. Use simple, plain language
But get this: even domain experts prefer information, especially new information, communicated concisely, simply, and plainly.
A great example is Notion’s prompt on a new document. Clear, instructive, and concise:
Ironically, writing simple, tiny content is tougher than writing long-form content. Sometimes, all it takes is rewriting or switching one phrase to make a difference. If you're pressed for time, consider using a smart AI writing assistant like Rewritai to get it done lickety-split:
2. Include numbers
Non-concrete notions are hard to conceptualize, and therefore increase cognitive load.How many is “many satisfied customers”?
How fast is the “fast response rate”?
These are abstract words, and to your users, “many” might mean 10 or 10,000. “Fast” might mean 5 or 15 seconds.
Quantify the numbers in your microcopy. “100,00+ satisfied customers” and “We respond within 24 hours” are more concrete, more credible — much better for eyetracking data.
3. Be grammar-flexible
I’m a stickler for grammar but microcopy demands focus. When you have about 8-10 words or less (in the case of a button) to get your point across, it’s more important to convey relevant information than be a bastion for proper grammar usage. In the Material Design guidelines on writing, for instance, they advise that periods not be used for labels, hover text, bulleted lists, or dialog body text.
II. Communicate humanity through brand personality
I’ve been reading The Man Who Lied to His Laptop by Clifford Nass and Corina Yen, and in it, there are two fascinating findings: First, we treat our machines like people. We may deny this, but we expect them to conform to social norms, and form bonds with them.
Second, even when we know that their flattery might be insincere, we believe them.
This information is gold for writing microcopy to comfort your users that your product has been built by humans for humans — that they’re not interacting with just a wall of code.
1. Humanize your content
On Bumble’s FAQ page, you’ll see this:
Now, of course, the app is an algorithm, it doesn’t have hands. But the takeaway here is that by communicating with its users in language that they use in daily life with friends or family, the platform makes the communication personal; thereby, humanizing the brand.
This is backed by cold, hard research: 69% of customers would move away from a brand if they feel it delivers non-personalized experiences.
Speaking of cold and hard, is your copy feeling flat and robotic? Rewritai can humanize your content to forge a connection with your users!
2. Ask instructive questions
Favor instructive and empathetic questions over directive statements. Asking questions, research shows, makes customers feel heard and understood, increasing positive impressions. Questions also tickle our brains, prompting a moment of self-discovery.
If you anticipate the question the customer may have at the exact point in the journey, they might think, “Wow, this is perfect for me.” The psychology trick here is that we needn’t convince them directly. Let them do it themselves.
3. Reframe negative experiences into positive moments
Did you know that error messages can increase our cortisol levels? That they might actually cause us stress?
An error message in the user journey can make your customer feel frustrated, dejected, and even helpless. All negative emotions you want to avoid being associated with your brand.
But within this quandary is an opportunity — to turn a moment of frustration into a moment of delight.
Stuff happens. Websites crash. Servers go down. The question is, how do you reframe it positively for your customers? This is your branding moment. This is where your brand personality sparkles.
UXMas has a solid framework for error messages — the 4 Hs — human, helpful, humorous, and humble.
Check out this one from Medium:
It’s hopeful, asks me a question, and is just the right amount of self-deprecating. The result? I’m not mad at Medium. (And I did like one of the stories they suggested below.)
III. Build for your customers
You’ve got a lean, mean UX and are zooming past iterations for your product rollout. But have you stopped and considered whether you’re building with your customer in mind or what you would like to see?
1. Avoid combining first and second person
The funny thing about consistency is that you only notice it when it’s missing. When you’re designing buttons or welcome messages, don’t combine first and second person in the same text.
‘You’ is one of the five most persuasive words in the English language.
In most cases, you want to address the user in the second person — with ‘you’ or ‘your’ as if the UI is talking to them directly. This removes the perceived barrier between a machine and a human and allows for more personalized experiences.
Here, you’ll see that Google Meet’s pop-up is personal, gentle, and helpful:
2. Eliminate these “cringe-worthy” words
In an amusing and hugely helpful study by Nielsen Norman Group, they found that there are five words and phrases in online copy that affect how customers perceive brands:
Kill them all.Or, replace them all with Rewritai’s smart thesaurus in just one click!
We’re products of our environment. This means that our personal biases, gender, race, and culture may often bleed into our writing. The goal of inclusive microcopy is to create a welcoming UX that intentionally accommodates a multitude of groups, not just the ‘average user.’
Ask yourself: Are the words you’ve chosen respectful? Or would they make people on the margins feel like they’re an inconvenience — or worse, a punchline? Then, run through the copy again.
4. Include social proof in numbers
You and your team know that your product has been tested into yonder and iterated to death. What can you provide as ‘proof’ to your customers that they’re making the right choice in choosing you?
This is where social proof comes in to build credibility and authority for your brand with as few as 5-10 words.
We have a conformity bias, commonly known as the “bandwagon effect” or “herd mentality.” If a customer can visibly see that others have publicly endorsed your product, they’re more likely to become a part of your “herd.”
Dig into your numbers and find powerful statistics that communicate trust and credibility for your brand.
Small words, big impact
The smallest of text can have a big impact — the difference between whether a user bounces off the page or sticks around to become a loyal brand advocate.
Microcopy should first and foremost serve the user by providing context about your system, decreasing cognitive load, and communicating humanity.
The customers you serve aren't just data points or eyeballs on a screen. They're real people with real wants, needs, and emotions. Make them feel included and heard by anticipating their pain — always, always, put yourself in your customers’ digital shoes when writing for them.
Take a magnifying glass to your microcopy with a smart AI writing assistant like Rewritai. Who knows? Your numbers might soar with a few simple rewrites.