In the category of buzzwords, UX copywriting is a special case. For many, the definition is unclear, and even when it is clear, many brands do not accurately assess its importance. Time for a crash course on ‘small is beautiful for copywriting.’
Starting this article with a tough question. Anyone who takes a moment to browse around will quickly come across an amalgam of definitions. Combining them, you get a vague and a sharp description. The vague description states that user experience (UX) is at the heart of copywriting. Or, to be more specific: the copywriter places themselves as much as possible in the needs and usage habits of their audience. They find out why the audience visits a site, how to answer questions, and how to take the audience’s behavior into account. Sound familiar? We think so too. This is essentially what a good copywriter or a good journalist does.
So, on to the second group of definitions, and you come across a term like microcopy. UX copywriting involves writing short texts that guide you through a website. Not just a website, by the way; the term UX copywriting gained momentum thanks to the rise of apps. And by extension, webshops. The copy that guides you from one page to another during a sales process is crucial to make that process as pleasant as possible.
Good UX copy makes the content consumer’s experience intuitive, while bad UX copy can hinder that experience.
What does this have to do with creating good content for your digital channels? Quite a lot. After all, it doesn’t always have to be a sales process that you want to streamline. You can also use a lot of microcopy in your inbound marketing. Think of CTAs or text for forms with which you want to collect leads. Good UX copy makes the content consumer’s experience intuitive, while bad UX copy can hinder that experience.
The internet is now paved with examples of such microcopy, but we like to highlight the applications that are very relevant for content marketers looking to improve their inbound plans.
Registrations: If you want to encourage people to sign up for a newsletter, a fine piece of microcopy can suffice to guide them to the right button or the correct registration field.
Call-to-action: Indispensable in conversion processes. A good CTA under a newsletter intro can work wonders, just like a CTA under a blog post that clearly explains why you really need to download that white paper.
404 copy: Unfortunately, a visitor sometimes lands on an Error 404 page. Provide something original on that page that engages them. Similarly, you can write error messages, for example, for incorrect passwords on your member page.
Notifications: If you notify your audience about new content through a notification, microcopy is certainly necessary. Notifications are abundant, so simply copying the article title is not an option.
If there’s one thing you can conclude about the possibilities of UX copy, it’s that you need the input for it quite early on when creating a site or app. Writing a form or creating an Error 404 page is best done when building the platform, even before the first real letter of copy is created. Involve UX copywriters early on with those designing the navigation within your content channels and with the content strategists. This is writing in its most strategic form.
The remaining question is how to turn ordinary copy into good UX copy. Again, there are countless pieces of advice, a characteristic of any buzzword. Here are the most important ones summarized.
It’s about microcopy, so there’s no point in making your point very elaborately. In UX terms, every word is one too many if it doesn’t add value. It’s especially important to put yourself in the reader’s shoes. If they were hesitant about filling out a form, they will almost certainly drop off if they have to read fifteen lines of text. But that doesn’t mean you have to limit your copy to three or four words. If more words are needed to convey enough feeling or humor, then write more.
This brings us to the second point. Your copy guides people through a process; you take them by the hand. You don’t do that with terse commands, but in a way that shows you understand their journey. Talk to people as you would in real life; you’re not a robot. Technical jargon is off-limits here. It can include some humor, but make sure it aligns with the tone of voice and style guidelines of your brand. In other words, your feeling must also respect the rules. For example, if the entire website uses a formal tone, the microcopy should too.
You don’t need to build up to a benefit in microcopy. Microcopy is not the place for elaborate embellishments. You don’t need to create surprises; you should get straight to the point. Place the benefit upfront in your copy and make it as attractive as possible. Don’t engage in self-promotion, ideally not even in other content, but clearly explain why the user should do something. Even if it’s as simple as: please try again (in the case of an error message, for example).
Finally, a more technical tip: keep in mind that your microcopy will appear on a micro screen. If you know much of your content is accessed on smartphones or tablets, then your user won’t click but tap. This means different types of buttons and sizes to fit your copy.
That’s indeed the question. Many of the tips for UX copywriting at least stem from the experience built in classic copywriting. It requires some identification and strategic insight to create optimal UX copy, but essentially every copywriter should be able to produce good UX copy. The fact that much has been written about UX copy in recent years has a lot to do with the realization that for that small sentence on the left or that error page on the right, no specialized writers were called upon. It’s a wrong reflex to quickly write those short passages yourself. That’s the crux of the matter: UX copy is also specialist work. Because how does that proverb go again? If you don’t appreciate the small things…
Heb je weinig of zwakke leads, weinig bezoekers, weinig clicks? We sommen in deze whitepaper 14 redenen op waardoor het fout kan lopen en geven tips hoe je dit kan vermijden.
