Microcopy: A Blueprint for User-Centered Writing
Did you fill in an online form, sign up for a newsletter, or maybe just tap a button today? Microcopy was involved all the way and though they’re often overlooked, they play a key role in the overall user experience. We present to you, a blueprint to write microcopy that supports your user until they achieve their goals when using your digital product. Oh! It’s not as hard as it seems, so fasten your seatbelt.
5 Tips to Write Microcopy on Steroids
You don’t need a lot of writing experience to write copy for a digital product. Her e are five tips to help you write compact, aware, and charming copy.
#1 – Define your voice and tone
Ensure that you use your existing brand voice and tone when writing microcopy. If you’re new at this, you need to first have brand voice and tone guidelines first. It can be a simple as these three steps:
Imagine your brand or product were a real person, they would:
have a defined personality
have a relationship with users
speak to users in a certain way; and
sound in a distinct way.
Pick 3 adjectives/attributes to define the product’s voice. A good example is smart, friendly, and excited.
Use the adjectives as a guideline in writing the product experience.
#2 – Go casual
Digital products are more friendly and relaxed than rigid and formal. Your microcopy provides many opportunities to reinforce this feeling with users, especially when the experience tend to make them uneasy, like the sound of error messages.
It’s advisable to stick to a conversational writing tone to keep things open and inviting to the user.
#3 – Use clear language
Communicate microcopy using your user’s language. Opt for simple, everyday words that your users are familiar with. Refer to your UX research to discover how they talk.
#4 – Show you’re willing to help
The job of good microcopy is to guide users to a meaningful place in your product. Password input fields on forms use this a lot letting the user know what to do until they have picked a password that’s deemed strong enough.
#5 – Test your microcopy
The final step is to test your microcopy with real users. You’ll immediately find out if it’s clear enough and resonates with your audience. The real test is with users and not the UX writer or product team. Inclusive writing and inclusive user research can help you write microcopy that works for your users.
When you sign up for a UILand plan and build your product, use this blueprint to develop effective microcopy that improves UX. Good microcopy is the result of detailed research. Collaboration, testing, and a deep understanding of users.