Microcopy, tiny words, high ROI. When every word is an opportunity
Well, when life gives you lemons make lemonade and since we can not leave our houses, I am taking the opportunity to catch up with different activities, Ozark on Netflix, photo cleaning and printing (I have chosen and sent to make photo albums of 1031 photos that represent the best moments of the holidays of these last 4 years), I have dusted off my target shooting skills with the Nerf and with my children, and I am reading a lot! since a good cup of this coffee and a good book help me to better carry this wave of confusion and pain that is touching our lives
One of the books that I had parked in my digital library was this one Microcopy The Complete Guide
Catching up on my “backlog” of digital readings while staying indoors ….
This was a good reading and I liked it because it addresses the world of microcopy in a simple, informative way and with multiple examples.
Today microcopy task is still a very niche concept, and although it is true that in the last 2 years it has become quite popular, it is still a term that is not completely clear what it is.
Many times microcopy is used to refer to UX writing tasks, and although it is true that in one way one discipline encompasses the other, it is not exactly the same.
My personal opinion is that microcopy is related to the type of text that users read, while UX writing is a discipline, a profession.
Examples of microcopy text
In this post, I want to explore this concept of microcopy, its relationship with the globalization/ localization industries and provide a summary with a series of tips and knowledge nuggets that learned while reading the book.
Microcopy" is a term that refers to all the short texts that we can read in a web page, in an application, in a game … in any digital product.
The importance of the microcopy can be seen from two main angles and pursue two fundamental objectives: to explain the content that appears in the UI and to generate engagement with the potential users of our app.
Explanatory function
Microcopy has an explanatory function. It helps the user to understand what the different buttons of an interface are supposed to do, it guides users through the different menus. Microcopy removes the barriers that make users abandon products, while at the same time encouraging them to move forward.
Engagement function
Microcopy has an engagement function. Good microcopy makes it super smooth and easy for users to do what they came to your app to do.
And that clarity seems to be a good business! There are many examples on the web documenting how small changes in words have a great impact on engagement.
My favorite is the one from Google where they changed the microcopy of the Hotel Search by changing the text of the label “Book a room" to "Check availability".
This is a small change, right? but the improvement was really impressive as just with that little tweak it increased engagement 17%.
When you're making money off hotel bookings, getting 17% more users a click closer to making a reservation seems like a very good idea☺️
Another interesting example is this one where Veeam Software changed in its interface the link «Request a quote» to « Request pricing » and thanks to that minimal detail, clicks on the form increased by 161.66% 🤯
Microcopy and Localization connection
The connection of microcopy and Localization is quite clear and straight forward
At the end of the day, all the microcopy needs to be translated into every language a product or webpage supports. For this reason writing copy with international users in mind is a very good idea.
When you open an app… the words you see a UX writer wrote them and we translated them to make it understable to users al around the globe
The following steps will help your microcopy to resonate globally
Source:www.yolocalizo.com
Before finishing this post, I summarize here a list of 26 tips that I have compiled while reading this interesting book. If you want to go deeper into how to make your microcopy more effective, I recommend that you buy a copy of this book as it is full of very relevant information to improve the words and messages that appear in our UI
26 tips to bring your microcopy to the next level
Ask Why (define mission/vision of the brand)
Search the attic (define values of the Brand)
Prepare your Word toolboxes (select the valuable words that you’ll use often)
Where are you on the scale (tone of voice of your copy)
Users are the best copywriters (use natural language)
Put your users in the center (you write for them)
Slang allowed or forbidden (clarify it)
No thanks, I want to stay stupid (think about the feelings of the users after tapping certain buttons)
Register vs Sign Up vs Join (what are you trying to create here)
Excuse, have we met? (how you will relate to your users)
Free Content- Download now! (excitement in the gifts)
But we really do only offer deals … (re-think your newsletter)
Joking aside (funny words can make you smile, but be careful where you put them)
Categorizing inquiries by topic or urgency (the power of grouping)
You cannot proceed is not an answer (explain to the users what’s going on!)
Humor in errors messages – yes or no (make a decision and stick to it)
Don’t leave it up to your techies (humanize error messages)
Wait a minute how many characters did you say (give instructions of lengths of specific fields if needed)
Remind me why I wanted to signup (explain the benefits)
What on earth am I canceling (be clear with unsubscribe actions)
(?) or (!) or (i) or maybe a link (when you should use an exclamation mark, or a question mark icon or a link?)
Save users from themselves (explain the user interface)
You can select more than option (say this if that’s the case!)
Be- nice even when adding instructions (instructions needs to be clear and communicated in a nice way)
Who pays for the shipment (answer this question clearly)
It’s worth the effort (if your process has different steps summarize why this is good for your users)
You again ?! (define your strategy and message for returning users)
I hope you found this post useful and please share below what techniques you found useful when writing microcopy!
Have a wonderful week and remember the Zen thinking
This too shall pass
@yolocalizo
Transitioning from one job to another can be an enriching experience, or it can be a nightmare.
I have detected in my different movements, and after seeing many colleagues making transitions, that there are a series of usually effective tips.