🛠️ How To Write Great Microcopy

Here are 40 pro tips for writing microcopy

Anthony Diké

May 19, 2020

1) Be clear, concise, and useful

Duh. This one’s obvious.

People don’t like being forced to read. Identify the most important info and say that.

2) Use consistent wording

Another obvious one —don’t use synonyms.

If one button says “Next”, don’t also use “Proceed” or “Continue” for other buttons.

Inconsistency confuses users. They may think “Next” and “Proceed” lead to different results.

3) Create a microcopy framework

To ensure your wording stays consistent, create a doc for you and your team that houses your most common words.

Get everyone singing the same song.

4) Be conversational

Talk like two co-workers over lunch —casual, friendly tone in a professional setting.

5) Use humor and idioms carefully

The tone is casual, but the same jokes can get stale.

Or even worse, no one gets it.

6) Highlight your brand’s character

Even so, make routine tasks memorable by adding a bit of flair.

If your brand is playful, don’t be afraid to add emojis.

7) Be wary of word translations

You wouldn’t want your product to break in other countries, right?

Here’s a good article to help with this.

8) (Almost) always use the active voice

It’s stronger and easier to understand than the passive voice.

Use it when you need to signal who or what caused an action.

9) Use the passive voice (sometimes)

It has its place.

Use it when the action is more important than what caused (subject) the action.

10) Provide context

Answer this question for the user: “Why exactly am I here?”

Focus on relevance.

11) Assume your user is smart

Everyone knows what to do when they see a form.

Save your breath.

12) Keep it scannable

Reading is work. Every word takes energy. Users like to save energy by skimming.

Leave out the unimportant. They’ll get the gist.

13) Write short paragraphs and sentences

Keep ‘em short and snappy.

*snap* *snap*

14) Don’t overuse contractions

They make text sound informal and easier to read.

Overused, they become distracting and can make text look messy.

15) When to use sentence case

Sentence case is when you only capitalize the first letter of the first word in a phrase.

Use it most of the time —especially for buttons and links.

16) When to use title case

Title case is when you capitalize the first letter of each word, besides small words like conjunctions and prepositions.

Use it for phrases 2-3 words long —6 max.

17) Capitalize proper names & terms

Don’t capitalize unless they’re proper terms, branded terms, or terms for a specific functionality.

18) When to use “Your”

When using “your” the product feels like a personal assistant. It should be used in a social, collaborative setting —like a project management app or a smart device.

Use it for what the product creates for the user.

19) When to use “My”

“My” implies individual control and ownership. It should be used where data is sensitive and a sense of security is needed —like a tax return site.

Use it for what the user creates in the product.

20) Keep ‘em calm

Point out concerning actions before your user has time to question your motives.

21) Refer to the user

Use you and your to address the user directly.

However, using a personal pronoun isn’t necessary in cases where you’re not distinguishing items that belong to the user from items that belong to others.