Good copy is good business: the ROI of microcopy
Microcopy makes money. Don’t miss out.
UX writing and microcopy are still new enough terms that not everyone completely understands what they are. My cocktail party one-liner, when people ask me what I do, is:
When you open an app… the words you see on the screen… I write them.
I’ve written about what UX writers do and why you need (at least) one, and indeed, more and more companies are catching on. If you’re still debating whether hiring your very own UX writer is worth it, or if you are advocating for a dedicated UX role within your company, data can help. Especially if that data speaks to an extremely positive return on investment. This is a summary of a talk I gave about what exactly microcopy is, and why you’ll definitely benefit by investing in getting it right.
Meet microcopy: What is it and why does it matter?
Microcopy is the small bits of text on every screen of the product. It’s the title on the top of a page that lets you know what the page is about, it’s the button text that lets you know what will happen if you click it, it’s the menu items you can choose from when you expand a hamburger menu, it’s even the footer at the bottom of the page where you can usually find the Contact Us link.
Good microcopy makes it super smooth and easy for users to do what they came to your app to do. UX writers focus on making their copy as frictionless, i.e., unnoticeable as possible. For example, we want the words to be scannable — we’re writing words we don’t even want people to waste cognitive load reading! The more invisible we are, they better we’ve done. Of course there are exceptions, but trying not to be noticed is a big part of the job.
This might be why we find it challenging sometimes to justify that our work is important. When we do a good job, people won’t notice that we’ve done anything at all.
Microcopy is cheap, everywhere, and powerful
Microcopy is cheap. It costs much less to implement a string change than to design a new UX or develop new functionality. It’s cheaper than hiring more support or sales reps, or pretty much any other solution you can come up with for touch points where you’re not hitting KPIs. This is one of the big reasons the ROI is so positive — not only can microcopy have a major positive impact on the bottom line, it hardly costs anything.
Microcopy is everywhere — not only in the digital world. You can find great examples on the Microcopy & UX Writing Facebook group of microcopy in the physical world, good and bad (usually bad because it’s funnier). Signs, labels for physical buttons, notes on food packaging and menus, etc. Once you realize it’s everywhere you a) have a lot of sources for inspiration, and b) understand it is a given you can’t run away from so you might as well get it right. It’s essential and ubiquitous and therefore definitely worthwhile investing in.
Microcopy is powerful — and that can go both ways. Bad microcopy can ruin an otherwise beautiful UX and it can ruin a brand’s reputation, or it can improve all of your key metrics and make your company more money. But we’ll dig into that with some solid examples shortly.
Good microcopy makes products usable & delightful
All microcopy is cheap, everywhere, and powerful. Good microcopy makes the product useful by guiding the user to where they came to your app to go, and delightful by making the interface not only reliable and functional, but also reassuring, empowering, and pleasant to interact with.
In some cases like MailChimp, delightful means the interface makes you smile. In complex products it’s more about building trust and credibility— users aren’t looking for their health provider or financial advisor to make them laugh, they’d rather be made to feel that they are in capable, caring hands.
An interface that can deliver the tools the user needs, in addition to making them feel good about, is a winning UX, one that can be achieved only with great microcopy. And products that both work, and are fun, are better at acquisition, even virility, conversion, and retention: in a word, revenue.
Good microcopy is clear, concise, and helpful
Good microcopy is clear. Microcopy is not the place to show off your vocabulary or write abstract poetry. It’s the place to be crystal clear, giving the user all the info they need and nothing more, right when they need it, in a way that is super easy to understand.
Good microcopy is also (usually) concise. I say “usually” because there are cases, like in complex products, where users need more meat. They need more content in order to be convinced to trust you. But as a general rule of thumb, concise is important. The easier the copy is to read, the less time and cognitive load it requires to consume, the more likely the user is to read and understand it and therefore stay on the quickest path to wherever they’re trying to go.
It should go without saying, but unfortunately it doesn’t, that good microcopy is helpful. I’ve seen more than once, teams working hard to get the phrasing right for a string that actually shouldn’t be written at all. If you don’t have something valuable to say, don’t say anything at all. You’ll just clutter the screen and distract from helpful elements.
Good microcopy reflects brand voice & tone
Good microcopy expresses the brand persona and is perfectly matched to the user’s headspace at whatever stage in their journey they are. It is consistent and builds rapport with the users, carrying on a conversation conducive to a long and fruitful relationship.
Writing good copy is hard: What are the challenges?
Microcopy sounds like a pretty good thing so far, right? “So just do it,” you might be thinking. “What’s the problem? Why are you trying to convince me it’s worth the effort/investment?”
Because it’s hard. Here are a handful of reasons why.
Design: Does it fit?
Microcopy doesn’t show up like a blog post, just a page of words. Quite the opposite. Microcopy is part of a complete UX/UI with a million design elements and the copy needs to fit inside. Button text needs to fit on the button and column titles in a table can’t be so long they break the design on mobile, etc. Of course, visual design and content design is always a collaboration and there’s always a back and forth, with plenty of redesigning the visuals around the content when that’s the way to create the most value for the user. But there are style guide, and brand guide, and technical limitations, and design best practices, and a million other reasons that the copy must fit in the design and when you have more to say that space to say it in, it’s hard.
Dev: How high is the effort?
What I usually mean when I talk about dev effort in a copy context is smart strings, i.e., strings with variables that have to be coded. I once wrote a great string — it was short and yet chock full of information; it solved a pain point for both users and our support team; it went above and beyond our minimum regulatory obligations, and yet, we didn’t implement it. It turned out that to code the variables the string required would take much more dev than we could invest.
But smart strings aren’t the only place where copy and dev budget intersect. Here’s a different kind of example: an engineer came to me because he was coding a list. But for some technical reason, line breaks were going to break the code. He needed a cheaper/faster way to serve a list on the front end than coding around his line break barrier. I replaced the breaks with semicolons. Ta da! The list stayed a list and the engineer didn’t have to waste time dealing with his technical barrier to creating line breaks.
Convention: Do not re-educate the user
Unless you’re Google of Facebook, your users spend 99.999999% of their time on other websites, not yours. Don’t re-educate them. Use the language they’re used to. You might have a way better way to phrase something than how everyone else is talking about something, but unless you’re Apple, inventing your own pattern will not make you stand out in a good way; it will repel users who will run back to their comfort zone. Forcing your message into conventions isn’t always easy, especially in complex products where you might be describing something super specific and technical and need to be extremely precise.
This was a big one for me as a genetics person writing a health product. Countless times I thought I had the most accurate, transparent, clear way to describe something, and then our health literacy expert would come in and say, yes, as a scientist you are absolutely correct, but that is not the phrasing our users are used to hearing and so you can’t use it.
Compliance & legal: Can we even say that?
There is So. Much. Stuff. You can’t say. After a while in a new industry you’ll catch on to the general guidelines and Compliance and Legal will send you back to the drawing board less and less because you’ll preempt their feedback, but it will still definitely happen. And probably after the thing is already in development and the PM and Dev are ready to test and deploy and you have to be the bad guy stopping the presses to prevent everyone from getting arrested (okay maybe that’s a bit dramatic but sometimes it does feel like that).
Time
There are always fewer UX writers than PMs, engineers, designers, and pretty much everyone else. I’ve been the only one in companies with hundreds of employees and multiple global offices. So we can be stretched pretty thin. On the other hand, writers are creatives and our work is never done. We’d iterate to the grave if our PM didn’t stop us and say, “Yes, I know you can make it 10% better if I give you another day, but I need you to move to the next task going into the same sprint.” So that can be hard.
Translation & localization
All the microcopy needs to be translated into every language the product supports. If you don’t have a localization team, that means being very careful not to write any idioms or plays on words or anything else that might not translate clearly. If you do have a localization team it means a lot of collaboration to communicate exactly the context and intention of each string to each audience as effectively as you wrote it.
But it’s worth it: Good microcopy pays off
So yeah, it’s a powerful, ubiquitous thing and it’s hard to get right, but it is absolutely worth investing whatever it takes. Here are just a handful examples of what good microcopy can do.
Increases engagement
In this example, Google realized that users who hit this screen had the intention of casually browsing hotel room options. They weren’t in the headspace of committing to making a reservation yet and the copy they had there, “Book a room” was not empathetic. They changed those three little words to meet the users where they were, to “Check availability” which is far more appropriate for the intent at the time. This increased engagement 17%. When you’re making money off hotel bookings, getting 17% more users a click closer to making a reservation is a big deal.
Increases conversion
Here, research showed that users who made it to this page were in a hurry. They are on a checkout page, they are about to give you money! But they want to know that as soon as they do, they’ll get what they came for. Like, now. So they changed the microcopy on the button from “Create My Account” to “Create Account & Get Started”. That made it sound like they were really only one click from using the product they’re about to pay for and this increased conversion 31%. Almost a third more users paid! That’s huge. That’s microcopy making money.
Making the button text longer and breaking the design does go against a bunch of best practices discussed above, but that’s why you need a real UX writer who knows when to write by the book and when to bend the rules.
Decreases friction & increases delight
Lots of coffee shops ask you your name when you order. Apparently it’s way cooler to shout out “Jerry” than “tall double skinny latte extra hot”. The thing is, my name is Yael. I have friends named Tzion, Shachar, and Naama. When we tell the barista’s our names, we both know we’re not in the happy flow.
Good microcopy can turn this moment from an embarrassing, uncomfortable one to not only neutral, but to delightful, so that you may be even more likely to go back than if everything had gone smoothly. Here, the barista chose to own the fact that the customer spelled out their name 50 times, instead of taking a hopeless stab at it.
Increasing click-through-rate
This is a great example of content design. This is why designers can’t come to writers with a final wireframe full of lorem ipsum and limit the UX writer to filling in the blanks. On this Danish e-commerce sight, someone realized that users wanted to see more details about the contents of each bundle before adding the bundle to their cart. The UX writer came in and said listen, we can do better than trying to squeeze more descriptive text on the card or the button. Let’s add a link above the button that says “Review bundle”. Conversion increased 17%. Cha-ching!
Why does it work?
Good microcopy works. I hope that’s clear by now. But why? Here are just a few reasons.
Solves technical barriers
Sometimes your interests and those of the users can be perfectly aligned, but the user simply can’t move forward, not because they don’t want to but because they just don’t know how. Help them help you help them.
Explain what they need to do. Explain where they can find the info you need them to input. Explain terms they may not understand. Over-communicate conventional terms if you need to. Converting is hard enough so pour your energy into overcoming real barriers to entry like preferring a competitor; don’t let them get stuck for technical reasons.
At Fundbox, sometimes we need a user’s routing number for their business checking account, but we know not everyone’s familiar with the term. And we don’t want them to abandon the flow to Google it. Our tooltip copy gets the job done.
Expresses empathy
Users have questions, they have concerns, they need answers without having to ask the questions and by showing empathy, by meeting them where they are mentally, you can get them to the next step. Good microcopy will tell the user why you’re asking for sensative information, what you’ll do with it, how you’re protecting it, and assure them that what they’re about to do will indeed have the outcome they’re expecting.
At Fundbox, sometimes we need the user to log in to their bank account from within our interface. That can be scary and I don’t think anyone would do it if we weren’t crystal clear about the fact that we don’t store or even have access to their login credentials. We address the concern clearly and completely exactly at the place and time the user is having that concern.
Motivates action
Good microcopy motivates action by introducing new features from within the product. Often under the purview of product marketers, these are texts — possibly banners or popups or transient hints — that motivate users to engage in a new way because now, they can. Product can spec a feature, Design can make it beautiful and intuitive to use, Dev can build it, but without microcopy to announce it, no one will ever know it’s there.
Another opportunity to motivate action with microcopy is in empty states. Profile page empty? Fill it in! Outstanding receivables page empty? Invoice a client! Inbox empty? Send a message! Good empty states don’t only explain why your page is blank, they encourage action.
Good microcopy confirms a successful action. Users rely on feedback to know whether their action was processed. If they are uncertain whether their click was received, they won’t engage again. Toaster notifications are a classic example of effective reassurance. Part of this is also aligning button copy with jobs to be done: What is the user trying to do and will this button get them there? Don’t make them guess. Spell it out and they will click.
Error states are a major opportunity for microcopy to save the day. Everyone makes mistakes and just like in real life, the way you react in those moments says everything about your brand. Are you apologetic or do you blame the user? Do you offer solutions or leave the user at a dead end? Are you empathetic to the user’s mindset in that moment or do you focus on expressing your personality even if the user isn’t in the mood? Good error state copy can kill a relationship or contribute to decreasing churn and increasing retention and virility in a huge way. Don’t miss the opportunity.
But wait… there’s more!
Saves Dev effort
Research has shown that good UX, which includes good microcopy, can save 1/8th of Dev’s time which they would otherwise spend fixing broken software. Dev is expensive; saving their time is excellent for ROI.
Decreases Support tickets
The better the UI explains what the user needs to know, the less they will contact Support with questions. Support costs money. Saving them time is good for ROI.
Increases retention & conversion
You’ve seen examples above of how microcopy can improve metrics throughout the user journey, increasing engagement, conversion, click through rates, reduce friction, and increase delight. All of that adds up to more revenue. And since it was all done by microcopy which is cheap, ROI goes way up.
All things considered, the return is $2–$100 for every $1 spent on UX investment.
By less conservative estimates, the minimum return is actually $10 for every $1 spent.
Mind. Blown.
Not a writer? You can still be a part of the magic!
UX writers don’t work alone. In fact, they probably have one of the very most collaborative roles in the whole company. Want to be a part of the magic? Here’s what you can do:
Look for bad copy
Anyone who deals with the UI, from FE developers to product managers to Support to execs to actually almost anyone at the company, will inevitably stumble across copy that could be written better. If you see something, say something. UX writers won’t take it personally, quite the opposite! They’ll love the opportunity to optimize the product.
Talk about your pain
This is especially for user-facing teams. Are we sending an automatic email that is generating tons of tickets? Are you getting calls from angry customers who are much calmer once they understand a simple concept the UI just isn’t communicating well? Tell your UX writer about it. Your pain is their pain and they want to solve it with you.
Keep your eyes open
UX is everywhere, outside of work and even outside of the digital world. Inspired by a signup form on another sight? Send your UX writer a screenshot! See an awesome sign in the mall? Slack a pic! We are creatives who love to be inspired. Inspire us with your life.
Ask questions & challenge your UX writer for a copy solution
Whether you’re Product or Dev or anyone else and you’re stuck, step into your UX writer’s office and see if they can help. They may be able to use their words to make your life easier. Maybe the source of your troubles is ineffective communication — internal or with users. Let them translate your thoughts into words. Maybe the functionality is just so complex, but the right words can optimize the experience for the users without removing features. UX writers love a good challenge.
Bring it on.
