Most of the time when we think about optimizing our branding method, we tend to be focused on our SEO keywords, content, headlines, images, colors and CTA buttons.

All of these are highly important, but in this post I want to reveal the importance of micro-copy on conversions, and how using it correctly can increase your conversions dramatically.

So, what is micro-copy?

Micro-copy is all the small, tiny words and sentences that on first sight seem meaningless for our visitors.

For example: contact form explainers, the text that is written right after the product description, 404 error pages, checkout pages and many more.

We tend not to think of these words as “a real content” or as a place to promote our brand, but the truth is that all of these words are unused opportunities to interact with our visitors.

Read closely this shirt laundry instructions and tell me what did you miss on first glance?

Just in case you’ve missed it… it’s written:

100% Cotton

Wash cold inside out

Hang out to dry

Call your mother

Why Micro Copy is so important to increase conversions?

Micro-copy gives you a special opportunity to reach out to your visitors, speaking in their language.

It can make visiting your website to a cool and fun experience, It will allow you to pop-out while everyone is doing more of the same dull and informative way of writing.

Micro-copy is targeted, short, lays within context – and it’s (almost) the best place you should use that will help you increase your conversions.

Some examples:

This is micro-copy:

Facebook is all about creating a space of your own, a place where you can share your thoughts. So in order to encourage people to interact and to share their minds, Facebook simply added “What’s on your mind?” and not the “Write here…” we usually see in text fields.

So is this:

This is a great example of taking all those tiny words and phrases that interact with your visitors and turn them into a great micro-copy, maximizing your website’s potential to it’s fullest. The headline is approachable and is written in a way people can feel sympathy. This text understands their needs!

Take a look again at the top of the form in the example. It informs us that signing up will be free. That helps solve in advance any uncertainty regarding pricing that may occur.

In the form, there’s the use of the words “your” and “my” which creates the feeling that this thing – is yours. It’s about you. Not others, and not the brand.

The last step of creating a password explains what to do in an easy, friendly way.

Here’s another example:

Classic Episode IV reference. In this 404 Error page, we have the nice illustration that let the visitors know the page does not exist anymore, then underneath it comes the micro-copy telling the visitor what he can search and find in Github.com.

Look at the micro-copy in Conversioner’s 404 page. Usually when people get to 404 pages they’re frustrated, but this page tells them to “not be upset” and recommends them to find “cool stuff” in the home page:

So now you understand what micro-copy is. What’s next?

My first advice: Use it.

Open your website and ask yourself: am I using a human’s or computer’s language? does the language I use contributes to the user experience? Is it unique? Is it inspiring or creates excitement or boring like all of my competitors? Is it written the way my visitors think?

I want you to linger a bit on the idea of your visitors way of thinking.

A Lot of time we tend to think that our website’s language is reachable and appropriate to the message we want to deliver. But I bet that if you really think about it – maybe you can make it better. So first, think as if YOU ARE the visitor.

Many times we are way too concern in our SEO campaigns and sticking to the SEO methods, writing blog posts in order to get more ranking and drive more traffic to our website.

So let me tell you something important about it – it’s ok, it’s important, but it’s not everything.

When you really think of it, maybe it’s not what your visitors expect or want from your website. If your website won’t measure up with your visitors expectations, well, probably they will move on to your competitors.

Micro-copy best practices

For your inspiration, I picked up some examples to review closely on how to use micro-copy in ways you didn’t even think about!

Example #1: Apple.com

We can really notice that Apple created a masterpiece of a product page and a checkout page and I certainly encourage you to get inspired by it. First, the product page really interacts with the visitor and “speaks” in their own language. Just as Basecamp did in my previous example, Apple’s page product focus on the user. Instead of just a “size guide” we see “which case size is right for you?”

Then instead of just presenting information about series1 and series2, we see “what’s the difference between series1 and series2?”. The greatness of both of these phrases lay in their simpleness. It’s like everyday speaking and thinking, creating the feeling that YOU are in a shop and YOU are talking with a sales person.

Scrolling down the product page we see the headline “what’s in the box?” Do you notice the method? Of questioning questions? Well, it keeps your visitor in the pace you want them to be. It makes them intrigued, sort of: question? Here is the full answer that can also be visual! That’s amazing in my opinion.

Example #2: Nike.com

Nike.com also built an amazing product page and checkout funnel, so let’s review it:

First we can see the phrase “Take them for a trail run return your shoes for any reason up to 30 days”. Instead of using the same old “return policy” they used micro-copy to create a double meaning that might make the visitor think “oh, cool, I needed a new pair of running shoes, and Nike let me run with these shoes for a whole month before I decide if I love them or not”.

It’s a really cool CTA both for purchasing and for running. Scrolling down a bit leads us to a description text about the product which is cool but I won’t dwell on it because this post is about micro-copy.

Further scrolling down the page, we reach the review section which is very well built! First, it tells us how many reviews this product has. Then comes the phrase “96% of reviewers recommend this product”.

Let’s linger on this micro-copy, which is amazing: even without reading any review – now your visitors know for sure this product is highly recommended!

Then we have the “Add your review” button. Again, making it about the visitor instead of the good old “add a review”.

Final words and takeouts

Now you know what micro-copy is, and how to implement it in your websites. So, to summarize our topic of how to use micro-copy to increase your conversions and brand strength, here’s a short dos and don’ts list:

1. Use “dead areas” in your website for branding it, but don’t push it. Having a witty 404 error page is great. Stuffing a small button with a bulky micro-copy text, not so great.

2. Make things easy for your visitors! If you want them to do something, i.e create a user name in a certain way, use micro-copy to show them how to do it. Don’t trust your visitors to do it by themselves.

3. Stay within context. Make sure your instructions and phrases are in the right context within the action you want your visitors to complete. Nothing’s worse than leading a visitor for an action that actually doesn’t really happen.

4. Think out loud, as if you were actually your visitor. In which words would you describe your user-flow? your expectations of what will happen next? your product CTA, and small phrases? Now, write this and use it.

5. As always – use A/B testing. Don’t assume anything. Start testing your micro-copy and check your visitors’ reaction.

Have you ever read a book that made you cry or laugh out loud? Although you are reading words on a page, they can bring about strong emotions in you as they paint pictures in your imagination.

Words are a powerful tool that stirs emotions and can directly increase conversions. We can feel the impact of words from the heart palpitations we get from a newspaper headline, a song on the radio, a book, or the words of a bully. Words can truly change lives.

So while we discuss imagery, color psychology and layout in messaging, it is also critical to discuss the words we use. But words on their own are not what makes them memorable. What makes words stay with us are the feelings they bring about in us. So in order to understand what words to use, we need to understand what emotions we need to convey. In conversion optimization, this means we need to understand the emotional triggers that motivate our target audience and for that we need emotional targeting.

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Words are a powerful tool that stirs emotions and can directly increase conversions.
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What is Emotional Targeting Anyway?

Emotional targeting, is a methodology in which we recognize the emotions that motivate our audience into taking action (buy, sign up, leave an email), and then focusing on turning those emotions into triggers within our marketing strategy and design.

First, you should recognize your target audience. Next, hypothesize the emotions that will speak most to your target audience. After that, write and design your marketing strategy based on these emotions, and then – test!

The Basics:

Let’s start off with some general rules:

1. Shorter is Sweeter:

• Our brain can only hold a limited amount of information at a time, so the shorter your message is, the more likely it is to stay in your reader’s brain! (Think Elevator Pitch, but shorter!)
• “ The human brain can really only hold on to four things at a time, so if you go on and on for five or ten minutes trying to argue a point, the person will only remember a very small part of that. “ Researcher Andrew Newberg
• Longer messages cause readers to skip over words to try to get to the point. In fact, users have time to read a maximum of 28% of the words during an average visit, and the real number is more likely 20% of the web page! (Nielsen Norman Group)
• You want to think of your message as a headline – use it to catch your target audience’s attention. Once you have their attention, they will be willing to read more, because they want the facts! But your initial interaction is meant to catch the attention of your target audience, and to weed out those who aren’t interested in reading more. (Scientific Advertising, Claude Hopkins)

2. Define Your Emotional Triggers

• How do you want to make your user feel? Do you want to catch their attention using Fear? (Don’t miss out!) Empowerment? (Just Do it!) Hope? (It’s just around the corner!)

3. “How does this make me feel?”

• After every sentence you write, read it again and think about what emotions it brings up. Sometimes a difference in one word can change the feeling of a whole sentence.
• If you feel you have been working on something for too long, ask someone in the office, or in your family, how the sentence makes them feel as well.

4. Consider Your Product

• There are some emotions you do not want associated with your product, or don’t suit your product.

5. Match Copy to Image

• Remember that words complement the image you use. Since a large percentage of our brain is geared towards visual, it is important to match the feeling we’re trying to stir in our visitors with a suitable image.

Turning Our Words Into Actions:

Now that you have defined the emotions you would like your reader to feel, let’s provide some examples of words for different emotions we can use, along with some relevant examples from well-known brands. We can make our readers feel all kinds of different emotions.

Anger

You can use negative emotions such as Anger to get your users to relate to a cause and donate, like here for example:

Keywords: Words that increase feelings of anger include: severe, shocking, enraging, atrocious, tragic, unfair

Fear

Fear of loss can motivate people to purchase different products. For example, fear of death or sickness. Look at what this insurance company did with their advert:

Or what a company that helps smokers quit used in their ad:

Another way to use fear is to play on the emotion of FOMO or “Fear of Missing Out” in advertisements and convey a sense of urgency.

Keywords: “Limited Offer” ,“Don’t Miss This!”, “Sale Ends Today!”

The word “Limited” raises in us the feeling of Loss Aversion, which refers to people’s penchant for choosing to avoid loss over acquiring gains.

In this image, the words “Flash” and “Hurry! It won’t last long” create fear that one will miss out this sale.

Urgency and Instant Gratification

In today’s world where people expect their page to load in 3 seconds or less, urgency does not always go with fear. It can also go with positive emotions like feeling content or calm, which are associated with instant gratification.

Keywords: Words such as “Now”, “Tonight”, “in one hour or less”, or “within 10 days” appeal to that instant gratification trigger.

In this image, the advertiser speaks directly to the buyer’s need for instant gratification  - you can sleep better as soon as tonight!

Happiness and Joy

You can also use your words to portray happiness and joy, if that is what you think your audience should feel when they use your product. We are all familiar with at least one company that consistently advertises its’ products with feelings of happiness and joy (and they use the right colors for it too!).

Keywords: Enjoy, fun, delight, sunny, eager, cheer, satisfy, and play

Empowerment

Empowerment is another popular emotion many marketers want their users to feel. You want your user to feel capable of using your product, or empowered by your product. You may feel that your target audience are leaders who enjoy doing things first, who want their feelings of superiority to increase.

Keywords: Motivated, brave, capable, bold, inspired, can, do, choice, and daring.

In this image, CoverGirl says girls can – sending an empowering message to girls and women.

This image, which was a symbol of women empowerment during WWII, signifies both a sense of community and a sense of empowerment (Yes you can combine two emotions in one which is very recommended at times).

Health

With today’s health craze, one great way to impact customers is to mention health, freshness and environment. Using the right words can show your target audience that your product is the healthy, refreshing, new choice.

Keywords: Boost, cure, vitalize, vibrant, natural, well, wellness, live, energize, fresh, good, and flush.

The use of “good” repeatedly makes you associate this juice with positive, healthy thoughts.

You want healthy and positive things in your home, and Tide knows that.

McDonalds is fighting their “Junk Food” stigma and using words that will make us feel healthy when eating there (note how they changed their colors from red to green).

 

Hope

Hope is another important trigger to use in marketing strategies. Hope is a strong driver of purchases, since everyone wants to believe they will get better  (and if you can buy something that will do it for you, then why not?).

Keywords: Bright, future, success, hopeful.

The word Imagine activates a part of our subconscious brain that starts picturing, for example, our life with an HD TV screen.

Obama used Hope in his campaign as well, along with empowerment. These posters along with the “Yes We Can” moved a nation to act and vote for a change.

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Hope is a strong driver of purchases, since everyone wants to believe they will get better
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Belonging

You want to create a sense of belonging when looking for people to join your newsletter, or subscribe to your site. Some people use a support community to help sell a product as well. Using numerical examples such as the amount of money raised, or amount of people who are in the community can also help create this feeling.

Keywords: join, together, us, community, belong, love, gather, connect, with, home, and family.

McDonald’s (below) used these emotions to help promote their restaurant chain and turn it into a “family establishment”. They used both familiarizing words like “your” and “family” to make it feel like home. Notice the “we do it all for you” at the bottom too.

In this ad, you wouldn’t know it but Microsoft is the advertiser. This makes you feel as though, if you use Microsoft, you’re at home, you have a family feeling, it brings you together with others.

Here, Nike is inviting users to “Join the challenge”, making it both a competition with yourself, and becoming part of a community. Nike also use the term “your”, personalizing the ad.

Other Successful Emotional Words

Some words that can trigger emotional reactions that are not attached to a specific emotion are:

• You – Making it about the consumer.

• Because – People like to have a reason for what they do (check out Robert Cialdini’s, the Psychology of Persuasion)

• Discover – feeds our need for being the first, as well as our strong sense of curiosity. Additional words that raise curiosity are: secret, confidential, sneak peak, “be the first to know”, and banned.

Our emotions are complex. We want to feel loved and supported, yet we want to feel in control. We want to be unique and to gain others’ attention, yet we want to belong and be a part of a community. We search for peace and balance, yet we seek challenge and success.

And the list goes on.

But once you create your target audience personas and prioritize the emotions you want to reach, choose your words wisely. Choose fitting images and colors, and write copy that will have your users doing what you want because it’s what they want.

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Write copy that will have your users doing what you want because it’s what they want.
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Sources:
ThePersuasionRevolution
Copy Bloggers
Kissmetrics
Outsmartyourbrain
Gulyani
Entrepreneur.com
Lean-Labs