Why don't people sign up? Finish the form? Follow the instructions?
While copy writing is something most people realize the importance off, I don't think many people realize the importance of micro-copy. So what is micro-copy?
It's all those small words that explain to you what you are doing or what you should do next. Usually just a single word or a short phrase. There is a simple error of thought that most websites suffer from which I'm going to correct right here and right now:
Do not write the micro-copy from the viewpoint of the company, but the viewpoint of the reader!
This is crucial. It is not about what you want them to do, but why they would want to do it. The wrong wording here can actually be really damaging to your conversion. Let's look at an example. A friend of mine has a website for a computer game. To start playing the game people had to register. Nothing much, nothing complicated, just a name and an email address. The link people had to click on to start that process was called "Register".
Now, who would want to "register" on a website you don't know? You might want to "register" to get the right to vote, or with the IRS because the law says you must, but it is not something you're eager to do, because it sounds something serious.
So he changed the word from "Register" to "Play now". People still needed to provide a name and an email address and everything else was just like it had been before. The results of changing that one word were mind-blowing. Over 100% increase in conversion of visitors to players!
So how is your micro-copy? Do people need to "register" on your site or can they "play now"?
Hjörtur
ps. To learn more about microcopy, I recommend reading "The Construction of Instruction" by Relly Annett-Baker.
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