Copy Writing

Writing for Humans

Remember that you’re creating content and copy for human readers. Avoid overly concise copy or overuse of jargon.

Natural Language Principles

• Write as you would speak in a professional setting
• Read content aloud to test its flow and naturalness
• Use complete sentences with proper articles (“the,” “a,” “an”)
• Prioritize clarity over brevity when constructing sentences
• Address the reader directly with “you” and “your”

Link & CTA Best Practices

• Use natural language: Write links and buttons as complete phrases or sentences
• Include articles: Use “the,” “a,” or “an” where appropriate
• Be specific about content type: Clarify if it’s a blog post, guide, report, etc.
• Focus on user benefit: Explain what they’ll gain, not just where they’ll go

Avoiding Robot-Speak

• Eliminate unnecessary abbreviations
• Don’t sacrifice clarity for brevity
• Avoid command-style instructions when possible
• Use conversational transitions between ideas
• Include contextual information for links and buttons

Examples

• Instead of “Read blog” use “Read the blog post” (a “blog” is the entire collection of posts; a “blog post” is a singular destination)

Case Standards

Case standards create a consistency of content presentation to ensure that similar content is presented in a similar fashion across layouts

Proper Titles such as “Specific Page Name” or “Specific Section Heading” should be set in Title Case

Conversational headings such as “Ten ways our product improved the marketplace” should be set in Paragraph case but without closing punctuation

Calls-to-Action / Buttons

Buttons on the site have many styles (primary buttons with a solid background, secondary with an outline treatment, text-only buttons & arrow buttons). But, they should all be treated with the same stylistic approaches.

• Buttons should be set in Title case, such as “Contact Us,” “Learn More,” or “Read the Case Study”
• Links within cards (usually at the bottom of the card, with an ‘arrow’ icon indicator) should be set in paragraph case, such as “Read the case study,” or “Learn more.”