Writing by Content Type

Overall Marketing Writing Notes

Clearly address our audience’s priorities or concerns, communicating the benefit or value UCF creates. For most audiences, frame it as what they gain or experience, instead of simply what we offer. For reputation and public affairs audiences, frame it as what industry or society gains, or how our state, region or country is positively impacted by UCF.

Stay focused on the main takeaway(s). Jamming in too many angles or points can cause confusion and make the piece much longer, which may lose our audience altogether. We shouldn’t try to say everything everywhere to everyone.

If it’s necessary to demonstrate breadth, consider a “from…to” phrase to avoid a long list. Example: “From engineering to nursing to hospitality, our region’s key industries rely on UCF grads.”

Support claims with proof. Pair abstract concepts and aspirational language with concrete examples, results, rankings, figures or impactful details. It’s not just about what we believe, but what we do.

Brand language shouldn’t be heavy-handed. Avoid using “dare,” “build” or “what’s next” in every headline, subhead or piece of body copy. Strategic content should already adhere to one or more of our brand pillars, embrace the sentiment of our brand essence and be written in a way that reflects our brand personality and voice without conveying the brand too literally.

Write headlines, not titles. Headlines shouldn’t need supporting copy to make sense. Use strong verbs or gerunds to bring energy instead of simply stating the topic of the piece. This may make headlines a little longer, but they’ll be more powerful.

• Example: Instead of “Student Advising Sessions,” add a verb speaking to the student and highlight the benefit, like “Get Personalized Support to Succeed.”
• Example: Instead of “Strong Graduate Outcomes,” add a gerund and a bit more specificity about what UCF does, like “Providing Top Talent for Fields of the Future.”

Generally avoid “from ___ to ___” headline structures because they’re passive and can be vague or trite.

• Example: “From Class to Your Career.”

Provide natural next steps. Consider where in the marketing funnel our audience is when they receive this piece, and what actions they’d realistically take next. Are prospective students actually ready to apply — or do they first need to explore degrees? Are conference attendees already familiar with UCF — or do they first need a broad introduction?

Try to avoid inaccessible language and bland calls to action. Ideally, our CTAs are as descriptive, compelling and interesting as possible, always being mindful of length for areas like buttons. 

• Example: “Find out more” is better than “read more,” but something more detailed and specific to the content would be best, like “discover UCF’s role in Artemis IV.”
• Example: “Explore our impact” is better than “see our impact,” but something more concrete from the content would be best, like “explore how nanotech improves medicine.”
• Example: “Experience the electric atmosphere” is better than “hear the crowd roar.” 
• Example: “Take a tour” is better than “take a walking tour.” 

Metaphorical phrases are generally OK.

• Example: “Take the next step in your journey” doesn’t mean physically stepping.
• Example: “We open doors to opportunity” doesn’t mean physically opening.
• Example: “Create a brighter future” doesn’t mean visibly brighter.

Marketing Writing Best Practices by Medium

This is not an exhaustive list, but some of the most important things to remember for some of the most commonly used marketing mediums across the university.

Emails

• Use clear hierarchy and thoughtful formatting. Consider bolding key phrases for readers who skim and using in-line text links to relevant content, if appropriate.
• Many people check emails on their phone, so review email content in desktop, tablet and mobile views. Remember: Copy will always look significantly longer in layout than in a Word doc, so be as concise as possible without losing impact.
• In subject lines, lead with clear, concrete language over abstract concepts or pure clickbait. Speak to real results or future outcomes relevant to the audience. If appropriate, tout partners, affiliations or achievements to add credibility and prestige.

Digital ads (web banners, paid social)

• For animated ads that end on a single frame, make sure what’s displayed is a complete thought that makes sense without the context of previous frames.
• For placements like paid social with supporting copy, consider how the image copy, post copy and CTA copy work together to add value and avoid redundancy. 
• Keep copy focused and concise, avoiding paragraphs and lots of details or examples.

Short-form print pieces (ads, posters, flyers, direct mail)

• Avoid one huge paragraph. Keep content focused and concise.
• Consider featuring stats or rankings as callouts so they don’t get lost in body copy.

Long-form print pieces (booklets, brochures)

• Instead of maxing out real estate with more copy, leave plenty of room for photos or white space so the audience isn’t overwhelmed.
• Avoid large blocks of copy. Break content into more focused, more digestible sections, using clear headlines and subheads for better skimmability.

Overall Webpage Writing Notes 

Have a clear understanding of what the page is for and what you want the audience to do next. Quickly deliver on what they were promised in a search result, AI answer or the marketing piece that brought them to the page. 

• Don’t welcome people to your page. It’s archaic and unnecessary. The top of a page is the most valuable real estate. Maximize impact with a powerful headline and concise preview of what’s in store for people. 

Write for a scan, not a full read. Audiences arrive at a site looking for something specific. But if they can’t find it easily, they leave. People scan pages in an F-shape — across the top, across again just below, then down the left side — before they fully read anything, if they do at all. 

• Put the conclusion first. The most important takeaway should be at the top of the page. Then every section should lead with the most important point. Details come after. 
• Use strong, clear headings. Audiences should understand the message or main point from headings alone. Prioritize clarity and impact over cleverness. Headings should not need subheads to make sense. 
  • Subheads must add value, not rephrase a heading, so audiences are inclined to scroll farther down the page. 

Stay focused on one idea per paragraph and keep paragraphs short, just a few sentences. If you can, opt for bulleted lists or other visually dynamic ways to communicate a series of items or multiple examples. 

Leverage proof points, examples and specifics to support claims and firm up soft language. If content briefly speaks broadly on topics like humanity’s future, industry’s priorities or our region’s needs, it should also always highlight UCF’s distinct role or strengths in that context. 

• Name people, labs, degrees and other details. When including a quote or testimonial, attribute it to a specific person, not a generic placeholder. 
• Audit all details at least annually to ensure accuracy and remove outdated info. Maintain the same details across all mentions of the proof point or stat to avoid contradictions. 
• State the actual year or time frame, instead of using time-sensitive language like “last spring,” so content doesn’t become confusing or outdated as quickly. 

Link properly and purposefully. Use inline links, where the underlined phrase tells people where they’re going or what they’ll find at the destination. 

• Send audiences to relevant UCF webpages instead of outside destinations, when possible. This is especially useful for providing extra detail or helpful background without distracting from the key takeaways of the current page. 
• If content already exists, link it — don’t duplicate it. Details pasted from another page can become outdated and inaccurate without you knowing. Instead of trying to own that content on your page, send audiences straight to the source. 
• Don’t use “click here” or other vague phrasing for links. Not only is it unclear for audiences, but it also disrupts the content flow. 
• Don’t paste a URL into page copy. The text doesn’t wrap, it breaks the layout on mobile or tablet views, and screen readers read it character by character. 

Alt text should describe what the photo or graphic depicts, making the connection to why it’s on the page. 

Write a thoughtful H1 and meta description that make sense in search results. 

• The H1 becomes the page title by default. Write a descriptive but concise page title (50-55 characters). Avoid vague language like “home” for your home page or “profile” for a specific person’s profile. 
• The meta description should inform and interest audiences with a short, relevant summary (140-150 characters) of what the page is about. Treat it like a pitch to convince someone that the page is exactly what they’re looking for. 
• We use the Yoast plugin to easily update page title, meta description and social metadata (Open Graph). You can also preview to see if anything is truncated.  

Writing with Web Design in Mind

Never skip a heading level for styling. Nest them in order, H2 to H3 to H4. Skipping or overriding a level can negatively affect accessibility or readability, and risk your page not appearing in search results. 

Use text styling intentionally. Let the page style do the heavy lifting instead of trying to customize every content field or draw attention to too many things. 

• Keep all caps to a minimum. Never put body copy, list items, link text or alt text in all caps. If using all caps for headlines, they must be succinct, keeping any capitalized run under 25 characters. 
• Only underline links, not words or phrases for emphasis. 
• Italicize sparingly, only when emphasis is needed to aid comprehension of the intended meaning.  
• Bold sparingly. If multiple words or phrases are bold in a sentence or paragraph, none of them end up standing out. 

Don’t dump content into FAQ-style lists. Instead, organize content thoughtfully into sections and use clear hierarchy so it’s more intuitive to find. Reserve long FAQ-style lists for special use cases. (This page is a bit of an exception because the content is intended to function like stylebook entries.) 

Don’t “hide” long content inside collapsible sections or accordions. Those containers are appropriate for stepped information, but shouldn’t be used as a way to stuff more content onto a page.