Hey why are your FAQs so boring?

FAQ sections are where curiosity goes to die. And like many places people don’t want to be, it’s because the FAQ section is often overwhelmingly dull. Which is a shame, because it’s highly visited, and a great space to flex your brand voice.

Here are some examples of how to take boring, standard FAQs and turn them into something your audience might actually WANT to read.

Boring:
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and AfterPay.

Better:
Can I pay with my soul / firstborn child / vintage Pokemon cards?
While we appreciate your creativity (and your Charizard), we currently accept all major credit cards and AfterPay. We're working on a soul-to-currency conversion system, but our ethics committee is being a real buzzkill about it.

Boring:
How long does shipping take?
Australia:
Standard: 3-5 days
Express: 1-2 days

Better:
If I order now, will it arrive before the heat death of the universe?
Within Australia, Standard shipping takes 3-5 business days, and Express shipping takes 1-2 days. Drama queen.

Boring:
What’s your returns policy?
Change-of-mind items can be returned within 30 days of sale. Please reach out to our customer service team here.

Better:
Can I return my purchase if something isn’t right?
Of course! We hope you love whatever you receive, but if you don’t, reach out to one of our friendly customer service team to help here.

The important bits to make this work.

• Know your audience. If you’re selling denture cream, maybe ease up on the Pokemon references.

• Use your brand voice. An FAQ doesn’t have to be funny or witty to be interesting. It just needs to be human.

• Helpful over humour. If you’re getting funny with it, make sure you’re still answering the question clearly.

• Don’t be afraid of your personality. Tell the legal team to take a lap.

The argument against.

There is an argument that fancy, fluffy FAQs are less efficient at distributing information. Surely the customer seeking your returns information would prefer a straightforward answer? My response is that it’s possible to add small inflections of personality that don’t take away from the clarity. This isn’t fluff, it’s a pivot in language. Focus on the details you know a customer is looking for with each question, and centre those. Rephrase a question slightly to fit your tone better. You don’t need to create a huge narrative around each question and sacrifice clarity just to make it more interesting to read.

You 🤝 Your FAQ Page

Remember that your FAQ page isn’t just a dusty corner of your website where information goes to hibernate. It’s prime real estate for playing with your brand personality and connecting with customers at an unexpected moment.

Got Qs about writing FAQs? I can help with that. Let’s talk.