So many of my students tell me that they have trouble writing Instagram captions & I can relate! Sometimes it can seem like you need to be a complete expert at writing & have loads of experience in order to get results from your posts.

But, I am here to share something with you: 5 tips to help you write better captions.

Because you know what?

❌    You don’t need to be a professional writer to write captivating captions

❌    You don’t need to have tons of experience to get people to read all the way through

❌    You don’t have to spend forever perfecting each word

Here’s what you should do instead:

#1 Avoid Industry Jargon

Your Instagram captions need to be easy to understand! Avoid using buzzwords and industry terms that the majority of your readers won’t understand. You want all of your captions to be accessible to all of your followers & you don’t want to make people feel like you are making things too complicated. It’s also a good idea to avoid using acronyms that aren’t easy to recognize! No one wants to try to decode what your caption says, so keep your wording nice and simple.

#2 Make Your Instagram Captions Digestible

When you are writing captions, try to make things as digestible as possible. It’s not just about what you write, it’s also about how you write! Break up your paragraphs into individual lines and take the space you need to make things easy to read. Write your Instagram captions in your a doc or your notes app to make it easier to get the spacing just right.

Use emojis, too! They help keep things entertaining & easy to read because you can use emojis to help you break up text and highlight the most important parts of your captions. I like to use emojis at the beginning of my sentences, to help keep my line breaks clean & make things super simple to read. I try to use plenty of lists when I am writing, too, this way I can separate each thought with a number or emoji and it’s easy to follow along.

#3 Avoid Making Captions Too Long

It can be tempting to try to say EVERYTHING in your Instagram captions because you want to take advantage of the space and really connect with your audience. But, try not to write long captions just for the sake of writing long captions. Only include information your audience needs to hear about or that you really want to share with your people. Just remember, your caption doesn’t need to be long—but it does need to be valuable. Try to avoid repeating anything that you have already said in your Carousel or your Reel. Instead, only add new information to avoid making your captions too long. 

#4 Talk Directly To Your Audience

If you want your audience to engage with your posts, talk directly to them. Instead of using hypotheticals or making a vague address, speak to your people. This is a great way to grab their attention and to really engage with them so that they want to like, comment, share or continue the conversation in your DMs. It’s also a powerful way to make them feel like they really know you & like you—both of which are KEY if you are wanting to sell your products on Instagram. 

#5 Use My Instagram Caption Writing Formula

Instead of trying to write captions & feeling totally lost every time, I use a formula to help me make sure that every caption will be as engaging as possible. And friend, I am going to share my caption-writing formula for you to use, too! 

Here’s what you should include in each & every Instagram caption:

1: Start With A Hook

A hook is the first few words in your caption & it’s designed to grab everyone’s attention. The people who follow you on IG, they’re scrolling through hundreds, if not thousands of posts a day. They are NOT going to stop to check out your content unless you grab their attention. Start every caption with a hook to get people to start noticing your content. Your hook doesn’t need to be wordy, but it does need to be bold! 

2: Add Value With The Body

The body of your caption is where you add value for your audience. You used your hook to get people to pay attention & this is where you back up your claim with a message your audience will want to read. When I write the body of my Instagram captions, I try to create content that educates, inspires, or entertains my audience because this is the type of content that is most valuable. 

→  Education Content – Anytime you can teach your audience something, you’re getting them to trust you and recognize that you can add so much value to their business, which will make them want to engage with you.

→  Inspirational Content – Let people get to know you by inspiring them with your content. This type of content makes you relatable so that your audience feels like they really know you and want to interact with you. 

→  Entertaining Content – When you entertain people, it gets them to like you! When people like you, they’re so much more likely to comment, like, share, and eventually, buy from you.

3: Have A Call To Action

A Call to Action is where you ask people to do whatever you want them to do so that they engage with you. This could be as simple as adding ‘like,’ ‘comment,’ or ‘subscribe’ to the end of your post. But, the options are endless!

When you have a Call to Action, you’re telling people how you want them to interact with you. The truth is, people like to be told what to do otherwise they might forget to like or they might not think about visiting your website. Having a clear Call to Action makes it easy for them to engage with your post. 

When you’re ready to start writing captions, keep in mind that you can completely customize your messaging using this formula. Follow the three steps, but write some captions that are short and to the point, and others that are longer and contain tons of valuable content. 

Here are 6 caption prompts to help you get started:

Hook: Have you ever wanted to____? 

Add Your Own Body 

Call To Action: Comment below with your favorite_____! 

Hook: Stop scrolling! 

Add Your Own Body 

Call To Action: Leave a _____ emoji if you agree 

Hook: ​​Double tap if you have ever____ 

Add Your Own Body 

Call To Action: Tell me where you are from!

Hook: Grab this freebie! 

Add Your Own Body 

Call To Action: DM me for more info.

Hook: Announcement! 

Add Your Own Body 

Call To Action: Post an emoji with your current mood 

Hook: Warning…

Add Your Own Body 

Call To Action: Double tap if you agree!

Here are some hooks you can use the next time you are writing captions:

Massive IG content hack!

Avoid these mistakes when you _____

LISTEN!

Raise your hand if you have ever _____

The #1 tip you need to know if _____

3 Keys to ____

5 mistakes I learned from _______

7 key questions to ask yourself when _____

3 things you need to know if _____

Looking for more ___?

10 tips you need if _____

Do you ever feel stuck on _____?

Want to learn how to ______?

3 mistakes you might be making on _____

Do you ever struggle with ______?

Here are some Calls To Action you can use the next time you are writing captions:

Meet me in the comments

Like this post if you have ever ____

Comment below if you have ever ____

Drop your comments below

Save this post for later!

Tag a friend

Let me know below

Join me in my stories today as I _____

Follow along for more _____

Send me a dm if you ______

Click the link in my bio for _____

Grab the freebie in my bio!

Send this to a friend who needs to hear this

Comment below & tell me your favorite _____

What’s your favorite Reels trend right now? Let me know below

Follow for more ______

You should be following a formula to write Instagram captions that will connect with your audience and get them to engage with your posts every single time you upload on Instagram. And with this guide, it is so easy to write captions for all your posts! If you want even more Instagram strategy, make sure you check out my Instagram courses. Click here for more info.