diff --git a/cmake/modules/FindBerkeleyDB.cmake b/cmake/modules/FindBerkeleyDB.cmake
--- a/cmake/modules/FindBerkeleyDB.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/FindBerkeleyDB.cmake
@@ -163,5 +163,6 @@
 	REQUIRED_VARS
 		BerkeleyDB_INCLUDE_DIR
 	VERSION_VAR BerkeleyDB_VERSION
+	REASON_FAILURE_MESSAGE "if you don't want to build the wallet feature, this can be skipped by passing -DBUILD_BITCOIN_WALLET=OFF to the cmake command line"
 	HANDLE_COMPONENTS
 )
diff --git a/cmake/modules/FindJemalloc.cmake b/cmake/modules/FindJemalloc.cmake
--- a/cmake/modules/FindJemalloc.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/FindJemalloc.cmake
@@ -111,5 +111,6 @@
 find_package_handle_standard_args(Jemalloc
 	REQUIRED_VARS Jemalloc_INCLUDE_DIR
 	VERSION_VAR Jemalloc_VERSION
+	REASON_FAILURE_MESSAGE "this is an optional dependency that can be disabled by passing -DUSE_JEMALLOC=OFF to the cmake command line"
 	HANDLE_COMPONENTS
 )
diff --git a/cmake/modules/FindMiniUPnPc.cmake b/cmake/modules/FindMiniUPnPc.cmake
--- a/cmake/modules/FindMiniUPnPc.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/FindMiniUPnPc.cmake
@@ -71,5 +71,6 @@
 	REQUIRED_VARS
 		MiniUPnPc_INCLUDE_DIR
 	VERSION_VAR MiniUPnPc_VERSION
+	REASON_FAILURE_MESSAGE "if the UPnP feature is not required, it can be skipped by passing -DENABLE_UPNP=OFF to the cmake command line"
 	HANDLE_COMPONENTS
 )
diff --git a/cmake/modules/FindQREncode.cmake b/cmake/modules/FindQREncode.cmake
--- a/cmake/modules/FindQREncode.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/FindQREncode.cmake
@@ -53,5 +53,6 @@
 find_package_handle_standard_args(QREncode
 	REQUIRED_VARS
 		QREncode_INCLUDE_DIR
+		REASON_FAILURE_MESSAGE "if displaying QR codes is not required, it can be skipped by passing -DENABLE_QRCODE=OFF to the cmake command line"
 	HANDLE_COMPONENTS
 )
diff --git a/cmake/modules/FindZeroMQ.cmake b/cmake/modules/FindZeroMQ.cmake
--- a/cmake/modules/FindZeroMQ.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/FindZeroMQ.cmake
@@ -93,5 +93,6 @@
 find_package_handle_standard_args(ZeroMQ
 	REQUIRED_VARS ZeroMQ_INCLUDE_DIR
 	VERSION_VAR ZeroMQ_VERSION
+	REASON_FAILURE_MESSAGE "if the ZeroMQ feature is not required, it can be skipped by passing -DBUILD_BITCOIN_ZMQ=OFF to the cmake command line"
 	HANDLE_COMPONENTS
 )