Why UX writing is the secret weapon you didn't know you had

There’s a common misconception that UX writing is easy or straightforward. After all, when you’re having a great user experience, everything seems so natural and obvious. But getting to that point requires some serious skill and expertise. You can think of UX writing as a gentle voice that guides you through the digital product, ensuring the interaction is clear, engaging, and even enjoyable. Most often, it needs to communicate things within strict constraints of the user interface – in a way that feels intuitive to a wide variety of users.

What is the UX writer responsible for?

• Microcopy: UX writers craft the tiny but mighty words that guide you through a digital product, from button labels to error messages. These small pieces of text are called microcopy.
  

• Voice & tone: One of UX writer's duties is to define the product's tone of voice. They set the principles for how the product communicates and connects with its users. Think of voice as the product’s personality and tone as its mood or attitude. The way you speak to your users can make them feel comfortable, confident when facing issues, and ultimately, encourage them to keep coming back.
  

• Accessibility: According to the Regional State Administrative Agency, over one million people in Finland face challenges in using digital services due to visual disabilities, memory problems, reading or concentrating difficulties plus many temporary challenges. UX writers make sure the content remains understandable for all user groups.
  

• Storytelling: UX writing isn’t just about efficiency – it’s also about creating a captivating journey for users. UX writers craft clear and compelling user stories that keep people engaged and invested.
  

• Content: Content won’t stay fresh on its own. UX writers are the hard-working content caretakers, monitoring, revising, and improving content to ensure it remains effective.
  

• Research: UX writers don't work in a vacuum. They conduct user testing and research to understand the audience's needs and further tailor the content based on this data.
  

• Collaboration: UX writers collaborate with designers, developers, and other product stakeholders to ensure content seamlessly integrates with the general design, functionality and feeling. This collaboration may involve resolving conflicts and finding solutions to problems in the user experience.
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What are the steps of the UX writing process?

The title of Michael J. Metts and Andy Welfle's 2020 book about words and user experience suggests that Writing is designing. This means the traditional design thinking process can also be adapted to UX writing. Let's break it down:

• User research: The foundation of good UX writing is understanding your users. This involves conducting surveys and interviews, researching competitors, and analyzing user behavior. You want to identify user motivations, pain points and needs but also the words they use while interacting online (you might for example study Facebook groups or conversations with the customer service).
• Personas and journey mapping: The next step is to use the research data to create user personas, fictional representations of your target audience. This helps you empathize with their needs. Map out user journeys to visualize the steps users need to take in order to achieve their goals.
• UX glossary and writing style guide: Using everything you’ve created so far, create a UX glossary and writing style guide to make sure all content creators are using a consistent brand voice and terminology.
• Writing and iteration: Now for the actual writing! Draft, write, edit, repeat. Sometimes, the content is created first, followed by design. At other times, the copy needs to be tailored for existing wireframes.
• Testing and enhancing: A/B testing, user interviews, and usability tests are powerful tools, but even colleagues or family members can offer valuable insights. All feedback is a gift!

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Why should your company care about UX writing?

Clear communication can mean the difference between your user completing their goal or walking away. With UX writing you can:

• Reduce friction and confusion by providing effective guidance throughout the user journey.
• Increase trust and credibility by building a strong user relationship.
• Spark conversations with your users and keep them engaged with your product.
• Boost conversion and retention rates by ensuring a smooth and satisfying user experience.

This all leads to better digital products which ultimately translates to improved profits. UX writing is a direct investment in the success of your company!

Ready to start benefiting from UX writing? If you're interested in learning more about how UX writing can improve your user experience and lead to better business, get in touch!

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