I’ve always found myself drawn to books with beautiful illustrations. What keeps me engaged
though are the riveting plots, compelling characters and memorable dialogues – the writer’s
ability to tell a great story. That is reflective of my background in communications and journalism where I’ve used words to bring my ideas to life.

Words aside, I enjoy building things from scratch. I relish the opportunity to create and execute a strategy. Coupled with my interest in technology and the impact it can create in our lives, this led me to explore my interest in UX Writing. In this article, I’ll share my journey and the steps I took to transition into this emerging but exciting field!

1. Start freelancing or volunteering

Being curious about how people engaged with digital products led me down this rabbit hole of reading up on user experiences – the concepts and theories behind this, the crucial role it plays in companies and various roles. This led me to completing a UX Design course and a certified UX Writing course with UX Writing Hub. I received valuable guidance from my mentor, Aaron for all my writing exercises and this reinforced my understanding of the design thinking concepts that we learnt too. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to work with a real client.

Upon completing the course, I was keen to work on other client projects to gain more exposure. Thanks to the referral I got from my journalist friend, I managed to work on a finance app. As this is under NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), I can’t share much. What I can say is this gave me a glimpse into the finance industry, and an opportunity to craft copy for their user flows, notifications and error messages.

Through Yuval, I also got the chance to work with a talent management platform. The scope
included helping the client to improve the user flow, enhance the Information Architecture, and propose clear and conversational microcopy to guide the user in navigating the platform.

Based on the job descriptions of UX Writing roles, companies prefer considering candidates with real-world working experience. To achieve this, you could conduct content audits of your dream company and show how you would improve the user experiences of their product features. If you’re passionate about a certain cause, consider volunteering your skills to improve the app or website of a non-profit organisation. Better still, if you’ve got the chance to work with a client on short-term projects, go for it!

2. Build a portfolio

For most companies, the application process includes submitting a file or a portfolio link which showcases your projects. Depending on your comfort level, you could either present your projects using a PDF / PowerPoint deck or a website. If you decide to go with the latter, you’ll be happy to know that there’re a variety of no-code web-building tools to choose from! This 9 Beginner UX Writing Portfolio Examples might be useful in getting you started on structuring
your portfolio.

For me, I decided to use Notion – a project management tool which has been used by UX professionals for showcasing their portfolios. What I like about Notion is its intuitive interface and useful features. Getting started is as simple as creating a page, and including information
on yourself and details of the projects you worked on. It’s free and easy to maintain. The only small downside is the messy URL (you know, the one with multiple numbers and words). One way I got around this was to buy a customised Google Domain (prices start from $12/year) and link my Notion portfolio to it so I get this – www.rachelchanrc.com

3. Prepare for the interviews

I’d encourage you to get started on this after you’ve submitted your job applications (even
before you get invited for any job interviews). Common questions to prepare for include:

a) Tell me about yourself.

b) Why do you want to join (insert company name)?

c) What do you think of our app / website (company’s digital product)?

Question: Tell me about yourself.

Analysis: Sounds like a simple enough question but what the interviewer’s hoping to find out is your background, personality and motivation in pursuing a career as a UX Writer. This is your opportunity to draw the interviewer in with your story and share what led you to this moment.

Approach: Review the job description and list down the attributes the company is looking for.
Apart from writing skills and user experience knowledge, are they looking for someone with
expertise in content strategy, design tools, stakeholder engagement? Assuming that they are,
you should try to weave in some of these requirements into your story. Here’s an example:

My (share what sparked your interest in UX Writing. was it your writing experience,
problem-solving capabilities, design thinking expertise that led you down this path?)
have encouraged me to pursue a career as a UX Writer. Over the past year
(customise this based on the amount of time you’ve spent), I’ve worked with
clients to improve the user experiences of their products. I’ve done this by
(how did your contributions improve their products? did it result in customers being
able to complete their tasks more efficiently?). I’ve also used tools like (might also
be worth sharing tools that you’re familiar with like Airtable, Figma, Maze etc.) to
organise my research findings and design wireframes.

Question: Why do you want to join (insert company name)?

Analysis: The interviewer probably wants to get a sense of whether you’ve done your research on the company and industry, and reasons behind your interest in joining them.

Approach: Share what you like about the company/industry and what drew you to consider
working with them. Here’s an example:

I have a strong interest in (insert industry) because (some pointers to consider
include how you can relate to the company’s mission of impacting people’s lives or
improving their pain points). As (insert company name) grows, I would like to be a
part of the team which contributes to creating user-friendly experiences and
solving problems for your customers.

Question: What do you think of our app / website (company’s digital product)?

Analysis: The interviewer is keen to hear if you’ve taken the time to familiarise yourself with
their product and wants to assess your problem-solving capabilities.

Approach: Start by sharing which aspect of the product could be improved and the potential
user groups this will impact. Explain how you’ll enhance this feature. Here’s an example:

While reviewing your app / website, I noticed that (what area requires
improvement? was the user flow confusing when it came to the onboarding process
for new customers? did their information architecture make sense or could certain
aspects be improved?).

Pro Tip: To help them visualise your ideas, take the initiative to prepare case studies and
explain your rationale using Google Docs or Figma mockups.

That’s my story of how I transitioned into UX Writing. Like a marathon, it was a process that took months of training and preparation, but all worth it when it culminated in an offer for a full-time Senior UX Writer role in my current company! If you’re starting out or still working on
transitioning to UX Writing, keep on going. If possible, seek out mentorship opportunities or get feedback on your work from more experienced professionals. This will help you to sharpen your skills and strengthen your portfolio. All it takes is that one hiring manager to take that chance on you and you’re in!

Further Reading

6 Reasons to Learn UX Writing in 2022

Everything You Need To Know About UX Content

Navigating Content Design Interviews with Andrew Astleford

The post How I Got Hired As A Full-Time UX Writer appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

The post Navigating Content Design Interviews with Andrew Astleford appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

UX Writing is a (relatively) new field, though writing roles in tech have been around for quite some time. A UX Writer might also be called a Content Designer, Content Strategist, Technical Writer, or a handful of other titles.

What matters is that UX Writers deal with words and the design of words and how they impact users within digital spaces like apps or websites. It’s a growing field that is (finally) becoming more and more important to the design of digital products. So how does one land such a role? Aside from having a resume and probably a UX writing portfolio, a writer will need to be prepared for the all important interview.

Some companies require a writing test before the interview; others have one after a first interview but before a second. There are so many factors that go into hiring positions, it’s important to be prepared and confident in every interview you land. 

There is a ton of advice out there about those various stages of content role interviews. But the in-person (or in-Zoom) meetings are often the most important thing you’ll do. And while it’s hard to prep for any test when you don’t know the exact questions, there are some things you can do to better navigate the nerves that come with interviews.

Shortcuts – jump straight to

Use the interview as a way to see if the job is right for you
How to answer “Tell me about a time …” questions
Get ready to explain your “work and design process”
Multiple people interviews: a chance to get to know the team
Expect unexpected questions
Use examples from non-tech experience
Tailor your own questions to the interviewers
Remember that you got the interview for a reason

Serious about becoming a UX writer?

Use the UX writing interview as a way to see if the job is right for you

One of the most important things to remember while you’re interviewing for a UX writing (or any tech writing) position is: If you don’t know the answers to the questions, then that might not be a job you should be doing. Unfortunately, UX writer job descriptions are not always helpful because companies often have differing thoughts on what UX writers actually do.

Once, I interviewed for a position that had been advertised as a UX Content Strategist role but turned out, they really wanted a Content Director AND UX Writer in one. First of all, it was obvious to me that they would never find the right person because those are two very different roles. But more than that, I quickly realized they wanted someone far more senior than me. And while the pay sounded nice, I knew from the questions that I wouldn’t be the right person for the role at all. The questions in the interview alone were stressful, I could only imagine the stress of doing the actual job!

By the way, that job posting was up for months after my interview because they couldn’t find the right person. And I checked the company’s career page recently and they’ve finally broken down the role into two positions: a UX Strategist and UX Director. 🙃

How to answer “Tell me about a time …” questions

You’re already nervous and then the interviewer starts with the “Tell me about a time …” questions. 

These can be very daunting. You have to think fast on your feet while trying to explain what is likely a complex situation, all to prove a very specific point and … what was the original question again? Sometimes, I get to the end of a ramble and wonder, in a moment of panic, if my example actually told the interviewer anything at all.

The best way to prepare for these questions is to choose a few different work scenarios from your experience that were difficult, complex, problematic, or super successful. Try to think of examples of all of these, not just one that was problematic. Interviewers also want to know about your successes and it’s important to highlight that. As strange as it sounds, you are selling yourself in an interview.

Write out a bunch of notes beforehand for each of those scenarios and include how you solved problems, approached issues, and gained buy-in from your teams and stakeholders. Keep the notes handy or review them just prior to the interview so they’re fresh in your head. So, when the interviewer asks: “Tell me about a time you had to juggle multiple stakeholders to achieve a near-impossible product goal,” you have an example ready to go. (That’s not a real sample question I’ve been asked … but in our industry, it very well could be.😅)

Get ready to explain your “work and content design process”

These questions may seem scary at first, and entry level UX writers might not get asked or understand this question, but these are always my favorite to answer because there are no wrong answers. Hear me out. You talk about how you develop and design content. This is usually based on your experience at various companies and how they handled their processes as well as tricks and habits you’ve learned along the way. 

But if the interviewer doesn’t resonate with your process, it’s truly okay because that means you might not be the best fit for their company. And while it may seem like you really, really, really want that exact job at that exact company, if their processes don’t align with the way you work, you won’t be happy there in the long run. The most important thing to remember when asked this question is to be honest about the way you work and the way you like to work. By setting these kinds of open expectations with interviewers who are potential co-workers, you’ll (hopefully) avoid a lot of conflicts and headaches in the future.

Group UX writing interviews: a chance to get to know the team

The preliminary interview went really, well but now you have to meet with people on the design or content team—PEOPLE PLURAL. 😱

First, take a few deep breaths. I know many of us (myself included) can be introverted, so meeting multiple people at once can be anxiety-inducing. But there are good things about meeting lots of team members in this scenario. First, there’s a chance they are as introverted as you are, so know you’re probably in good company. Second, this is a chance for you to meet designers and writers who are just like you. They like to talk about nerdy design things. They like discussing design and development processes. These are your people. 

Use these interviews to feel that team out, to get to know them, to see how they work. If you feel some level of camaraderie with a team in an interview, then more than likely, that interview is going well. If it still feels a bit awkward or forced, then maybe that’s not a team you would feel comfortable working with regularly anyway. I had this exact experience happen last year. I had an interview with one company that was okay but nothing special. But the following week, I had an interview with a different company and I felt like I was just talking to colleagues who were as quirky and fun as me. And guess what? I got the second job and I really enjoyed my time working with that team and that was foreshadowed by the way we interacted in the group interview.

Expect unexpected UX writing interview questions

Then there are those really tough questions out of nowhere and put you on the spot.

For the record, I hate these questions. I’m not the wittiest of people most of the time, and I prefer having conversations rather than trying to put another person in a spot where they have to scramble. But it might happen in an interview.

Once I got asked to name my favorite website with the best Help / Support features. My mind literally blanked. For me, it’s so much easier to talk about all the sites or apps with help features that leave me frustrated than it is to think of a site that I loved. I scrambled to think of something, but in the end, that was a question I didn’t answer well (and also a role I didn’t end up getting.)

But, I do think this example was about more than just the question itself. It was also about the lack of connection I had with the interviewers. When you connect with people, interviews often feel more like conversations. Sure, you’re doing most of the talking, but it’s a conversation where you’re happy to share your ideas and opinions. If you’re not connecting well with the team, like I wasn’t in that scenario, then those questions don’t feel natural; they feel forced and awkward. Which wouldn’t be ideal working conditions either.

Use examples from non-tech experience (even if it’s not about UX writing)

Your experiences are valid. Even if you don’t have a ton of specific tech or writing experience.

A question that I was asked at least three or four times is: “describe a time you had to explain something incredibly complex to a person who knows nothing.” This question is actually one of my favorites because I get to fall back on my non-tech experience to answer it.

One example I use is that I was a classroom teacher and if I didn’t explain something well, I would be stuck with thirty unruly kids for an hour, so I got very good at explaining complex directions very succinctly. I’ve also used my experience as a kickboxing trainer as an example because I have to explain a very complex physical motion in a very easy-to-digest way and sometimes I’ve only got seconds to do so.

In all my interviews, those answers have always hooked the interviewers, whether I got the job or not. They’re different enough answers to be interesting and memorable but relevant enough to show them how I can break down complex topics, no matter the subject. And yes, I do explain how those examples tie into how I approach content and writing—always connect non-tech things back to the current role you’re interviewing for! Whatever experiences you have, whether they’re in writing or tech or a different industry entirely, they are valid; use them.

Tailor your own questions to the UX writing interviewers

Do you have any questions for them? Hint: Yes, you should! It shows that you’re truly interested in them and in the role.

This opportunity will usually come up towards the end of an interview. Now, I always try to make the question relevant to the interviewer. If the interviewer is from HR, I’ll ask about hiring processes or the next steps. I’m not going to waste their time by asking about the daily tasks of the UX Writing role; they might not know.

When talking to teams or managers, I’ll often tailor my questions to that person’s role. If the interviewer is a fellow content colleague doing a similar job, I’ll ask what the daily schedule and tasks are like. If it’s a manager, I’ll ask about their management style or I’ll ask a specific question about the role, something they can expand on to help me understand the scope.

Once, during a team interview, I felt really comfortable with the team and I asked if they were for or against Oxford commas. We laughed and had a great side conversation about grammar and users. (And yep, I got that job.)

So, yes, I always try to think or plan out a few questions to ask in advance but I also always make sure they’re tailored for the person I’m talking to and the rapport we have going. 

Remember that you got the UX writing interview for a reason

My final piece of advice is fairly simple but easy to forget sometimes. Try and remember—they chose to talk to you because you have something they want, something they need.

Whether it’s your writing prowess or your UX know-how, remember that you are the expert in whatever that is they want (even if you don’t feel like one.) Be confident in your experiences, no matter what they are. 

Writing and content interviews aren’t always about what you know (or who you know), they’re about how you work. How do you learn things you don’t know? How do you communicate with teammates? How do you deliver updates and deliverables and feedback? 

These are the things that the interviewers are trying to discover about you. They want to know who you are. It’s okay to mention your hobbies, your passions. It’s important that people see you as a whole person, not just a tireless worker bee. And if those stiffs on your Zoom call don’t want to know you, then they’re not worth your time or your talent. When you land an interview with people who see you and want you, you’ll know it. And (hopefully) you’ll land the job too.

Good luck with your interviews and I hope you have some good conversations. I’m rooting for you!

For total clarity (and so you know that this interview advice is based on my own experience), here are a few of the big-name companies that I’ve had some sort of interview with:

• Uber
• Wells Fargo
• Charter Communications
• Alaska Airlines
• Microsoft
• Intuit
• And finally, the latest: Google. The job I started this month! 😁

Serious about becoming a UX writer?

Sign up to our free UX writing course

Sign up for our 6-month UX Writing Academy course
Learn how to create a UX portfolio
Check out this list of UX-related books

The post 8 Tips to Ace UX Writing Interview Questions appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

It’s December now, and you know what that means—one big family dinner behind us with more on the way. As much as I love seeing everyone and all the yummy food, last time was a bit stressful for me as I tried to explain my career, and I felt that you just weren’t getting it. So I wanted to write you this letter to help you understand what it means to be a UX Writer.

Mom, I’m a UX Writer.

I know you dreamed that I would end up becoming a life-saving doctor, a brilliant lawyer, or maybe a genius nuclear physicist. I didn’t turn out to be any of those things, but you should know that my profession is important and has the potential to impact the daily lives of millions of people, which is pretty cool, right?

Anyway, the world is changing, and those professions might’ve been way cool back when, but now UX is where it’s at! By the end of this letter, I know you’re going to both understand me better and be proud of me. And you can tell Aunt Eileen that you don’t care if little Robbie is all grown up now and became a lawyer because your kid is aUX Writer.

OK, here’s how to start. You know how your smartphone has all those apps on it? Gmail for emails, Spotify for music, Booking for hotels. Well, my job is to make sure the person using those apps (what we call the user) has the best possible experience.

Get it? UX = User Experience.

And a great experience usually means an easy one, like how little kids or even Nana can use an iPad.

The art of making things “easy to use”

Remember how, when I was a kid and got a new toy that we had to put together, Grandpa would always throw out the instructions, and then we would always have to go get them out of the trash when he put it together wrong?

That’s because instructions are important. They are there to guide people. Humans. Users.

From cavemen who painted on cave walls to pass on messages to the tribe, to Grandpa putting together IKEA furniture (using instructions so easy even a caveman could follow them), instructions make it possible to use the products and devices in our lives. Part of what I do is write the instructions so you can use your favorite apps.

Yes, I know when you use your favorite apps it doesn’t always feel like you’re following instructions. That’s because, when UX writers do it right, you don’t even notice it. You just enjoy the experience of using the app. Because in apps, the instructions are built-in, so Grandpa can’t throw them away!

But besides the instructions, product designers (the people in charge of the user experience) need to make sure that what they build is as intuitive to use as possible.

Maybe when you hear the word “design” you think about making things look nice. But designing products is much more than that. As Steve Jobs said:

That’s why a teacup is designed with a handle so you can hold it when it’s hot, or why Tupperware lids fit tight so nothing spills out. If it looks nice but doesn’t work well, it’s because it’s been designed poorly. Remember, the easier it is to use, the better the design.

You can check out the book, The Design of Everyday Things, which has more on this topic.

The age of digital products

Today, teacups, Tupperware, and toothbrushes aren’t the only types of products we use. Really, a product is anything that creates specific value for a group of people. That means the apps on your phone or the websites you use are also products. But they’re a different kind of product—a digital product.

Like other products, we prefer the digital products that work best.

We use Google because they designed the best search engine. We use Facebook (well, some of us do) because they designed the best social network experience. Just like we wouldn’t use a teacup without a handle or Tupperware with a lid that didn’t fit, we won’t choose a poorly designed digital product—whether we realize it or not.

So designing digital products is a pretty important job! Unfortunately, since it’s still pretty new, we don’t always know what to call it. Along with UX writer and product designer, there are other names people use:

• Product Owner
• Product Manager
• User Experience and/or User Interface Designer (UX/UI Designer)
• Content Designer
• Content Strategist
• UX Web Copywriter
• All-Powerful UX Ninjacorn Warrior (OK, I made that one up)

See Mom—you’re not the only one confused here. But even though some people (even in major tech companies) still think product design is about making aesthetically pleasing apps, now you know that’s not what it’s all about. Of course, there’s still a lot more to it. Product design is also about research, psychology, marketing, business analysis, testing, and even software development.

So much more than making pixels look pretty.

Heart of the matter

Still with me Mom? ‘Cause now we’re getting to the good stuff. Now that we know what product design is all about, we can talk about what I do all day—UX Writing.

I spend my days on a mission—a mission to create intuitive digital experiences for everyone. I do this by talking to people who use the digital products I work on, learning about the kind of problems they have using them, and then I make those products better.

You know how I’ve always been kind of a wordsmith, right? That means my superpower is creating intuitive digital experiences using the magic of words. A huge, and I mean absolutely massive, humongous, ginormous part of making a product great and creating an amazing user experience depends on the words.

Humans communicate primarily through language. Any person using a product is in a sense communicating with that product. This is a human-product interaction, and it needs to feel as human as possible.

Someone needs to write the words and create the voice of that digital product, hence, the UX writer.

And you can be extra proud because there aren’t many places in the world (shout out to the UX Writing Hub course) that teaches people this profession. Yes, Mom. I had to teach myself a profession that didn’t even exist just a few years ago, but it was worth it since countless companies are in need of it today.

You can call me a UX Writer, Content Strategist, or Product Designer—it doesn’t make much difference to me. As long as I get to work on my mission of having a positive impact on millions of people, I’m happy with my career choice.

Why I care so much about UX writing

Now that we spend so much of our lives online, designing the digital products we use is a big responsibility. Here are just a few examples of what good UX Writing and product design looks like.

The writers of Zocdoc are doing an amazing job of making their website intuitive enough for people to order doctors online when they’re not feeling their best.

At Lemonde, they make sure we have a better experience getting instant insurance. Instead of the tired old process, Lemonade gives the user a digital web product that makes it super easy and makes getting insurance feel like you’re talking to someone you can trust. They do this with short texts (we call it microcopy) and by creating a voice for the product that resonates with their users.

The list goes on and on and on…

At the end of the day, people choose the most intuitive and easy-to-use products, with some added personality, that give them a great experience.

I do massive amounts of research, deconstruct ideas, and generate new ones to solve problems in the product. UX Writers are always working to optimize and there is always room for improvement. So don’t worry about me being unemployed any time soon. 

In fact, more and more companies are hiring people like me these days as they learn about the benefits of having a dedicated UX Writer on board.

I promise to do it responsibly

Unfortunately, not all product designers and writers are saints and some are actually using their superpowers for evil. They manipulate customers so that their companies can make extra cash. We call this dark UX design, but that’s a story for another day.

Don’t worry mom, I promise that I’ll never go to the dark side. That’s not the kind of impact I want to have on people’s lives. 

I hope that clears things up. I know I may not be a junior investment banker like the neighbor’s daughter, or a lawyer like Robbie, but what I do is pretty special. It lets me be a writer, which I love, and work in tech with a great salary. 

Thanks for being the best mom ever and raising me to be who I am. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Much love 🙂

Interested in becoming a UX writer or a content strategist?

Don’t miss our end-to-end UX writing course with weekly mentorship by industry leaders from companies like Careem, Mastercard, and more.

Sign up for the UX Writing Course to secure your spot

The post How to Tell Your Mom You’re a UX Writer appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

Clear. Concise. Consistent. These are the 3 C’s of UX writing and are 3 of the most important concepts a UX writer must understand in order to write great microcopy for their users.

Let’s take a closer look at each one:

CLEAR

ADJECTIVE
Easy to perceive, understand, or interpret.
Leaving no doubt; obvious or unambiguous.
Having or feeling no doubt or confusion.

Origin — Middle English: from Old French cler, from Latin clarus.
oxforddictionaries.com

“Clear” in UX writing means exactly the same thing as it would in any other context:

• Easy to understand
• Obvious
• Unambiguous
• Leaves no doubt

These are on the functional level.

• Having or feeling no doubt or confusion.

This is on the emotional/experiential level.

Ok, that’s just the definition.

But why is it so important?

Why does your microcopy need to be clear?

Microcopy is all the words that help users understand interfaces and take action. It guides them by communicating in their language.

When your microcopy is not clear:

• Users will have to work hard to understand it, and achieve their goals.
• They will get confused.
• They will go down the wrong path (the unclear microcopy will mislead them).
• They will have a bad experience.

No one likes feeling confused, being mislead, or having to work hard to get what they want (from a product).

It leads to negative emotions towards the product such as:

• Frustration
• Alienation
• Mistrust

All of these are the exact opposite of what you want.

When your microcopy is clear your users will:

• Understand quickly and with ease
• Get where they are going fast with no stress
• Achieve their goals
• Experience satisfaction

WIN-WIN for your users and your product

Ultimately, an experience results in an emotion.

Microcopy must be clear to help give your users what they want and what they need to experience satisfaction, which is a positive emotion.

Satisfied users will return to buy, share, interact, sell… all the things you want them to do!

How to create clear copy every time:

1. Research your users’ language

How do they talk?

When you talk to your users with their words, you are clearer to them.

There are many ways to research your users, like:

• “Focus groups,” which can bring you great insights and copy, but are time consuming, expensive, and not always practical.
• “Conversation Mining”, which is a great way to dig in to an audience’s vocabulary by reading what they write on their blogs, forums, Facebook pages, Reddit pages, Twitter, etc.
  
  I once skimmed through about 100 thousand words on gamer forums when I was writing microcopy for a gaming platform. I found out how they talk and what their motivations were. Conversation Gold Mine!
  

2. Write the content

Use vocabulary from your research.

Remember, it should still be generic enough not be slang or jargon. You still want everyone to understand it.

3. Read it

Reading it out loud is even better.

When you read something out loud, you can hear the tone better. You can hear if something is a tongue twister or just sounds wrong. You can hear if it’s confusing or not.

4. Ask yourself:

Would this make sense to someone else who has no prior knowledge? 

Would your grandmother and little brother understand it?

Would someone who knows nothing about the platform get it?

Would everyone in the target audience understand it easily?

5. Test it

You can make assumptions, but without testing you will not know.

At the simplest level, ask someone who doesn’t already know what you’re trying to say, what they understood.

Was it clear to them?

In essence, qualitative research means testing content on users and getting insightful feedback.

6. Rewrite it

Take all the conclusions from steps 3 and 4 and make your content clearer.

Rewriting, rewriting more, and then rewriting again helps refine content.

Remember to take a rest in between.

Going away and coming back is a great way to gain perspective. It let’s you see something you’ve written as if for the first time.

7. Repeat till perfect

If you are like most writers you may never feel it’s perfect. That’s OK!

It’s not an exact science. You should get input from peers. You’ll only know how good it is after testing.

Practice makes perfect.

Things that make content unclear:

Jargon (your mortal enemy)

Jargon is specific terminology that only a specific group of people use for a specific use.

It’s so specific that even users who know it will find it harder to understand, as it is not used in everyday conversation.

Research has shown that 80% of specialists prefer simple language to jargon whenever possible — GOV.UK.

Here’s a short video that sums up why you should use Plain Language for Everyone, Even Experts.

Slang

Slang is a lot like jargon, but is sometimes good for your specific audience.

Only use slang to add “flavor” after everything is already clear.

It’s least appropriate in places where the users needs clear, simple and easy directions, like error messages, or when filling out forms that might make them anxious, like credit card details.

For example, don’t write:

“Yo! Dog, da’ digits ain’t groovin’” 

for an error message for wrong input of credit card number.

Slang can add personality and give your microcopy that extra edge, just be careful with it.

Complicated concepts

Words, sentences and paragraphs that include more than one clear idea are complicated concepts and are less clear for users, so you should break them down.

Concepts that are inherently hard to understand and need a lot of explaining will always be unclear. The best you can do is break them down or avoid them unless absolutely necessary.

Let’s see an example of a before and after

When I started working for gov.il, there was a headline repeated on all service pages:

Conditions for receiving the service

This is both obscure and bureaucratic. It’s also unspecific so, altogether an unclear way to say something pretty simple:

Who can apply and what you need

See how clear it is:

Anyone scanning the page will understand it immediately and quickly find the information they need.

Because “Conditions for receiving the services” is not everyday language, simply reading it requires an effort. You then need to figure out what it means and how it is relevant.

To sum up:

Clear content is an absolute MUST! It’s perhaps the most important rule of good microcopy, for your users to:

• Get what they want
• Get what you want them to get
• Have a positive experience and come back

CONCISE

ADJECTIVE

Giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words; brief but comprehensive.

Origin

Late 16th century: from French concis or Latin concisus, past participle of concidere ‘cut up, cut down’, from con- ‘completely’ + caedere ‘to cut’.

oxforddictionairies.com

I love this definition, because of the etymology. The word originally meant to “cut up / cut down” which is exactly what you should be doing with your content.

Why should your microcopy be Concise?

Why can’t you just wax poetic all through the interface?

Because it makes your users work hard.

Writing concise content means cutting out everything that doesn’t serve a clear purpose. It’s the essence of efficiency in writing.

Microcopy essentially needs to do two main things:

• Guide the user and provide information — functional
• Connect with the user and support the brand — emotional

So, your concise content should be short without sacrificing either of these. It’s important to remember that short is a part of concise, but not the goal.

3 reasons why you need to be concise:

1. Cognitive load 

It makes it easier to absorb the information

Cognitive load, in UX, refers to the  amount of mental energy your user needs in order to understand and use an interface.

Concise means taking out all the extra information that is not essential. This reduces the cognitive load.

2. Retention

It makes it easier to remember.

Concise means cutting out everything unnecessary and breaking information up into small digestible chunks. This shortens each piece of microcopy, making it easier to retain (there’s a reason it’s called micocopy!).

As a result, your users will remember it with ease.

3. Scannability

It makes it easier to scan (find easily).

Concise copy is easier for your users to skim and scan through, because each piece of info is a short, single idea. They will go through the whole text fast without pausing to think, and collect the main points. Then go back to read in depth.

Concise does not mean the minimum number of words possible!

If adding words adds personality to your brand voice, do it. If adding words makes things clearer, do it.

Here’s an example:

Zoom could have simply written:

SIGN UP

But:

SIGN UP, IT’S FREE

works so much better.

Just two extra words takes away all the anxiety for a first time user while also subtly creating a sense of urgency that’ll hook them in.

How to make sure your content is concise:

1. Write the content.

We’ve already discussed research and vocabulary above. So don’t forget it. It’s important.

2. Cut out everything that is not essential

But keep everything that is (for your user).

You may be communicating a complicated concept. This means you should cut out everything—and I mean EVERYTHING—that’s not essential.

If it is essential, break it down into clear, simple concepts.
5 clear, concise concepts are better than one unclear, ambiguous, and lengthy concept.

3. Read it again

Read it out loud.

Read it to peers and test it on users (if possible).

4. See if you can cut out more.

Just go for it! 

You want to take it to the edge to find out when you’ve gone too far. That’s how you’ll know when to stop cutting.

5. See if you have cut out too much

Now that you have really butchered it, see if it still works.

6. Make sure you haven’t sacrificed clarity or personality

Remember:

• Clarity is usually more important than anything else because it helps your users get stuff done.
  
• Personality is your products “voice.” It’s what the user will connect with emotionally, so it’s not just about communicating information efficiently. It must sound like the voice you have chosen for your product.

What makes your content less concise?

• Very long blocks of content
• Lots of ideas and concepts rolled into one content chunk
• Anything unclear

Here’s an example from my Google account:

There are 3 distinct pieces of amazingly concise microcopy.

This is what each one says and means:

Storage
What it means: This is how much memory you have to store your stuff.

The font is grey which is a neutral color.

13.9 GB of 15 GB used

What it means: Your storage is almost full. You have used 13.9 GB of the total 15 GB, so 1.1 GB left — not much!

The font is red which indicates urgency.

UPGRADE STORAGE

What it means: Here’s the best solution for you. Add Storage! You’re not just adding, you’re upgrading, so you’re cool!

The font is blue which indicates trust, security, and is positive, especially in contrast to the neutral grey and urgent red.

All CAPS makes the microcopy stand out even more.

So much info packed into 3 extremely concise, extremely effective pieces of microcopy.

Well done Google!

(I didn’t want to talk about formatting—the weight and color of fonts etc.—but here it’s so well done, I couldn’t resist.)

To sum up:

Concise content is information broken down into small pieces where everything unnecessary has been cut out. It is above all, efficient.

It:

• Reduces cognitive load
• Makes retention easier
• Allows the user to scan content fast and with ease

CONSISTENT

ADJECTIVE

• Acting or done in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate.
• Not containing any logical contradictions.
• Unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time.

Consistency, in UX writing, means a set style of language and structure of content throughout an interface.

It’s usually defined in a style guide that outlines the product’s:

• Voice and tones
• Formatting rules
• Titles styles, and more

Once the user has “learned your language” (or if they already speak it) they will understand easily and quickly. Obviously, you should be designing your voice and tone based on your user group and brand.

If you change the way you communicate with your user—if you are not consistent—they will:

• Feel it on a subconscious level—something will feel odd or wrong.
• Experience it on a cognitive level—something will not make sense or will make them use more brain power.

Even if you are still clear, something may not feel right. It can be a bit like a break in trust.

Imagine if you are at your favorite club, headbanging to AC/DC and then the DJ decides to play Celine Dion. It just feels wrong. We’re not saying anything against Celine Dion…but she’s not AC/DC. It’s out of place. 

It’s inconsistent.

That’s an extreme metaphor and inconsistency is usually far more subtle than that.

It could be using title case and then sentence case and then All CAPS for titles:

• Title Case is Like This
• Sentence case is like this
• ALL CAPS IS LIKE THIS

It could be using different terminology for the same thing.

A menu that sometimes uses pronouns and sometimes doesn’t, or mixes them up:

• My Documents
• Pictures
• Favorites
• MY SETTINGS

Inconsistency is bad for two main reasons:

1. It can simply be confusing

The user may not understand what you are saying because you’ve said it differently somewhere else. They’ve learned how you communicate and now your communicating differently. They will find it harder to get what they need on a practical level.

2. On an emotional/psychological level the user will feel that something is not right

They may feel that the product isn’t professional, or designed by experts, so the information or the service is not the best. It’s not just about what the product actually gives them or how it functions, it’s about how they feel—the experience.

How to keep content consistent:

1. Write the content in one voice

Use one voice across your platform.

The voice is your brand and should be based on research.
You can create a persona to help you hear that voice in your head, and design how they talk.

Every product has a different voice, in the same way that every person has a different voice.

2.  Read your content out loud

Yes. We’ve seen this before. It’s always helpful!

3. Check your style guide

You should write according to a style guide that clearly defines your product’s voice and tone and outlines the writing guidelines and rules.

Keep referring back to your style guide, as it is there to help you stay consistent.

If you don’t have a style guide, you can use existing style guides. This saves time and with good style guides a lot of the work has already been done.

However, your content should be unique and reflect your brand voice, so be careful. You can’t assume that what works for one product will work for your product.

Check out the Top 14 Content Style Guides 2021 (and How to Use Them) to find some great style guides.

Let’s look at an example of inconsistency:

I find this to be a great example of inconsistency.

Let’s break it down:

Uh Oh

It sounds: Casual, cute, goofy, natural, spontaneous (but also a bit like a warning).

I’m imagining: A child.

An error occurred…

It sounds: Technical , robotic, passive—who is talking?

I’m imagining: Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey…although Hal had a bit more personality.

…and we we were unable to publish this story.

It sounds: Polite yet passive. “It’s not really us” (which kind of implies that it’s you).
I’m imaging: A publishing agent politely informing me that my poem has been rejected.

This microcopy switches between a child, a robot, and a bureaucrat. There is no consistency, and I have no clear image in my mind.

(On a side note, as error messages go, it’s also pretty unhelpful).

I would write it something like this:

Sorry,
we couldn’t publish your story because of a problem on our side.
Try publishing again

I’m imaging a youngish adult who is apologetic yet helpful. They’re casual and respectful. Throughout the error message there is one voice and tone. 

I’d have to know more about the product voice and target audience to get it really good, so at the moment I’ve left it quite neutral (I think it’s from Medium). We could try and add some humor here, but “Uh oh!” isn’t what I want to hear when something I worked hard on went wrong.

A final word about consistency:

Consistency is not the same as uniformity

Uniformity is when you have a rule that must be adhered to no matter what.

In the same way that “concise” does not mean “short”,  “consistent” does not mean uniform.

Don’t believe me? Check out what GOV.UK has to say about it…and we’re talking about the British government. A country that still has school uniforms and a queen!

Here’s a way I like to think about it:

Imagine a product that is like an apartment that has been designed consistently but not uniformly.

Moving from room to room, you feel an overall connection and harmony (even if you are not aware of it). The kitchen is not the same as the bedroom.

They have distinctly different functions and fixtures, so they are not uniform. But every room feels part of the whole. They are consistent.

Uniformity would dictate that each room has the same function, which for an apartment (and a platform), would make absolutely no sense.

Summing up the 3 C’s of UX Writing

The 3 C’s of UX writing are:

• Clear
  
• Concise
• Consistent

They are absolute musts to make your copy work well for your users.

Writing clear, concise, and consistent microcopy will make your users’ experiences better, and make you a better UX writer, which is what it’s all about.

Asaf Shahar is an English UX Writer for Israel’s ICT Authority E-gov Unit

He likes fixing things that don’t work well.

asafshahar17@gmail.com

The post 3 Microcopy Rules Every UX Writer Must Know appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

Old habits die hard. In fact, even new habits put up a pretty good fight. It’s simply part of human psychology. So how can we harness the power of habits for the benefit of our digital products? In this article, we’ll explore this idea and give you a great method that you can implement right away.

It has to do with making changes to our products (websites, apps, etc.). We must proceed with caution when it comes to changing things in our products as people tend to be wary of changes—another psychological phenomenon. If you make jarring changes to your product you run a real risk of losing a lot of your users.

But before we get to the method itself, we’ll lay the foundation by looking at two concepts which may not at first seem related. Bare with me—I promise it’ll all make sense in the end. Let’s turn now to habits.

Anatomy of a Habit

Whether positive or negative, we can break habits down into a structure of 4 linear stages:

It starts with some kind of cue which then triggers a craving. You respond to that craving and then receive some sort of reward. Here’s an example habit to help grasp how this works:

Cue: Walking past a bakery and smelling fresh croissants

Craving: I want to eat the hell out of some croissants now

Response: Going into the bakery and buying some croissants

Reward: Sweet sweet croissants in my belly (pleasure centers of the brain are activated and dopamine is released)

The habit that developed from this activity: Getting myself a croissant every time I go past that bakery

Here’s another example related to our digital world:

Cue: A mobile app notification

Craving: Checking the content of that notification

Response: Check your phone

Reward: Phone is clear of notifications

The habit that developed from this activity: checking your phone every time there is a new notification

It doesn’t just end with checking your phone or eating pastries; habits have a huge impact on our daily lives and dictate nearly every action we take. Oftentimes these actions are so hardwired into our neurons that we might be completely unaware of some of our habits, such as biting our nails or automatically typing “Facebook” every time we open the browser.

UX Element Grouping

I mentioned before that we need to look at two concepts before we explore our method for the safe an easy implementation of changes to our products. This is the second and it’s an important UX principle that anyone who works on any kind of product should be familiar with.

The idea is that elements of a UX design that are grouped together, are perceived as being related to one another. There are two major ways of grouping UX elements together which are based on the concept of Gestalt.

Common Areas

UX elements are perceived as being part of a group when they are placed together in the same closed-off area. So an easy way to show a connection between elements is to enclose them in some way. Everything inside the enclosure will be seen as being related while everything outside the enclosure will be seen as separate. Have a look at the illustration below. Even though all the circles are the same, we view them as two distinct groups due to the boxes they are in. It’s not a conscious thought—we automatically perceive it that way.

A simple box is probably the most common way to group related elements. Another popular technique is to place elements on a different background color from their surroundings.

Proximity

The next technique is to group elements together in close proximity. By separating groups with a space we naturally perceive them as separate. On the contrary, when elements are placed close to one another, they are seen as part of a single group as opposed to being individual elements. This is particularly clear when the elements in a group are closer to one another than they are to those elements outside the group.

The objects need not be related in any other way beyond being grouped in close proximity to one another for them to be seen as being a single group. Pretty straightforward, really. Even if you weren’t aware of it consciously, you were at least intuitively aware of it.

With this understanding in mind, we want to take these two concepts—the structure of habits and the rules of element grouping—and wield them to change a habit in our users or help them develop a new one. This could be something like guiding them to different tasks or new features that will help them use our product in a new and better way.

Microcopy stacking

So far we’ve learned that habits have a repetitive 4 stage structure of cue, craving, response and reward, and that objects in close proximity or sectioned off somehow are perceived as part of a single group. Let’s use this to our product’s and users’ advantage with a method called microcopy stacking.

When a person wants to develop a new habit, there’s a method called “habit stacking” which connects the new desired habit to an old one. For example, if I want to get in shape and decide to do 10 pushups every day before I go to bed, the only thing I need to do is to connect or ‘stack’ that habit on top of a habit I already have.

So I can decide that every night after I brush my teeth I’ll do 10 push ups. In this manner, it will be easy for me to develop that new habit because it’s being stacked on top of an existing habit. Likewise, microcopy stacking is adding a piece of content to an existing task—a task the user is familiar with—that will help the user to achieve a new goal.

Facebook, for example, uses microcopy stacking when they want to encourage me to try to increase the number of people that like my page by showing me the number of new likes I have each week:

Facebook knows that I’m looking at my page performance already, so they “stacked” microcopy on top of it to encourage me to take an action. Let’s break it down:

Cue: Signal that I have 10 new likes this week when I look on my page performance box

Craving: Increase the number of people that like and follow my page

Response: Go to my Facebook page and invite more people, upload more content, promote my content and group, etc.

Reward: More people follow my page and I see how many new likes I get next week

The habit that developed from this activity: Checking my Facebook page and acting every time I look at the page performance box.

Here’s another example from a content element in the messenger feature of Meetup:

Cue: Text that encourages me to say something nice

Craving: Send a message in a positive spirit

Response: Keeping in mind friendliness and positivity while communicating on Meetup.com

Reward: Establishing positive communications with colleagues and peers

The habit that formed from this activity: Saying something positive every time I send a message on Meetup

Building a habit stacking routine

Now that you know all about microcopy stacking, it’s time to put it into practice. Follow these 4 simple steps to get started.

Plan a Habit

What kind of habits you would like your users to develop when using your app? Don’t think about the business or product goals yet, but focus on what kinds of habits will make life for your users better.

Example: You have an ecommerce store that delivers socks and you want to upsell your users a foot cream every time they buy socks.

Map Different Potential Touchpoints

Map all of the areas in a product that might support the habit that you want to transform for your users. Use Google Sheets or Excel to stay organized and just list them out.

Keep in mind the rules of UX element grouping (common areas and proximity). To continue with our example, if you want your socks ecommerce customers to buy your foot cream every time they go to the store, think about where the best place to locate foot cream would be. Then add these ideas to your touchpoints mapping spreadsheet.

Define Content Elements

Decide what kind of content elements you are going to add to each touchpoint. Is it going to be a helper text next to a CTA or is it going to be a complicated component that has a headline, paragraph, illustration, and a button?

Present It to Your Team

Now it’s time to choose to which touchpoint(s) to add that piece of content. You may want to use all of the microcopy stacking elements and you may want to use only one of them. It depends on the product’s priority and probably several other factors. That’s why it’s best to make a team decision on it.

Embrace Change

Yes, old habits do die hard. But if we understand this we can use it to the advantage of both our users and products. If you want to change your users’ habits, first understand the structure of those habits. While keeping in mind the psychological rules of proximity and common areas, plan the habit that you want to create for your users.

Do you want them to use your meditation app every morning for 10 minutes? Great! Map all of the points in your product that you can stack relevant microcopy on top of and choose what kind of content element you are going to create. Simple as that!

So don’t just go making changes to your digital products without care—remember to ease your users into the changes by helping them develop new habits stacked on old ones.

Have a question about microcopy stacking? Let me know in the comment section below!

The post Changing User Habits With Microcopy Stacking appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

Hey There! My name is Nicole Winestock and I’m a Senior UX Designer (though I prefer the term UX unicorn! ?).

For the past 3 years, I’ve been working for WalkMe, which is a B2B SaaS company. My mission is to make the world user-friendly.

My darkest secret is that I used to sing in high-school ceremonies all the time. I also tried to learn to play the guitar because I wanted to be a musician. I gave up that dream because I didn’t think I’m that good of a singer and I was a terrible guitar player…

In one single word, what does microcopy mean to you?

Humanity  

How did you get into UX design?

I’ve landed my first UI design gig nearly 5-6 years ago when I started working for an advertising company called Gitam BBDO. That was more or less design school for me, I learned how to work with different departments and teams and how to design using both my heart and brain.

But it wasn’t enough, I was missing project continuation and I was also starting to pick up basic UX principles without even knowing it.

Soon enough I started learning stuff online by reading articles and researches and I realized this was my niche.  

WalkMe’s director of UX saw the potential in me and decided to add me to the team.

Tell me about your process as a Senior UX designer at Walk Me?

First and foremost I want to understand the situation. If our users are facing a problem I want to know what it is and why it is, if we’re requested to add a new feature I want to understand the requirements and the expected value.

That’s when I deep dive into research, talking to users always help you get a clear image.

After a bit of market and competitors research, the Product Manager and I would start writing down the requirements and the suggested solutions. I usually go for at least 3 concepts of the solution (on paper).

You should always sketch as many as you can, even if you don’t believe in one of the concepts, it will help you strengthen your other solutions and convince others why some ideas are better than others.

Once we decided on the solution and sit with Dev to be aligned UX and Dev wise we start the initial wireframing process and eventually I reach the UI design on Sketch. Of course, both the wireframe and design process includes endless irritations with the Product Manager and Dev team.

Projects tend to get complicated when teams are not properly synced.

I love to be the owner of my features and products from end to end. I believe it’s a more holistic approach 🙂

How do UX writing and microcopy meet with your design process?  

Usually, I start during the wireframe stage.

For me, it’s a very strong part of the usability of the product and since I work on a very complicated system it’s important to have clear directions and descriptions and know what this feature or item means and how to communicate it to the user in the best way.

But it doesn’t stop there, I’d usually add and change microcopy during the final design stages and make sure it’s aligned with the product’s language.  

Do you have methods for UX writing (conversation, microcopy, language) research? If so, what are they?

I love researching Microcopy and saving interesting bits from all sort of products (B2B, B2C and even video games).

I see something that I like and take a screenshot right away.

I also love to hang around Facebook groups which discuss microcopy, such as Microcopy & UX Writing and I also read the wonderful book by Kinneret Yifrach which helps a lot.

Do you have a content style guide in Walk Me? If so, what was the process of setting up the content style guide of Walk Me? 

We have guidelines which were composed by Udy Ravid our director of UX. Udy is the one who first brought UX writing into our notion after doing vast research work and defined the principles for UX writing in WalkMe.

I’ve read a brilliant article you’ve written about microcopy in video games. Tell me more about how you came up with that?

Well, my other life is video games!

I’ve been a gamer since my dad bought me my first computer when I was 6 years old and it was love at first sight. I truly believe that one of the reasons why I’m a product designer today is because in a way gaming helped me understand UX without knowing it.

Video games are products and gamers are users.

So as a person who does UX for a living and also loves playing video games, I enjoy researching the interface of every game I start playing and then I write down the things I conclude and learn. It happens to be that microcopy in gaming is something that I notice quite a lot, so I decided to further research it.

I noticed how a lot of games uses phrases and text that support the narrative and atmosphere while maintaining descriptive, clear and valuable microcopy and it taught me on how important it is to create that communication with your user which enhances their experience and connects them to the same product that they are using.

How learning from gaming experience can help product designers today?

Video games are meant to be an immersive experience, it’s supposed to draw the user in and keep her or him engaged. Needless to say, the experience must be clear, instructions, directions, which key or action to perform when, it should all be accessible and memorable.

So if we’ll look at it like that, a video game is a system which has its own defined rules, a system where the players are presented with a problem we want them to solve and we need to give them all the right tools for that purpose and always keep them engaged.

So what can you learn? 

• A quick and easy learning curve – My favourite game tutorials are the ones that teach you how to play as you go. Observing others and reading comments on a gamers facebook group I manage, I’ve come to realize that people remember how to do something best when they’re instructed how to and being “pushed” to do it. That’s in oppose to reading long texts or watching a video. Gamers are impatient users, they want the game to start, they want to start playing it, so anything that keeps pausing and delaying breaks the experience.
• Immersive narrative and the game universe – And this is somewhat where the microcopy gets involved. Games are pure escapism, they present us with a new reality which has laws, visual and textual language. Everything presented in the game should be in the context of that language. Same goes to other products, you want the microcopy, the design and the product itself to be aligned, this will assist in creating a strong link with the user.
•   Personalized user skills – In most video games the player can adjust the level she wants to play: easy, normal, hard, nightmare mode. While we can’t always let the user choose the overall difficulty levels for our system, we can still create a division between basic and advanced mode and choose where and when to prompt tips and guidance.
• Gamification – Rewards and achievements are what drives players to keep on playing and gives them a sense of accomplishment. Many non-gaming systems today use badges, leveling up and rewards in order to keep the users engaged and active. Even professional social media system like Linkedin, online courses like Code Academy uses these methods.

As Senior UX designer, what’s your superpower?

So this is going to sound crazy, but I think that my superpower is overcoming the imposter syndrome!

This is a tip I give to young UX designers at the beginning of their path. When I was just a junior I was scared of going to new areas of expertise which I wasn’t familiar with, the initial thought was “What if I can’t do it? What if I’ll fail?”. That’s when I took a turn and realized that fear shouldn’t be what holds me back but it should be what pushes me forward.

If you are scared of something you don’t let it cripple you, on the contrary, go to the places that scare you, do things you are not familiar with, prove yourself you are capable and it will give you the confidence you need and will make you a better professional.

Today, there aren’t many organizations that understand the true value of UX writers.

How would you show to stakeholders why words are also part of design?

Microcopy is a true party of content and design. Good text can increase engagement, reduce fears, and convert more users. 

From my experience, it’s hard to convince stakeholders or people in general about the value of good design and good UX writing unless they’re seeing it in action.

I suggest to show them the difference between bad microcopy and good microcopy and how their users react to both cases, either use analytics to prove engagement or actual usability testing.

Three useful tips for people that want to get into the field of UX writing?

•  Explore – That’s the first step for learning and finding inspiration. Start looking for different products, start exploring them to the depth and screenshot things that you like, things that you don’t like. Ask yourself if it gave you value and if so what kind of value? Was it helpful? Insightful or just entertaining?
• Practice – Start practicing your writing skill. Try rewriting the copy for different products and by different products I mean products with different personality. Good microcopy should also fit the product’s personality. 
• Network – Nothing helps more than meeting other people with experience. Go to meetups, start meeting other writers and join facebook groups. We have a great community after all and listening to other people’s stories or getting their opinion can be very helpful. I highly suggest joining Microcopy and UX writing on Facebook by Yuval Keshtcher. 🙂

Just for fun, give us your fave microcopy example?

Here is a product I’m in love with “Discord” it’s a communication platform for gamers and now also a digital games store. This microcopy is simply fantastic, shows you what a good UX writing + understanding your product and your target audience can do. The user here can both fully understand the right selection made for them and also enjoy a delightful text.

Reach out Nicole Winestock if you have any question about product design, gaming and anything in between.

• Medium
• Linkedin

The post The Deep Connection Between Microcopy, Product Design, and Gaming appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman worked together to develop the Prospect Theory. All this research gave rise to Behavioral Economics. They were two representative members of this movement. But it was Kahneman and Richard Thaler who got the Nobel Prize for economics being psychologists.

Today I will present to you a few ways for Behavioral Economics to benefit your UX/UI Writing.

How do humans think?

Our brain is busy 24/7 with making complex and simple decisions. For example: currently, you are making the decision to continue to read this article, right? BAM!

Before that, you have decided to click on this article. BAM!

Decision are made all day. So, we receive content all day too. And our brain processes this information activating one of the two decision-making platforms.

→ System of rewards.

This section of the brain is the part that is more receptive to seeing potential gains. We can name two variants: Chance of success and Amount of the benefit. It’s related with the System 1 of the “Thinking, Fast and Slow” book of Kahneman. Because these kind of decisions are made automatically, quickly, emotionally, stereotypically.  

→ System of aversion to loss.

Humans have a common behavior. We perceive much more the fear of loss than we do the pleasure of gain. Why? We act from emotion instead of reason at all times of our financial decisions. On the other hand, it’s related with the System 2 of the same book of Kahneman. Because these kind of decisions are calculated slowly and rationally.

This leads us to the EAST methodology, designed by the BIT (Behavioral Insight Team) to try to establish guidelines that regulate the execution of content adapted to the behavior of humans at the time of making decisions – specifically financial ones. It is based on four pillars to make the content more powerful: easy, attractive, social, timely.

10 Behavioral Economics strategic techniques UX Writers use every day.

As UX Writers, we should never stay in a purely technical work process. That is just a part of our work. Look beyond. Put your head in strategic processes where we can add value by identifying how our users think. The methodologies that I show next aren’t incompatible with each other. Help us to understand better our users and adapt our content based on that.  

1 — Profit growth system.

When we try to provide a positive value for the user, we usually tell them all that we have to offer at the beginning. Yet, this way of acting promotes an immediate behavior, that is, a shorter relationship of the user with us. Because once we have given that initial prize to the user, they will go away. And most likely forget us. Perhaps, show that benefit as something progressive can be a better practice to make the relationship with our users more lasting. Adding little by little to the reward that the user gets from us.

2 — Generation of patterns.

Humans are prepared to try to guess what is going to happen. The fact is that if I say: 1, 2, 3, 4… you’ll probably think that what comes next is 5 – quite logically. Or, if I were to say: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… surely you’ll think that the following is Friday (even more so with the desire we all share to reach Friday, right?). Patterns can help us to build relevant content that impacts users differently.

3 — Intuitive processes vs Intuition.

The basis of the user experience is to make processes much more intuitive. Nobody is going to deny that. But intuition is something different to the intuitive process. Intuition is the ability to know, understand or perceive something clearly and immediately. Without the intervention of reason. For example: if I give you four candies to be eaten every half hour, how many hours does it take you to eat the four? __________ Already? Are you sure? The answer is 1 hour and a half, because you eat the first candy right at the moment I give it to you. And the next one at 30 minutes. The intuition is emotional. In short, the processes for the user have to be intuitive. But our way of thinking conceptually doesn’t have to take too much intuition. The intuitive processes are the technical part and the intuition the conceptual part.

4 — NEST approach.

This approach comes from the system of pension plans in the United Kingdom. They discovered something that everyone knows: humans are lazy. And this affects our behavior. So, they thought that the pension plans couldn’t continue to be something passive. Because they couldn’t wait for people to join the pension plan of their own accord. So, they did it in reverse. The companies would dedicate a part of the payroll of each worker to a pension plan for that worker. And the reasoning is simple. Since we are lazy, if we have to do it ourselves, we do not do it. And if we have to take it away (as in the United Kingdom) we will not take it off either.

5 — Mirror neurons.

One way of motivating many users to do something is to tell them how many other users have already done it. And if we have the option of knowing the typology of these users, even better. For example: users who live in their region, who are the same age as them, or who have bought in the same establishment as them, etc.

6 — The other side of the coin.

When we are facing a project, we take more time than usual to analyze the needs that it requires. For example, there are two ways we can communicate a monthly expense report via email:

• Immediate. We tell the user what has been spent in that month and that’s it. It will always be a negative amount. So imagine something like this: Your spending for the month of August was €786.54.
• Thought and rethought. We can tell the user what he has added (if it is the case) in positive to his total savings. We know the payroll you have because we are giving you an expense report, which means that we have your financial information. And if we know the payroll, we know if the expense report is greater or less than your income. So we could say something like: You have added €312 more to your account in August.

In short, they are two ways of saying the same thing. But one’s cooler than the other, no?

7 — Rewards translation.

Perception is a very sudden behavior of humans. Sometimes it happens that we read something which we need to read again to understand the value it gives us. Yet, the response of our users will be better if we compare that value with another benefit for them.

8 — Hick’s law.

This law is important for UX Writers because it specifies a very clear question. The decision-making time of a user, increases or decreases depending on the options they have to choose from. If there are many options, it will take longer to make the decision. If there are fewer options, it will take less time to make the decision. We have to learn to synthesize more and to link content.

Also, a very important consequence is the opportunity cost or a feeling of regret. Choosing a choice of many options is frustrating for the user because they don’t know if the unchosen options are better. “Might they have been better than the one I’ve chosen?”, “Have I made a mistake?” etc.

9 — Effect of Serial Position.

This has to do with series of words or contents. Users can better remember the words at the beginning or end of a list. Because these words are collected in the episodic memory in the short and long term.

→ Primacy effect (first elements of the list). We remember more easily the first elements of the list. The opportunity to review them increases the probability that they will be transferred to long-term memory.

→ Element of the medium (middle elements of the list). The elements of the middle part of the list are the most difficult to remember. They were presented too long ago to be remembered by our short-term memory. And since there are many elements before and after them, it will be difficult for them to be in the long-term memory.

→ Recent effect (last list elements). We remember more easy the elements near the end of the list because they still remain in the short-term memory.

10 — Measurements.

And finally, this technical trick may seem very obvious, but it isn’t always put into practice. When we write emails and we need an email subject, try to test it before sending it. Why? to check if it is completely in mobile format — that is, if our message is not cut in half. This trick is very simple which also serves for headlines, notifications, buttons, etc.

And with this simple exercise we will discover frictions that can be improved.

In any case, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the way to engage a user is to create value. And how do you create value with your content? These three guidelines can be very useful:

1. Solve problems of users.
2. Satisfy needs of users.
3. Discover important tasks before it is a problem or a need for the users.

I hope I have helped you with these tips on how to adapt Behavioral Economics to UX Writing in everyday day-to-day practices. Now, we have to continue making our users want to read, reread and be part of what we have written for them.

Rock on friends!

About The Autor

My name is Alberto. I have a background in a creative agency, working for important brands in sectors like financial, automotive, fast food… among others. Currently, I’m an UX/UI Writer — Architext at Fintonic. The most important fintech in Spain. We help all private users to have better control of their finances, and to boost their money.

The post 10 tricks of Behavioral Economics to improve UX Writing. appeared first on UX WRITING HUB.

My name is Roxy I have a background in theater, publishing, and poetry—three things that inform my work today as a UX Writing manager at Dropbox. Dropbox began as the place to go for reliable, secure, and flexible file storage, but we’ve been steadily evolving. In addition to storage, we’re now building tools to help people create and collaborate on content across web, desktop, and mobile.

In one single word what does microcopy mean to you?

Macro. The words we write may be tiny at times, but have a big impact and convey a lot. And sometimes the less characters you have to work with, the longer it takes to craft just the right copy.

How did you get into UX writing?

I was a book and magazine editor for many years before I became a UX writer. Many of the editorial skills I’d developed mapped well to UX writing—a field that didn’t exist when I got into publishing. A good editor has the ability to consider larger narrative as they’re refining the words that take someone from the beginning to the end. In many ways a novel is the quintessential end-to-end experience. I think of that big-picture view as the content strategy part of my job; crafting microcopy taps into my experience line editing and proofreading. Same skills, different products. I also have an MFA in poetry, which was a great foundation for UX writing too, since every word in a poem has to earn its place, just like the words in UI.

Where do you find inspiration for the projects you are working on?

Conversations mostly. Listening to the way people talk about the things they do in Dropbox always holds clues to the dialogue the product should engage in with users. We hear from users explicitly during testing, but also casually in conversations with my coworkers as we test out features. Whenever I start a project I also do an audit of similar features in other products to see what inspiration can be gleaned. That said, sometimes it can also serve as inspiration for how we might want to change things up. That’s one of the exciting things about UX writing—while there are plenty of good practices out there, that doesn’t preclude you from trying something new.

Tell me about a day in your life as a UX writer?

When I first joined Dropbox I was embedded with the Paper team. Because I was the only writer on that product, my day-to-day writing was very wide ranging. I wrote for onboarding flows, email notifications, along with core UI for new features. That scope of work is something I love—the variety keeps it interesting. I also love working on systems and strategic initiatives, something I get to do a bit more now as a UX Writing manager. So I might be streamlining our process for submitting copy updates to engineers or helping develop design team values.

What is your method for finding your Dropbox brand’s voice?

We partner very closely with our Brand team. Dropbox has long been recognized for the helpful tone of its interface, peppered with moments of delight. It was the utilitarian nature of the product that made it a household name, and the voice supported that. But when Dropbox underwent a rebrand last year, that impacted the UX writing too. We went from straightforward, helpful, and human to expressive, joyful, and supportive. You can see these new values in the revamped illustrations, and our UX writing aims to stay in lockstep.

As a writer in a product team, what is your super power?

UX writers are often bridge builders in companies because we frequently straddle multiple teams. While it means we have a lot of responsibility, it also means we have a unique, valuable perspective to offer our teams. Because we work closely in a small UX writing team, we get to see things from across Dropbox. We learn from each other and leverage what’s working. I love spotting connections between the projects I’m on and finding opportunities to solidify patterns. Ultimately that’s the stuff that helps scale design work across an org.

Do you think that UX writing would allow more writers to enter the tech industry? How?

Absolutely. It’s a fantastic time to be a UX writer. Companies know words can have a huge impact—both on the happiness of customers and on their bottom line. Changing the copy on a button can make the difference of whether someone clicks or not, which can translate into millions of dollars. Because UX writing is an emergent field, there aren’t enough people with UX writing experience to fill the current need, so UX writers have all sorts of backgrounds. Yes, you need to have writing chops—but in my opinion gifted writers don’t always make the best UX writers. Sometimes it’s more about editing. Being concise and accurate is fundamental to good UX writing, where flow is found in the blank space between clicks. When UX writers do amazing work, often it’s invisible because it simply (in more ways than one) allowed the user to do what they wanted to do.

3 useful tips for people that want to get into the field of UX writing?

1. Start reading. Get a copy of Microcopy: The Complete Guide by Kinneret Yifrah to get a great overview of the field. Then start surfing the web. My UX writing colleagues John Saito, Andrea Drugay, and Jennie Tan have written blog posts that have all sorts of useful info in them.Think like a designer. UX writers are
2. Think like a designer. UX writers are designers. We don’t just come up with the words that go in a modal, for example. We help decide when that modal shows up and whether that modal is even the right UX element to use. Thinking like a designer also means familiarizing yourself with the tools of the trade, like Sketch. Often when I’m struggling to come up with the right UX copy for a design, it’s an indication that something is funky with the product design. In order to make recommendations to your design partner, you need to have a shared vocabulary.
3. Pay attention to UX writing everywhere. Look at the apps you use with a critical eye on the UX writing. What’s working and what’s not? Create a folder and collect those ideas along with screenshots. If you want to learn more about any of the UX content you discover, don’t be shy and reach out to someone at that company. Chances are that if the copy is good, they probably have an appetite for UX writing even if they don’t have a team yet. You could be the first!

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