A few weeks ago, I was part of a discussion among the content designers and UX writers. They were about to conclude that the primary task of a UX Writer is to enable actions and interactions on the interface. Being a product content strategist and having worked as a UX and product manager as an independent consultant, I felt like sharing my thoughts on how UX writing is much more than writing the words to enable an action.
For example, does Sign up for free mean just inviting the users to sign up for a free trial account? Does Add to saved items mean whether the users can add it to the saved items or they should add it to the saved items? If they should—is it because it is the right time, or their workflow needs it, or their past interactions suggest it, or their manager has defined this rule? How do you make it clear to the users?
The practice and the definitions of UX writing has been the subject of discussions in many communities, conferences, and meetups.
Sometimes, UX writing is building trust
Imagine a mental health app where a user signs up with all sorts of questions, apprehensions, and uncertainly. UX writers give them assurance that their information is safe and is used by the right person, in context of its purpose.
Sometimes, UX writing is sales enablement
Imagine when a B2B landing page triggers a conversion to a free trial. The CTA is UX writing. When the customer upgrades to a paid plan because of their experience in the product, this is essentially sales enablement.
UX writing is the lifeblood of customer journey
Imagine you highlight key milestones in the customer journey and their success shows up in the product metrics. UX writing takes this customer journey forward.
UX writing is product content strategy in action
No amount of product content design strategy can translate to an effective and result-oriented product success for the org if UX writing does not enable the right interactions on the interface. (Updated on 17 March: See What is product content strategy, and how it helps a product)
UX writing
In a post on the present, past, and future of UX writing and content design, Kristina Halvorson says—”UX writing should not exist without a larger content strategy framework.” The examples that I have shared about the role of UX writing in building trust, enabling sales, and in taking the customer journey forward, define the intersection of UX writing and product content strategy.
I am running an advanced course on product content strategy, content design, and UX writing, tweet to me if you have any questions.
