2. How to write a great UX copy<\/a> 3. Final thoughts<\/a><\/p>\n Do you remember your first UX writing project? Perhaps, the first thing you remembered was the feeling of being overwhelmed. Studying user research results, doing testing, talking to the product team, writing a long copy, making iterations, getting customer feedback – the list goes on and on. For me, a copywriter who decided to try UX writing, \u201coverwhelming\u201d was the proper word to describe what I felt.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea where to start.\u201d <\/span><\/i>This was my first thought when I started my first serious UX copywriting project. An extensive experience with writing blog posts didn\u2019t prepare me for what was coming: <\/span>Writing a copy for a SaaS app for tracking moving assets at manufacturing facilities.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n How\u2019s that for a challenge? Five years ago, there weren\u2019t a lot of UX writers to hire. So, the company I worked for decided to \u201cconvert\u201d a blog copywriter – that\u2019s me – to a UX writer. After studying for a bit, I got into a project that taught me most I know about this microcopy.<\/span><\/p>\n Below, I\u2019ll share six essential UX writing rules. Follow them, and you\u2019ll know how to guide users within a product.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis feature helps to…\u201d <\/span><\/i>Let me stop you right there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll be brutally honest with you: <\/span>no one cares about features.<\/span><\/i> Let me give you an example from the SaaS app I worked on. Which one of these feature description bits sounds more user-oriented?<\/span><\/p>\n A bit too industry-specific, I know, but bear with me. The first one describes what the feature does, so it\u2019s more product-oriented. The second one talks about what the user can do. So, it\u2019s more user-oriented. The second option creates the feeling of being in charge by considering the feature from the user\u2019s perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n Takeaway<\/b>: Make microcopy must help the user understand the value of the product. This is done by describing real benefits, not features.<\/span><\/p>\n Do you know how UX designers do<\/span> usability testing<\/span><\/a>? It\u2019s a fast and effective way to learn about the users\u2019 needs. As a UX writer, you can do something similar. A user interview can be immensely helpful in writing a great microcopy. Take it from my experience. I made a horrible mistake by not reaching out to target users. I simply wrote a copy based on user testing and online research. The result? A few serious rounds of copy iterations right before product launch. Ouch.<\/span><\/p>\n Then, one day, we made a field trip to a huge manufacturing facility. There, a team of managers was using our app to track the movement of forklifts – those industrial vehicles used for material lifting and moving. I sat down with one manager – the target user – to talk about the app and\u2026 In just 30 minutes, he gave a bunch of amazing insights. <\/span>Here are some of them.<\/span><\/p>\n He told me:<\/span><\/p>\n Those insights were amazing. Basically, he told me how to write the copy! Here\u2019s an example:<\/span> The manager said the name made little sense to him. Warehouse workers thought that \u201cEmployee Tracking\u201d was the big-brother kind of system for checking how much time they worked. According to the manager, we should\u2019ve named it \u201c<\/span>Real-Time Employee Location<\/span><\/i>.\u201d Employee tracking turned out not to be the primary goal of the feature. Instead of tracking, they used it to find the closest available workers to the place where help was needed. Employee tracking, according to the manager, would only be used to make sure the workers stayed away from potentially hazardous zones.<\/span><\/p>\n Amazing. <\/span>I\u2019d never have learned this by doing internet research<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n Takeaway<\/b>: get in touch with your users before writing microcopy. Better<\/span> recruit test users<\/span><\/a> from the intended audience and interview them. You won\u2019t believe how many great microcopy ideas you\u2019ll get.<\/span><\/p>\n The meeting with the production manager had one more great insight for me. Within those 30 minutes, I\u2019ve heard a bunch of professional terms they used to describe the product and features.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, this one:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve used tracking tags to monitor the movement of WIP and see where bottlenecks occurred, and waiting waste was created.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n There are two professional terms here:<\/span><\/p>\n Says nothing to an average person, right? But for the user, it was important.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to make sense of those.<\/span><\/p>\n WIP stands for Work-in-Progress. It\u2019s a term to refer to materials in the production stage. A huge deal for manufacturing managers, and here\u2019s why.<\/span><\/p>\n In simple language: the more WIP, the lower revenues. Next, waiting waste. It\u2019s production equipment that\u2019s sitting inactive. A Google search helps to understand why it\u2019s important for our target user. Accordingly, it increases spending, which the user is trying to avoid.<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Author\u2019s screenshot<\/span><\/p>\n This knowledge is gold for UX writers like you and me. To write a microcopy that makes sense to the manufacturing manager, we must use these words and terms. This way, we make the digital product \u201cspeak\u201d their language.<\/span><\/p>\n Takeaway:<\/b> The example of a manufacturing app is a bit extreme. But the moral is the same – find out what language your users prefer will go a long way to making a great UX copy. Even if it means individual words and terms.<\/span><\/p>\n Think of UX copy as your side of a conversation with the user. Here, language and tone can make a lot of difference in how they perceive your product and business.<\/span><\/p>\n Besides, tone and style are important because they:<\/span><\/p>\n So, how to get the tone and style right?<\/span><\/p>\n The appropriate tone and style of UX writing get the point across quickly and effectively <\/span>according to the context<\/b>. There\u2019s no way you can keep the same tone on every page or button because the context is different everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n In different places throughout the digital product, you can be:<\/span><\/p>\n The choice depends on <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> context and the emotional state of the user<\/span><\/i>. If your app, for example, is helping a user to understand something in a hurry, you need to be clear and instructive. The welcome screen in an app is a good example. Your users don\u2019t need to spend a lot of time here, so the message must be short and sweet.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: Author\u2019s screenshot<\/span><\/p>\n The message, in this case, also helps the user. If anyone is wondering, \u201cWhy do I need to sign up?\u201d, the app gives a clear answer. Next, the UX copy must get clear and \u201cserious\u201d on pages like a privacy policy, knowledge base, or product usage instructions.<\/span><\/p>\n Take a look at this copy at Slack Help Center. It\u2019s super concise, on-point, and instructive. To help people learn how to use the app, the writers did an amazing job at keeping an instructive yet friendly tone.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: Author\u2019s screenshot<\/p>\n Note how the writer addresses the reader by \u201cyou\u201d – it\u2019s a great practice to create a feeling of a \u201cconversation\u201d with the user. <\/span>In these cases, being too authoritative or using humour can make users feel annoyed, cautious, and sceptical.<\/span><\/p>\n Takeaway<\/b>: the best choice of language tone and style for UX copy depends on the context. Keep in mind that the overarching theme of clarity and user-centeredness always stays true.<\/span><\/p>\n The best microcopy is concise. You won\u2019t have enough space to write poems – plus, no one wants to read them – so brevity is a must. <\/span>Clutter is a major no-no in website design<\/span><\/a>, both in terms of design and UX copy.<\/span><\/p>\n To keep your UX copy short:<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s now see a microcopy example that follows these rules. Here\u2019s a section from Dropbox’s website. It\u2019s a good example of a concise UX copy that uses specific verbs (\u201cstore,\u201d \u201caccess,\u201d \u201cedit,\u201d etc.), headings, subheadings, present tense, and summarises the benefits pretty well.<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Author\u2019s screenshot<\/span><\/p>\n
\n2.1 Forget the product – sell the benefits<\/a>
\n2.2 Reach out to target users<\/a>
\n2.3 Speak the user’s language<\/a>
\n2.4 Use appropriate language, tone and style<\/a>
\n2.5 Keep it as short as possible<\/a>
\n2.6 Make it empathic<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>1. The struggle of a new UX writer<\/h2>\n
<\/a>2. How to write a great UX copy<\/h2>\n
<\/a>2.1 Forget the product – sell the benefits<\/h3>\n
\n<\/span>Or the entire product, for that matter. All the users care about, is themselves. This means the benefits of your digital product are far more important to them than its features. So, d<\/span>on\u2019t talk about how innovative and great your product is. Instead, talk about the real benefits it gives and the problems it solves. This is the only way to grab the attention of users and help them understand how to use the product.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/b>2.2 Reach out to target users<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/span>I chose the name \u201c<\/span>Real-Time Employee Tracking<\/span><\/i>\u201d for a feature that identified worker location and movement in the facility. Sounds good, right? Not exactly.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>2.3 Speak the user’s language<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture-1-480x236.png\")
Source: Author\u2019s screenshot<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture-2-480x292.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>2.4 Use appropriate language, tone and style<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture-3.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture-4-480x229.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>2.5 Keep it as short as possible<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture-5-480x219.png\")
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture-6-480x159.png\")
<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture-7-480x387.png\")
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