Who is UX Writer?

Contents

1. The Work of a UX Writer
2. UX Writer ≠ Marketer
3. UX Writer’s Role & Required Competence
4. How to be a UX Writer
5. UX writer who Influences the Overall UX
   
   

If you are interested in the UX Design trend, then you have heard about UX Writing. For some time, writing has been hailed as the unicorn technology of design. However, UX writing is no longer an incidental factor. UX writing has become a professional task itself, and UX writers are recognized as indispensable member of the design team.

Design teams of major companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are already affiliated with UX writers. More companies are looking to adopt UX writers. But at this point, it is important to understand exactly the role of the UX writer and the value we get when UX writers participate in the design process.

In this article, we will take a look at everything from the role of the UX writer to the capabilities and potentials required. Additionally, we will look through the value of hiring a UX writer and what to consider when hiring. Now, let’s take a look at the UX writer who burst onto the scene.

1. The work of a UX writer

The UX writer is basically responsible for all the text users see when they navigate through the product. It helps users reach the desired results by guiding them through text on websites, mobile apps, and software.

For instance, you must have seen a congratulatory message on the health app when you walked over 10,000 steps. That’s the work of the UX writer. How about the error message that pops when you enter the wrong password in the mobile banking app? A UX writer also wrote it. All texts, from the smallest button at the bottom to the error message on the center button, affect the user experience(UX). UX writer is responsible for creating a copy that is concise and persuasive but also captures the atmosphere of each brand.

2. UX Writer ≠ Marketer

You must distinguish between UX writers and marketers. Marketers are focused on attracting new users and encouraging participation, and they are engaged after product design, ultimately aiming to switch users. On the other hand, the UX writer is involved from the start of the design and makes every effort to ensure that the user experience becomes smooth. 

In other words, marketers create content to promote products on various channels. For example, a copy of “Get 10% off right now!” drives a customer’s desire to buy. UX writers, on the other hand, help customers gain easier access to the product such as the ‘buy’ button.

3. UX Writer’s Role & Required Competence

In Google's recruitment announcement, it describes the role of UX writers: ‘The User Experience writer helps users shape the product experience by creating text that is useful. It presents a vision for content and delivers consistent information across multiple platforms. Therefore, Google’s UX writer gets to work on creating content that simplifies and effectively demonstrates the overall user experience.

Meanwhile, Nordstorm, a U.S. specialist retailer says: ‘Nordstrom’s senior UX writer writes simple and clear messages to help support and define large content strategies. You work with designers, researchers, writers, and other key business stakeholders to create and test user-centered solutions for mobile, desktop, and online while maintaining Nordstrom’s tone and manner. 

As such, the UX writer’s role is not limited to writing. To create good microcopies, you need to understand the entire product design and development process, and the contributions of good copies.

Sometimes, UX writers may conduct user research to gain user empathy. Who do you write for? What kind of tone and manner would be appropriate? Like these, UX writers utilize investigation to develop a UX editing strategy to deliver consistent copies across all products and interfaces. 

Regular analysis and status of existing phrases should also be checked. Does the current product phrase kindly guide the user? Is there anything that needs to be revised or supplemented sequentially? Of course, product metrics such as daily sessions, page time, and target achievement rates should also be checked. 

Product layouts and phrases should be harmonized by working with UX & UI designers, researchers, and information designers. Then, a UX writer will be able to create a suitable copy that melts the brand’s color at every touch point you go through.

4. How to be a UX Writer

The average annual salary of a UX writer in the U.S. is about $70,000 and there are more than 3,000 job openings for new UX writers. This shows that companies are prioritizing copywriting within the UX process. Therefore, now is the time to make good use of your writing skills and work in a promising field.

So what does it take to become a UX writer? 

Because UX writer is a relatively new position, one cannot exactly list the competencies required to become a UX writer. Of course, good UX writing requires a high understanding of UX design and outstanding copywriting skills combined with it. But, you should also have a portfolio to prove that you can do good copywriting.

UX writing requires proficient communication and teamwork skills due to frequent collaboration. It also requires a keen eye for research and analysis, problem-solving skills and understanding of branding and general business objectives.

5. UX writer Influences the Overall UX

In designing the best user experience, it is a wrong idea to work on copywriting at the end. The popularity of UX writers shows that more brands are not only trying to adjust their user experience but also leaving those tasks to pure experts. 

Ultimately, copying strongly influences the user experience. It doesn’t matter how cool the user interface is. If the user interface is full of complex grammatical errors, you will not be able to reach the users.

Accordingly, we can raise a question. Why do we hire UX writers? This is because when the UX writer participates in the whole process from the beginning, the copy naturally becomes an integral part of the process. The UX writer is aware of the importance of writing and is responsible for providing a consistent voice across all user contacts.    

The longer the purchase journey, the easier and more comfortable it is for the customer. That’s why UX writing should not be overlooked in B2B marketing, which has a long buying journey. 

Unlike typical writing, UX writing aims to optimize the customer experience using appropriate copies based on customer profile, persona, purchase journey, etc. So it is not just a catchy advertising copy for better buying conversion rates. It has become an essential factor of ever-increasing competition among brands to focus on providing a great customer experience. In the end, revealing the value of the UX writing brand naturally.