There is nothing perfect in this world, and your UX writing is not an exception. It happens that your employer is not satisfied with the results of your work and asks you to make some changes.
However, this is not a reason to quit your job. Vice versa, it’s a stimulus to fix the mistakes and improve your writing style. If you want to develop a career as UX writer, check these 10 tips to start working toward your goal right now.
Deliver unique content
UX writing must be 100% unique, informative and interesting. It seems to be an obvious, but writers tend to forget this simple truth. Sometimes it is pretty difficult to come up with the fresh creative ideas, and authors start rewriting their previous works.
It also happens when writers are overloaded with the work and are not able to make every article brilliant. When times get tough, it’s time to admit that you need help and get professional assistance from writing services:
Upwork. This is a huge freelance platform, where you can find a helper for your specific objectives. You can review profiles of hundreds of writers, choose the best one and start direct collaboration.
EssaySupply. This service employs over a hundred professional writers, who have vast knowledge in various fields: from IT to medicine. There is no room for a doubt that these experts will be able to deliver a great article on any of your topics.
Online Writers Rating. It’s pretty difficult to find a talented UX writer, who can meet your high expectations. This website offers a rating of the best writers, so you can use it to make a right choice.
Think like a user
The rules of the game are simple: if you want to satisfy user’s expectations, try to think like a user and predict his actions. All UX writers play roles of users in their personal lives: they use various sites and apps many times per day. So, this mission is definitely possible.
However, the greatest trick about the users is that there is a difference between what they want and what they use. Michael Mendez, copywriter for Canada Writers Company, states: “Success of the project greatly relies on clear understanding of the target audience behavior. Thus, there is nothing left to do but step into user’s shoes.”
Proofread twice
Grammatical errors and spelling mistakes are the greatest enemies of UX writers. Microcopies are usually very concise, so an incorrectly written word has no chances to go unnoticed. It is true that mistakes and typos can kill your writing credibility in a second.
For this reason, you should proofread your texts at least twice. Edit your writing as soon as you finished it, and then repeat your actions in an hour or two.
If you find it difficult to see your own mistakes, you can ask someone to help you. For example, you can collaborate with your co-workers or utilize online services:
Grammarly. This is one of the most popular tools, which allows text checking for any possible mistakes: from proper subject-verb agreement to correct article usage.
Get Good Grade. This is a reliable service, which work with texts of any difficulty levels. Professional proofreaders check papers precisely, so you can be sure that your microcopies are 100% error-free.
Flash Essay. This service is useful, when there is a need in urgent proofreading and editing assistance. The speed of the work delivery is really high, so you can utilize it even when deadlines are extremely tight.
Run an A/B testing
If you want to improve your microcopy, you should check how it works in practice. You should create two version of the text and demonstrate it to two randomly chosen user’s groups. A/B testing is a simple, yet the most effective way to define which of your UX writings brings a higher conversion.
The results of the testing are always accurate and clear: one of two versions always works better, so you should stick to it. Melanie Angeles, UX designer for CV Writing Company, says: “Don’t waste your time on guessing games and attempts to figure out which content to publish. Run an A/B testing to find out the real up-to-date preferences of users.”
Offer a value
Visitors browse websites in order to find the concrete answers. Thus, the most important task of UX writer is to create valuable content, which corresponds to the queries.
Before asking to sign up or to complete another action – offer a value. In practice, this is one the most effective ways of conversion rate optimization.
For example, UXPin invites users to start a free trial of the product design platform while it also offers to download a free ebook. This useful book is a valuable gift, which encourage users to explore the website deeper and start a trial.
Add emotions
Every word and every sentence should be infused with emotions, which have a strong connection with the brand. Users should fall in love not only with the app or website, but also with the company’s image. Obviously, iPhone users could use any cheap smartphone to make a call and browse Instagram, but they bought Apple because of the high brand loyalty.
Camilla Springfield, PR manager for Top Writers Review, says: “People pay money not for the products, but for the positive feelings connected with ownership of these products. For this reason, UX writer should keep in mind that textual content should support a major concept of the brand.”
Customize visual elements
UX writers are not responsible for the website design, but they have a right add visually appealing elements. It is important to choose colors, sizes and types of the fonts, which grab users’ attention.
Look at the example of Amazon’s 404 page: UX writer used a capslocked word, combined 2 different fonts and utilized 5 font sizes. As a result, error webpage looks attractive. It’s more likely that Amazon visitors will click “home page” link, than leave a site.
Improve technical skills
You should not be a professional UX designer or developer, but you should know the basis of programming. It will help you to understand the requirements and preferences of other team members. Consequently, you will be able to improve results of your work.
If you want to become an expert in your field, don’t hesitate to deepen your knowledge in all related areas including technical writing, marketing, branding, content management and data analytics. Unique combination of various skills will help you to become an outstanding UX writer.
Evaluate feedback
Most of UX writers find it difficult to deal with the negative feedback. However, it is crucially important to accept constructive criticism and learn from your mistakes. Don’t step on the same rake twice, listen to the users’ opinion and improve the usability of a website you are working on.
Following example demonstrates that some comments from users are extremely valuable. One of Upwork freelancers offered to add “Bluemix” to the job search tags – UX team discussed this idea and decided to incorporate “IBM Bluemix” tag to the searching base. As a result, this little change helped hundreds of freelancers to find and get clients much faster.
Read books
There is no limit to perfection, and you can work on your writing skills improvement every day. You should read not only blog posts and magazine articles, but also useful books about copywriting, content strategies and web design. It is an effective way to acquire fresh knowledge and get inspiration.
First two books, which every UX writer should read, are “Letting go of the words” by Janice Redish and “On writing well” by William Zinsser. They help to develop original writing style and get acquainted with the website design and development best practices.
In Conclusion
Demand for UX writers is growing and this trend will continue in the future. If you want to build a great career in this field, it’s time to start working on your writing skills improvement.
This industry is fast changing, so keep up to date and be ready to adjust. Open your mind, be creative, never stop learning – and you will achieve success.
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