Strategic Writing for UX

1. Align UX content with organizational and user goals

The strategic purpose of UX content is to meet two sets of goals: the goals of the organization responsible for the experience, and the goals of the people using the experience.

Virtuous cycle. UX content plays a crucial role in creating a virtuous cycle between the organization and users. This cycle involves attracting users, converting them, onboarding them, engaging them, and transforming them into fans who attract more users. By understanding both organizational and user goals, UX writers can craft content that:

• Addresses user needs and pain points
• Supports business objectives like engagement, conversion, and retention
• Guides users through the experience efficiently
• Builds trust and credibility for the brand

To achieve this alignment, UX writers must collaborate closely with various stakeholders, including product managers, designers, researchers, and marketers, to gain a comprehensive understanding of both user and business needs.

2. Develop a consistent voice to build brand recognition

Voice is the set of characteristics that allows content to create that feeling.

Voice chart. Creating a consistent voice across all UX content is essential for brand recognition and user trust. Develop a voice chart that defines:

• Product principles
• Concepts to emphasize
• Vocabulary guidelines
• Verbosity preferences
• Grammar rules
• Punctuation and capitalization standards

The voice chart serves as a decision-making tool for UX writers and helps align content across different teams and touchpoints. It ensures that users have a cohesive experience throughout their journey, from marketing materials to in-app content and support documentation.

Benefits of a consistent voice:

• Strengthens brand identity
• Increases user familiarity and comfort
• Facilitates faster decision-making in content creation
• Improves cross-team collaboration

3. Use conversation design for intuitive user experiences

Conversation is somehow in our genetic makeup. Humans take turns speaking and responding in ways that cross languages, continents, and cultures.

Role-playing exercise. Implement a conversation design approach to create more intuitive and natural user experiences. This method involves:

1. Identifying user goals and organizational objectives
2. Role-playing conversations between the user and the experience
3. Recording and refining the conversation flow
4. Transforming the conversation into UI elements and content

Benefits of conversation design:

• Creates more natural and intuitive interactions
• Uncovers edge cases and potential user frustrations
• Helps identify key terminology and introduce it at the right moments
• Facilitates collaboration between UX writers, designers, and product managers

By starting with conversation, teams can create experiences that feel more human and responsive to user needs, leading to higher engagement and satisfaction.

4. Apply UX text patterns to streamline content creation

The goal of this set of UX text patterns is to establish an easy, recognizable starting place to write consistently high-quality text.

Common patterns. Utilize established UX text patterns to create consistent, high-quality content efficiently. Key patterns include:

• Titles: Provide context and clarity
• Buttons: Enable user actions
• Descriptions: Offer additional information
• Empty states: Set expectations when content is missing
• Labels: Minimize effort to understand UI elements
• Controls: Inform users of customization options
• Text input fields: Guide accurate information entry
• Transitional text: Confirm ongoing actions
• Confirmation messages: Reassure users of completed actions
• Notifications: Inform or remind users to engage
• Errors: Help users recover and move forward

By leveraging these patterns, UX writers can:

• Save time in content creation
• Maintain consistency across the experience
• Improve usability through familiar conventions
• Focus creative energy on unique challenges and edge cases

5. Edit UX content to be purposeful, concise, and clear

Editing is the process of iterating the text to make sure that it meets its purpose, it's concise, it's conversational, and it's clear to the person using the experience.

Four-phase editing. Implement a structured editing process to refine UX content:

1. Purposeful: Ensure content meets user and organizational goals
2. Concise: Reduce text to essential information
3. Conversational: Make language natural and engaging
4. Clear: Eliminate ambiguity and improve understanding

Editing tips:

• Edit in context of the design
• Consider screen size and reading format
• Aim for 40 characters wide and 3 lines or fewer
• Read content aloud to test conversational tone
• Use simple, common words for clarity
• Avoid idioms or metaphors that may not translate well

By following this process, UX writers can create content that is more effective, user-friendly, and aligned with both user and business needs.

6. Measure UX content effectiveness through multiple methods

By measuring the improvement UX writing makes in the outcomes we measure, we can demonstrate the value of investing in UX writing.

Multi-faceted approach. Implement a comprehensive measurement strategy to evaluate and improve UX content effectiveness:

1. Direct measurement:

   • A/B testing
   • Engagement metrics (e.g., Daily Active Users)
   • Completion rates
   • Retention rates
   • Referral rates
   • Cost reduction

2. UX research:

   • Analysis of reviews, questions, and comments
   • User interviews
   • Usability testing
   • Surveys

3. Heuristic analysis:

   • UX content scorecard (assessing usability and voice)
   • Accessibility evaluation
   • Clarity and concision checks

By combining these methods, UX writers can:

• Quantify the impact of content improvements
• Identify areas for optimization
• Justify investment in UX content
• Continuously refine the user experience

7. Implement tools and processes for efficient UX writing

The UX writer must be willing to use the tools they have to bring empathy and analysis to each interaction a person will have with the words in an experience.

Toolchain optimization. Establish a set of tools and processes to streamline UX writing workflows:

1. Drafting:

   • Use design tools (e.g., Sketch, Figma) to write in context
   • Edit screenshots for quick iterations

2. Review:

   • Create content review documents
   • Use collaborative tools for stakeholder feedback

3. Publishing:

   • Integrate with engineering workflows
   • Participate in code reviews

4. Work tracking:

   • Implement a task management system
   • Prioritize and organize UX content work

Benefits of a well-defined toolchain:

• Improves collaboration with designers and engineers
• Ensures content is reviewed in context
• Facilitates version control and iteration
• Provides visibility into UX content workload and impact

8. Execute a 30/60/90-day plan to establish UX content strategy

To do great work, you need to think systematically about the deep connective tissue of the content: the core terminology and the voice that permeates the conversations the experience has with the people who use it.

Phased approach. Implement a structured 30/60/90-day plan to establish a strong UX content strategy:

Phase 1 (0-30 days): What and Who

• Learn about the experience, users, and team
• Conduct stakeholder interviews
• Create initial content strategy document
• Begin tactical writing tasks

Phase 2 (30-60 days): Fires and Foundations

• Address urgent content needs
• Establish content tracking system
• Implement minimum viable process
• Measure baseline content effectiveness
• Develop voice chart and terminology list

Phase 3 (60-90 days): Rapid Growth

• Present comprehensive content strategy
• Obtain stakeholder buy-in and sign-off
• Scale content creation and improvement efforts

By following this phased approach, UX writers can:

• Quickly integrate with the team and understand the product
• Establish credibility through early wins
• Build a solid foundation for long-term content strategy
• Demonstrate the value of UX content to stakeholders

Last updated: September 9, 2024