What the Heck is UX Writing and How to Get Into It
There is a new hot digital job in town apparently and it is called “UX Writer”. If it sounds familiar, that’s because you might confuse it with a Copywriter. These are 2 completely different things.
The copywriters produce the content for the marketing materials for the potential buyers, whilst the UX writer is the person who puts down the content IN the product.
So what is the definition of UX Writing?
The UX writers help create a great customer experience through
the written words embedded in the digital products, either web apps or mobile phone apps.
A strong differentiator between this job and a classic copywriter is that the latter is done AFTER the design phase. UX content creators are therefore part of the design team and work together with them to create a seamless experience for the user of that product.
The person doing this UX role should know how to write concise, precise and maintain the brand voice. For example, the UX writer should create the copy for error messages, menus, notifications and so on without being too intrusive. Also, all messaging should be customer centric.
It seems there is a really strong trend within the tech companies to employ dedicated UX writers for their products. Just to give a few examples, billion dollar companies like Spotify, Google, Amazon, Nordstrom already do this.
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Booking.com, for example, has a UX writer for every 5 or 6 designers. In comparison, Oracle doesn’t consider these roles essential, hence the ratio is closer to 100:1—and their product suffers for it.
In some companies though, this position is the same with a copywriter so that person would do both jobs.
Looking at the search trends around this field, we can clearly see this topic has taken off in the last 2 years with 4 times more searches year over year according to explodingtopics.com
Google trends also confirms this new role has taken off in the digital industry since 2017 onwards.
Common tasks for UX WritersÂ
Ok so what exactly does a UX writer do? Â
You will find yourself in this role creating the text that users see as they are navigating their way through apps, websites, devices, and software. You will provide the content for on-screen help text, pull down menu content, 404 pages and maybe even the chatbot dialogues. UX writers contribute to a better experience by making things clear and intuitive. Again, all the communication must be made effectively whilst keeping branding in mind.
The UX writer’s role is vital in establishing consistency in language, voice and tone throughout an application. Just imagine an editor role who must be a user-centered designer as well and a UX writer.
You will most likely be part of the copywriting team and work closely with the design team.
1. Menu design and navigation
2. Call to actions (CTAs)
3. Supporting content explaining a feature
Want to learn UX/UI writing and become a specialist?Â
We’ve analysed the skills you’re likely to need for doing a good job as UX Writer. The list belows shows the most traits that companies are looking for when hiring a copywriter
Because UX writers often work with design teams during the development process, there are some skills that can be helpful to them. These include:Â
Be familiar with agile development methodologies and others
GSuite knowledge(google docs,etc)
Learning the UX design process
Using A/B testing software
Videoconferencing software
Learning prototyping tools (Sketch, Balsamiq)
Use of project management and collaboration tools such as Trello, Jira
Learning to recognize brand voice and to apply branding to microcopy
Overall digital marketing knowledge(a bit of Project Management, Analytics,etc)
Not clear yet? See below some UX Writing Examples
Basically, any written content on an interface can count as UX writing.
The “UX” writing art is knowing when to introduce certain messages in the context of a design.
This should flow smoothly in line with the imaging so the visitor has a great experience altogether.
A great idea to build up confidence and learn the ropes in this field is to scan how the big brands do it. For example, you can go on Dribble.com and see some superb design by top professionals.
Alternatively, Pinterest is a good source for UX design ideas and copywriting. Don’t forget to look online at examples of UX and UI design and you’ll find great UI copywriting ideas too. Do some googling on subjects like “best practices for UX/UI design for apps” and you’ll find some fantastic product examples.Â
Where can you find UX writing jobs?
So you want to become an UX writer, but don’t know where to start?
UX writing is a pretty young discipline, so there really isn’t a well defined job title for it. Not every company will post a job for a “UX writer,” even if that’s what they’re looking for. Most likely they will have the job under the following tiles (so do some reading between the lines):
Content Writer, Content Designer, User Experience Writer ,Product Writer, UI Writer, Content Strategist,etc
Linkedin is a great place to start. Just type in the keywords in the search bar an off you go. However, there are so many other job resources like Indeed, the Content + UX Slack channel the Content Strategists Facebook group and so on. Another cool idea is to go to meetups on the topic via meetup.com. You will be amazing how well you can network there.
Yes, you can be a UX writer from home by working remotely. More and more companies are offering these days remote jobs, including this niche. Check out websites like remotive.io, remote.co and remote.ok.
The typical recruitment process:
Applying for a UX writing job usually involves these steps:
- Prepare your resume and portfolio
- Find a job
- Apply for the job
- Complete a writing exercise
- Present your portfolio
- Interview with manger and team
What salary should you be expecting to earn as UX Writing or UX Designer?
The average base pay salary for an employee with a few experience in the US is around $85,000 according to Glassdoor. For more seasoned UX designers, the salary can go up to $125,000/year which is pretty good! Meanwhile, in Britain a similar role will get you about ÂŁ40,000 so significantly less.Â
According to Neuvoo, a UX writer in California can earn up to $120K a year.
We hope this article inspires you to take your next steps in the UX writing career with ambition and confidence.
