The Middle Child of UX Design
Copy writing is the secret weapon of UX.
Jeff Gothelf
UX Writing is like the well neglected middle child of UX Design. Which is unfortunate because good design isn’t just about the visuals, it’s about the whole experience. And this means that bad copy can botch your whole project.
And when you think about it, copy writing is present at almost every facet of any application.
On-boarding screens, push messages, product pages, website wordings and landing pages.
When you need to make a killer first impression, it’s there. When you’re trying to sell a product you built from scratch, it’s there. When you’re saying goodbye to a customer who needs a break from your awesome emails, it’s there.
So it’s a pity that many organisations tend to ignore this essential part of good design.
Also, in start ups, a UI or UX designer is expected to sub for a copy writer for an app. Which makes sense considering the limited funding that start ups often have to work with.
Therefore, it is vital for us UX and UI Designers to master the art of excellent copy. If you want your designs to be well received, you need to put in the effort to make it stand out. Good copy will do that for you.
And it’s simple, really. Here are a couple of pointers to help you get started:
Make it personal
Don’t just write, write to the user. Make them connect to your product. Build a bond. It’ll have a more lasting impact and seem a whole lot more personal.
In fact, John Moore says it best:
The word “you” automatically catches your attention, but even more importantly, it establishes a relationship between you and your reader. It brings your reader into the story you’re weaving.
Not convinced? Let me rewrite that paragraph without “you”:
The word “you” automatically catches attention, but even more importantly, it establishes a relationship to the reader. It brings the reader into the story.
See what I mean? It establishes a connection and honestly, it makes it seem like the product was tailored for you.
Cut to the chase
A thousand beautifully written words will probably be ignored by most of your users. But just a couple of skillfully phrased sentences will be read end-to-end 9/10 times.
And that’s what you should aim for.
Don’t beat around the bush, get to your point. It’ll save a ton of time for your users and they will thank you for it by buying your product, liking your posts and subscribing to your website.
Add a human touch
I know MailChimp is an over cited as example of great copy, but they really do deserve all the praise they get. And here’s why: they’re friendly.
In the screenshot above, they understand the emotions behind a user who has just sent a mail to all of their subscribers. After all that hard work, procrastination and self hate, they’re finally mailing a campaign. That was tough. This is their moment of glory. And MailChimp acknowledges it.
Keep it simple
No one likes a know-it-all and no ones going to like it if you use words they don’t know. If a user has to reach out to a dictionary to understand what you’re trying to say, they’re probably going to ignore you. Which is not what you want. So, keep it simple.
Know your audience
The target audience of Quora is quite different from the target audience of Vine. They’re both looking for a different genre of information and that’s great. That also means that each set of user is looking for a different experience.
If your target audience consists of children, use a different tone and use fewer words. On the other hand, if you’re catering to high end organisations, some professionalism would be handy.
And that’s about it for a start. If you can understand your user and appeal to their emotions, you’re already half way to mastering UX writing. All that’s left is to craft a simple message that relates to what you now know about your consumer.
