DBA #22 - How is UX writing different from copywriting. And how to hire a UX writer.

Editor's Notes

1. UX writing is a hybrid role: between content and design.
2. Let’s assume my amazing presentation convinced you to hire a UX writer.  Before you start looking at resumes, thinking what type of person you want to hire, it’s a good idea to think about how you will fit your UX writer into your design process.  Content is UX too, so it’s a good idea to involve your writer early: in the discover or define stage. Don't ask the writer to look at a shiny finalised visual design. It will be a painful experience for everyone. Another thing to do before looking at resumes is to clearly define the role the UX writer will play in your team.  I've been very lucky to work with amazing designers, none of whom use lorem ipusm. User interfaces are supposed to communicate with users and how can you communicate if you don't know what to say?  Why I am bringing this up is because the role of a UX writer in your team is not to populate all the lorem ipsums of this world. It's to collaborate with the designer to make sure your users see the right content at the right time.
3. You can create clear, concise, useful content without a UX writer, as long as you pay attention to your content. So what's the point of hiring a writer?
4. ‘Wrong password’ is clear and concise. Yet Google chose to go with a longer, chattier version. They don't want to be negative and talk town to their users.
5. Among other things, UX writers align your product content with your brand voice or create a brand voice—if you don’t yet have one. They can create an emotional connection with your users, give your product a personality. 
6. Whatever your brand voice and content design principles are, they will almost certainly contradict one another from time to time. For example, very concise content may sound rude and robotic, and not at all conversational. UX writers have to take each case separately and decide what matters. So pair your writer with a senior UX designer. 
7. UX writers need to understand your product: the technical limitations and when changing the content is not the answer.Only then they can make your product content actionable and relevant. Which is something you want. Also, good UX Writers can really improve your content governance and content management process. How is your product content approved? How are you localising stuff? Are your engineers doing manual work and silently cursing you?
8. Amex example. The solution was not to rewrite the block of content: Shakespeare couldn't have improved it by just rewriting it. The solution was to only show it when it matters and make it actionable.
9. And, if you love tech, you can do some cool stuff :)
10. Instead they will spend a whole day digging around the depths of your product’s backend to figure out why three perfectly good error messages have been jumbled up into one hot mess.
11. Or take the “Can we be honest?” pop-up from Really Good Emails. It’s great, it catches attention, it says something about the character of the company — and it would never work in the context of UX writing. Marketing messages need to catch your attention because, more often than not, they are disruptive (as a marketer myself, I say this with all the love in the world) whereas UX writing should help the users do what they came to your app for.
12. Shared by my colleague Laura.
13. Consistency and structure are sooo important! Inconsistent, ambiguous, illogical content makes our users spend extra seconds on the screen wondering: 'what the…🤔Same as designers have design language systems, UX writers should create content patterns, glossaries and logic for why your content is the way it is. 
14. The stereotype of a writer: drinks and writes all night, wonders the streets during the day being a menace to the society. I haven't actually met any writers like that. But if you ever do, don't hire them to be your UX writer. It won't work.
15. When was the last time you went to the shops thinking you need to buy some 'dependable quality’? If your customers think of you as the candy with the hole, but your content talks about ‘dependable quality’, your content is not going to resonate with your customers.