UX Writing is a more recent approach to copywriting. This term has already been used in the design world for some years now, bringing better experiences graphically. This new approach consists of creating texts so that users of software, websites, or blogs can make choices and receive responses from a given product, ensuring that even bad news is delivered in the best possible way.
Main elements
The main focus is clarity. Google's website, for instance, succeeds when it wants to show how to create an email account. Its UX content also needs to engage its target audience. That's why cohesion, coherence, and careful proofreading are very important traits.
Besides being crystal clear, we need to think about content consistency. A quick, clear message helps different types of users make decisions more easily: charge, deposit, transfer. That's how Nubank uses UX Writing to communicate within its app.
In this case, tone is also very important. It can be more casual or more formal, depending on each brand's personality. While Nubank chooses to call the person receiving your transfer “friend,” Santander prefers the more traditional term, “beneficiary.”
Surprising the user
After the re-recording of the song Shallow, a hit from the movie A Star Is Born, performed by singers Paula Fernandes and Luan Santana, yet another “meme” spread across the internet. The chorus line “Juntos e shallow now” (or together and shallow now) didn't seem to please the public much, but it certainly sparked plenty of laughs and was even used in Uber's UX Writing. There, the “Together” service option was replaced with “Shallow Now,” generating even more conversation among users, who certainly got the joke.
Beyond the experience
To understand whether my UX language is working or not, it's necessary to know the user journey. The relevance of this kind of writing also shows up in notifications, emails, and other content. Why does my customer only make it to a certain page? What can help them follow through and complete my goal? What matters is understanding the business objectives and getting to know the user better and better.
This field is still growing and evolving, so if you want to become a UX Writer, it's important to keep up with trends, because, combined with UX Design, this isn't the future — it's the current foundation of your customer's relationship with your brand.
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