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January 15 · Issue #2 · View online
Every busy UX writer can save time reading this.
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Ciao,Ā š Hope you are well! Thanks a million for all the kind words sent to me after the first issue of UX Writing Summarized. Iām overwhelmed. One of these e-mails comes from Rich Jones, UX writer at Vistaprint in Barcelona, saying:Ā āThese days, itās rare that I read an e-mail from beginning to end. So I commend you for that. Great roundup. Keep it coming.āĀ So, this issue will tell you:
- What the 5 Cs of UX writing are (āClearā is one)
- The difference between UX writing and copywritingĀ
- How to add and update copy in your app (without annoying developers)Ā Ā
Your bonus this month is 20 % off the brand new Fundamentals Course in UX writing from UX Writers Collective. Scroll and enroll! š¤ 3, 2, 1 ⦠Bring it on! ā¬
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The 5 Cās of UX Writing ā UX Planet
So youāve been chosen to write the product copy for your app? BUT, youāre a designer not a writer! No fear, if your copy follows the 5 Cās of UX Writing, youāll be a writer in no time. Great writingā¦
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Hereās the thing: If you, willingly or unwillingly, have the task of choosing the words for a digital product, always remember that UX writing is a cake with five layers (a lot of Cs coming up): itās got to be clear, concise, constructive, conversational and consistent. Sweet! Thanks for the words, Charlene Nuval. The take-aways:
- Write CTA button texts that are crystal clear. Why? Because you have the userās attention for milliseconds, and clarity trumps confusion on every day ending with -day.
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Keep copy short. Write like itās a billboard for users driving by at 80 mph (probably faster).
- Read your words out loud. Does it sound human? Then youāre on the right track.Ā
The quote: āScanning is the new reading.ā š
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Like fall and autumn, UX writing is just another word for copywriting
The day I switched to UX writing, I was sure this role was going to be different than copywriting. Different in a way that it was time for me to retire from making smart witty slogans. To my minimumā¦
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Hereās the thing: Edwin Mohammad, UX writer at GO-JEK in Indonesia, thought he had got his head around the difference between copywriting and UX writing. Then he realized that he hadnāt. So he turned to thousands of writers to get a good answer.Ā Many people, like product managers, think that UX writing is just another name for copywriting. Is it? No. While copywriting should convince and sell, UX writing is about guiding users and helping them achieve their goal. The copywriter owns the pre-customer experience, while the UX writer owns the customer experience. Also, the copywriter is part of the marketing team, while the UX writer belongs to the UX team.Ā The take-aways:
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UX writing is more upfront and less witty than copywriting. Both disciplines should humanize complexed or technical words by understanding peopleās reactions to all sorts of things.Ā
- UX writing and traditional copywriting overlap, and are not completely different things. The skills required are the same, but the context and the goal differs.
- I believe that Greta van der Merwe says it best. She is UX writer at Careem, the āUber of the Middle Eastā. The difference, in her words:
āIf writing was a rally race, the copywriter would get drivers excited to enter the race, the content designer would consider what the track should look like, and the UX writer would be the navigator in the seat next to the driver = the userā.Ā
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The quote: āIt finally hit me. UX writing to them [product managers] was just another name for copywriting. You know, like twelve and dozen, big and large, fall and autumn. You get the gist.ā š„š
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How to change copy in an app (without annoying developers)
Picture yourself to be a UX writer. With a team of designers and developers, you work hard every day to give the users of your app a smooth and seamless experience. Your part of the job is to writeā¦
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Hereās the thing: As UX writer for an app you will need to add new copy or update existing copy. Today, thatās not an easy thing to do. In fact, you need one of your developers to do the job. Sadly, they have always, always, always more important things to work on.Ā The team at Picnic ā the Dutch online supermarket app ā had the same problem. They created their own solution: Babelicious. Itās a plain text Git file (called the Babelfile), which you can directly edit through Githubās editing interface. Great for developers, great for writers. š„ The take-aways:
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Developers are the busiest people on the planet. Thatās exactly why every UX writer needs a smooth way to handle copy changes without having to bother them. That tool needs to make it easy for developers to embed the copy in their codebase.
- Github? YAML file? Piggyback? You might need to google those. But if you are a UX writer, you will gain a ton from getting on the same page as your developer.
- The next step for Babelicious? The Picnic team is p-r-e-t-t-y vague: āIn the coming months, we will be working on open-sourcing the toolā and āmaybe weāll further develop this toolā. Hurry, Harry! Every UX team in the world is screaming for a tool like this.Ā
For writers and developers working with words together, some of the tools out there are: Phrase, PO Editor, Launchpad, Localize and Bablic. Which tool do you use in your UX team? Do tell!Ā šš»Ā The quote: āMost product owners state that processing copy changes should not take a developerās time. I couldnāt agree more.ā š
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Today marks the opening of the Fundamentals Course in UX Writing, ambitiously put together by the expert team at UX Writers Collective. Bobbie Wood and her staff work with content strategy and writing at Google, Amazon, TurboTax and General Assembly in San Fransisco.Ā This online self-paced course is perfect for journalists, copywriters, and marketing writers who want to transition to this new and exciting field. In just 2-4 weeks you will learn the essentials of successful UX Writing. Each of the 7 units is broken down into a series of 4-6 lessons.Ā The Fundamentals Course in UX writing costs 895 USD (roughly 8 000 Swedish kronas). As a huge thank you for getting this newsletter, you can now use the code COPYME20 to receive 20 % off the course fee. This golden ticket to UX writing expires by February 15, 2019.Ā š¤
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Lately, Iāve been thinking about all those things in life that I am ridiculously bad at. See, I absolutely cannot use any building tool, wrap a gift, grasp too many spoken numbers or play even the simplest video game š¤¦āāļø. And this is just the beginning of a looong canāt-do-list. However, Iām pretty awesome at UX writing and doing a newsletter about it. You and 621 other kind people tell me so. That is, to me, a huge comfort in my otherwise complete incompetence. So thank you!Ā
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Photo: Louise Johansson / Wanderings.se
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This is my daughter Ilse and me. Sheās by far the happiest 9-month-old creature I know. Thatās one of the reasons why Iām really looking forward to spending three days off every work week with her until September, 2019.Ā Besides being on parental leave, I will do B2B sales for Rulla vagn (Swedish for āRoll the strollerā), a startup run by my wife and me; in less than 3 years weāve taken our tiny idea from the sofa in front of the TV to a solid plattform that reaches 100,000 mums and dads in Sweden every month. āGive, and it will be given to you.ā ā Luke 6:38
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The next issue will be out on February 12, 2019. Later that same day me and my family will leave for 5 weeks of āworkationā (work + vacation!) outside Malaga in southern Spain. āļøšØš¼āš»š¦š·šØāš©āš§āš¦Ā Ā Ā
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KrakevƤgen 2, 531 99 Lidkƶping, Sweden
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