UX Writing, the Tech Gateway for Writers
Written by: Chigozie Paul
Are you a writer looking to transition fully into Tech? Then you should read this. UX Writing is one of the tech skills you can easily ease into. UX Writing is such an underrated yet high-in-demand tech skill. In addition, it is a skill that you can work anywhere with. Interesting right? Now, what does the job of a UX Writer entail?
As a UX Writer, you will be responsible for crafting the texts that appear throughout the interface of digital products like websites, mobile apps, etc., to enhance the use of products by making it easier for users to navigate. These texts can also be called “Microcopy”.
This job description sounds easy, but it is actually more complicated than this. Crafting micro copies includes:
1. Creating a Content Strategy: It is the responsibility of the UX writer to create a content strategy that aligns with the overarching goals of the product or service. This involves understanding what the user experience should be and how content can support that vision. In addition to aligning with the goals of the product, the content strategy must also define the tone and style of the content.
2. Creating User-Centered Content: A UX Writer’s responsibility is to create user-centered content with clarity and conciseness. This content should be explicit, engaging, and relatable to a product’s target audience.
3. Organizing and Structuring Content: In addition to creating user-centered content, the UX Writer’s job is to organize and structure content properly. This is to ensure that users can easily navigate a product.
4. User Research and Testing: One of the duties of a UX Writer is to conduct research both before and after creating and structuring content. This research informs content decisions and helps determine a product’s feasibility, understandability, and user-friendliness.
5. Collaboration and Brand Consistency: Another essential duty of a UX Writer is to collaborate with team members to ensure that across all digital products, there is consistency and alignment with the brand’s identity, tone, and values.
If you have read up to this point, and UX Writing sounds like a career you would like to pursue, then here are some books that will help your career journey:
1. Microcopy: The Complete Guide by Kinneret Yifrah: This book is a comprehensive guide to microcopy and is essential for UX writers and content designers. It addresses common challenges in establishing a UX writing culture and covers topics like voice, tone, usability, etc.
2. Strategic Writing for UX by Torrey Podmajersky: This book provides strategic insights into UX writing, including extensive guides on measuring UX copy effectiveness and integrating it into the software development lifecycle.
3. Writing is Designing by Michael J. Metts and Andy Welfle: This book emphasizes the role of writing in the design process and explores user-focused content creation that enhances the overall user experience.
4. The Man Who Lied to His Laptop by Clifford Nass: In this book, the author, Clifford Nass, investigates human communication with technology and provides insights into how people interact with computers. This book offers valuable insights into technology and communication.
5. Conversational Design by Erika Hall: In this book, the author, Erika Hall, explores the principles of conversational design, emphasizing user-friendly and human-centered conversations in digital products. This book is a valuable resource for those who want to explore UX writing.
In addition to studying these books, you can explore various courses on UX Writing, take courses to polish your writing and research skills and work on projects to build your UX Writing Portfolio. Another way to build your portfolio is by collaborating with UI/UX designers on their projects.
Finally, here are some articles that may give more insight into UX Writing: Article 1, Article 2, and Article 3. See you at the top.
If you are looking for other career paths in tech that you can explore, you can check out this article where we listed some tech roles that do not require you to learn how to code.
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