UX writing & UX design: what should come first and how to put them to work together?

• “We thought that our site is well optimized once we’ve worked with a UX designer for implementing plenty of smart widgets. However, our analytics tools show us that something’s still missing...” [Marketing Manager - local business]
• “We’ve noticed that the conversion rate is greater once a prospect decides to get in touch with us through chatbot. The problem is that almost every site already has bots like this and the audience tends to become immune to their presence. How can we “convince” prospects to use more OUR interactive tools?” [Ecommerce Business Owner]
• “All our clients are used to validate strategies, see campaigns in progress, receive impact reports...It’s hard to put all these on pause and be more focused on UX. It takes time, resources...and new employees. I’m not sure that, at the end of the day, the client would even notice our effort... ” [Marketing Agency Manager]

Those kinds of complaints I often hear from my clients, business partners or colleagues.

When it comes about UX, things are rarely easy. It’s hard to figure it out from the start how much to invest, with whom to work with on those tasks, how often to make updates and introduce new elements, how to smartly track market trends, do research, etc.

The ugly truth is that, without investing in UX, all your marketing efforts may risk being vanished and results to become lower and lower. So who’s to blame?

Imagine for a moment that you have a great Twitter strategy, or you’ve succeeded to show in the first Google results for almost all relevant keywords possible. You are aware that this is only the beginning of a beautiful conversion-ship, right?

So here it comes the UX role: to provide a complete end-to-end user experience of your product/service. Once a prospect starts his consideration stage and land on your website, you have to prepared to give him exactly what he needs and when he needs it, without being too explanatory, obvious, annoying, demanding or imperative.

As Gordon Selfridge may say [if he had lived in the digital era] the following flow can define UX:

“People will sit up and take notice of you if you will sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and take notice.” 

In other words, and from a more digital perspective, UX is about building that human-computer relationship able to keep prospects close to the brand’s product story and drive them through the conversion funnel in the most natural way possible.

Until asking “how should I do smart UX on my business website?” and “on whom should I rely on to have great results?” you may wanna know...

How long will this UX marketing trend last, after all?

In fact...this UX madness is only at its beginning. 

UX reality proves us every day that humans become more and more connected with technology. Voice commands for almost...anything, shortcuts in finding information that we are interested in, dynamic bots ready to anticipate our wishes...All these are part of our life. 

As time becomes, at least at perception’s level, increasingly compressed, we’ll be more and more focused on finding solutions to relieve our schedule of useless activities and actions in the most enjoyable way.

Also, the “enjoyable way” part is not an option. It’s an essential clue for any business who intend to be noticed by the prospects and stand out on the market.

Take a look at what recent stats revealed on this topic:

• 75% of people base a company’s credibility by how their website looks, feels, and responds to the user journey
• 59% of users prefer a stunning website design
• 94% of people don’t trust on outdated sites
• Users form their impression on website design in just 0.05 seconds
• The average time to impress a new visitor is about...10 seconds

* [source: ukwebhostreview.com]

So, if you want your website to respond to customers needs and expectations [as the ones presented in the stats below], you have to work with experienced UX professionals with deep understanding of both customers behavior and narrative and conversational design [UX writers and UX designer, as well]

What should come first: UX writing or UX design?

Well, here we are back to the most ancient debate: 

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The ideal situation may be to have them both, at the same time. Unfortunately, this is impossible to achieve [let’s be honest: sometimes it’s hard to put on the same page content writing approaches with design visions even for simpler tasks].

So, what you can do for the beginning is to start with an exercise:

Try to imagine for 5 minutes how your website would look like in the physical world. 

What would it be? A store? A restaurant? A school? 

For any of these [and so much more], you have to create both a pleasant and intuitive environment. People must remind your business as a comfortable and friendly place where everything is easy to be found, to be ordered and paid.

Moreover, now, let’s get back to our question: what makes people remember easier a business? Its voice or its image?

There are multiple situations. Identifying your business with one of them will help you figure it out which of the following answers suits best for you:

You have a great UX content strategist - let him project what your business must communicate, when, and how. Make sure that everyone knows that he is in charge of this project give him support in following the PCCAI rule: 

[Project how the website will look like - Confront the proposal with design capabilities - Create UX content - Adjust content to design - Implement final results]

You have an excellent UX designer - let him create a complex wireframe for the website. Make sure that everyone knows that he is in charge of this project give him support in following the CCPAI rule: 

[Create UX design - Confront the proposal with content objectives - Project how the website will look like - Adjust design to content proposals - Implement final results];

You can’t decide which one should be in charge [UX writer or UX designer]. Involve them in a brainstorming process or let them come with a pitch. The final results [the website] should reflect a mix of both ideas.

Those are, of course, standard situations that are related more to the level of professional experience of your UX employees.

Your business may also, have specific or contextual UX approach. For example, if you want to release a new product or service, UX writing MUST comes first to avoid crafting a beautiful package unable to respond to customers’ real expectations. 

How to put UX designers and microcopy writers to work together?

There are some unwritten rules for improving UX designers and UX writers collaboration:

• Keep them always up to date with future projects and business path 
• Communicate the project’s objectives
• Give them time to do complete researches
• Name a neutral “ideas manager” who will collect and select the best ideas.
• Develop brainstorming sessions in informal places and contexts

Allow them to pitch their ideas on a crowded background

Split projects in micro-projects and allow them to work on each piece step by step

10 questions any marketing manager may ask himself in 2019 

...when it comes about UX writers and their microcopy jobs

1. What if...I put the “UX business” aside for a while and keep investing in things that provided measurable results in the past?

Are you sure that the competition is doing the same? If not, try to imagine what a tremendous advantage you are creating for them by choosing to DO NOT invest in UX.

1. Why is so important to have a UX writer in my team?

UX writing can make or break the user experience. Misleading communication can vanish all your marketing effort. So, it would help if you relied on someone who knows what he’s doing.

3. Should I hire someone new on UX writing? Alternatively, I can use someone from my content writing team….

UX writer is not a content writer who communicates the same things but in fewer words. He is more than that. He has specific skills and the capability of approaching things strategically. If you already have someone like this in your team, you’re lucky. If not, take notice that hiring one will be a more complicated process that you may think [if you want to do it right].

4. How should I evaluate his work’s results?

Only A/B testings that involve content as a variable can highlight UX content results. Otherwise, UX writer’s work has to be evaluated together with UX designer’s one.

5. How is his work so much different from other content writers?

Microcopy is related more to products and\ web experiences flow

• UX writer must maintain the same tone of voice for all messages
• UX writer have a strategic vision over how content should be used
• UX writer is involved in a more complex research process, and he should be up to date with both content writing and design trends
• UX writer works with different stakeholders (legal departments, support, etc.)

6. How much should a UX writer interact with design team members?

...as much as possible and from the beginning to the end. Working isolated like in a bubble or something like this may create a disruptive implementation that will affect the whole creative and strategic process.

7. What are the primary skills a UX writer must have?

• Specific experience in writing for UX 
• Flexibility in adapting to design requests or limitations
• Capability in creating content for various formats
• Fast-learning and a great understanding of products and business approaches
• Ability to understand data and reports and use this information to increase projects value.
• Highly collaborative nature 

8. How must a UX writer job announcement communicate?

That you’re looking for a UX writer who must meet all the following criteria:

• Educational background in communications/advertising or pieces of training in journalism, technical writing, creative writing, communications, public relations, etc
• Proven experience through a strong UX portfolio 
• Has initiative - some samples of projects that he previously initiated
• Flexibility - he worked for various industries and created different formats of content

9. What’s the difference between a UX writer and a content strategist?

A content strategist creates the architecture of content that should be developed, but it won’t necessarily generate the material himself.

A UX writer has to do both: have an elaborate overview of the business needs from a content perspective and know how to write strategic pieces of content that will attract qualified leads.

10. What is UX writer not?

• a junior content writer
• a regular content writer
• a regular copywriter
• a project manager
• a web developer and designer