7 takeaways you need to know

Consider this your cheat sheet [The Writer’ s Life]( October 13, 2022 "Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection." – Mark Twain Oh my stars, {NAME} … Who wants to be a UX copywriter!? 🙋 ♀️ I can't imagine a single writer attending yesterday's webinar with Heather Robson, who didn't walk away fired up about the opportunity. Even if you don't "specialize" in UX … Heather gave so many great insights you can use when approaching clients … when working on projects … even when looking for opportunities to simply "fix" copy that's already out there. It's no wonder companies are going ga ga for writers with those two little letters … They're basically rainmakers! Heather covered A LOT during the training, and I highly recommend you [watch the playback here right now]( if you missed it. The examples she walked through are a must. Oh, and don't forget to download her personal 26-step UX checklist she gave away at the end too! #HeatherRocks Now since it would be impossible to do her training justice in a simple "follow-up report," I asked her to give me a list of the top things you NEED to know about UX … She outlines them below. But seriously, if you missed the training, [make sure you grab it here](. Over to you Heather! [Rebecca Matter’ s signature] Rebecca --------------------------------------------------------------- Hi there, Heather Robson here! 👋 I hope you were able to join us yesterday for the training, and that you had as much fun as I did. I hope you're already starting to see things online in a different light … and noticing how small changes can make a big improvement in a website's UX. Here are a few other things you need to know about UX copywriting, especially if you're writing online. 1. It's unavoidable … Online, the user experience is always happening. Whether you're searching for the perfect blog post to answer your question about the best way to clean your stove or reading an email newsletter from your favorite publisher or scrolling through your social media feed … you're having an experience. And so is every other person doing the same thing. Sometimes the experience you have online is good … but more often it's a little clunky. Sometimes it's outright bad. A lot of times, part of what makes the experience bad on any given website is the copy. Have you ever read a paragraph on a website, and realized you weren't quite sure what it meant or what you were supposed to do next? Of course you have! We all have. UX copy is meant to create a deliberate, positive experience for users by making the words on the page easy to read, clear, and maybe even fun. 2. It starts with a mindset Now, you might be wondering, "Do I really need to know that?" The reason I include this in the need-to-knows about UX copy is because you can start getting into the mindset right now. Heck, you may already have a UX mindset! Writing good UX copy stems from caring about the reader. You want your client's customer to succeed, and everything you do stems from that desire. Good UX copy is honest, it strives to provide objective information so readers can make good decisions, it's helpful, and it's personable. 3. It's growing … a lot According to Industry Research (that's the actual name of a company, not just a generic term), spending on user experience is going to grow at more than 16% a year for the next five years going from $465 million in spending to $1.3 billion before the decade is out. Based on growth trends, the Nielson Norman group predicts that there will be 100 million UX professionals in the world by the year 2050 … meaning that very nearly one percent of the entire global population will be working in user experience. Think about that. I bring this up because UX is inescapable. This is where everything is going. And it's smart to start learning more about UX and how it applies to what you do as a writer. 4. How we talk to people matters One reason UX copy is so important is because it matters how you treat people … and how you talk to people is a big part of that. How you talk to people goes a long way to determining how they feel about you. Companies online that recognize this and make the effort to treat their visitors well and talk to them like real human beings tend to do better … especially over the long term. Imagine for a minute that you're a parent looking to buy a bike helmet for your child. That's a small purchase with a lot of emotional weight riding on it. You want your child to have fun. But you also want them to be safe. And you especially want to protect them from head injuries. So you begin researching children's bike helmets. One site opens with this copy (a real example): "If you're looking to get your child a new helmet, we've put together this advice explaining what to look for in a kids' bicycle helmet, how to find the right size helmet and how to fit a child's bike helmet correctly. Cycling is a great activity for children with benefits that include exercise, fresh air, freedom and independence. Hopefully, getting them interested in cycling will be the start of a life-long passion. Discover how to teach a child to cycle in just 30 minutes with our handy guide." It isn't that this copy is talking down to the reader, but it's all over the map. You want to figure out how to choose the right helmet for your child and two breaths in, this page is trying to redirect you to teaching your kid how to ride a bike. On another site, you find this copy: "Some kids ride their bikes around smooth suburban streets. Others relax in a seat or trailer behind you. Some navigate city bicycle lanes like a pro, and others set out solo down quiet country lanes. But whatever the setting or the distance, all kids should wear a bicycle helmet every single time they ride. The key is finding a helmet that is comfortable, is protective, and fits well—and that your child will actually wear." That copy connects with the reader immediately by letting the imagine their own child's riding habits. And it finishes with the promise that it has what you came here to find. Plus, it recognizes the one struggle that all parents face: "Will my child actually use this or will it be a fight every time I ask them to put it on?" Most parents are going to feel a little on guard with the first page. It's easy to wonder if the copy on that page has an agenda other than giving advice on finding a good helmet for a child. The second page is doing a better job of meeting a parent's expectations and staying focused on the parent's goal … things that UX copywriters take very seriously. 5. Clients want it even if they aren't quite sure what it is Recently, I was referred to a client because they wanted help with their user experience. As I was talking to them, I realized what they were looking for was a UX designer, not a UX copywriter. I clarified that I was a UX copywriter but that I was partnered with a designer who specializes in UX as well. I offered to connect them. The prospect said, "I guess I don't really know what UX copywriting is." I explained, "I work with the copy and messaging on your website and in your email marketing to make sure it's meeting the expectations of your users, that it's clear so they can move forward with you, and that it sounds like it's written by a real person." He said, "Oh. Well, we need that, too." And ended up hiring both my partner and me. More and more, companies are realizing that UX is important, even essential. Many of them aren't sure what UX entails, but they're looking for professionals to help with it … including copywriters. 6. You can do as much or as little writing as you want One of the neat things about [UX copywriting]( is that you can scale it to fit your needs and your skill level. If you're still getting the hang of copywriting in general, you can quickly learn how to recognize good and bad UX copy … and how to make suggestions for improving it. Your work with your clients might simply be to review several pages on their website and their key sales funnels and suggest changes to improve the experience and flow of the copy. That's one level. Maybe you're more confident in your writing skills at this point, but you still get nervous working from scratch. You don't like to deal with a blank page. In that case, you can take your client's existing copy and edit it to improve the user experience. So, instead of suggesting changes, you're making the changes yourself and sending them over to the client to implement. That's another level. Or maybe, you love to figure out the client's voice, the customer journey, and everything in between. So, you write UX copy for your clients starting from scratch. That's yet another level. The point here is, even if you're still learning the ropes of writing, you can use UX to start landing and helping clients. 7. It's fun and it feels good. This is the most important thing to know about UX copywriting, in my opinion. At the beginning of every day, when you're working on UX projects, you get to feel really, really good about the work in front of you. You're helping your readers … even when you're selling. Your goal, as a UX copywriter, is to help people see if the product you're writing about is a good fit for them, and if it is, to help them make the purchase with confidence and ease, and then to help them succeed with what they've bought. And if that sounds like a good fit for you, then [UX copywriting is something worth looking into](. Heather Robson Managing Editor, Digital Copywriter Instructor, UX Copywriting Mastery & Certification Make Money as a Writer THIS YEAR! Our Writer's Launch Party is hands down the No. 1 way to launch a well-paid writing career FAST. How fast? FIVE days fast! Here's what some of our past participants are up to … [Launch you career today video image] Now it's YOUR turn! Enrollment in our final Launch Party of 2022 ends soon … [Go Here And Reserve Your Spot Now]( What's Hot at AWAI … 👀 [Join Jade and Ted Friday at 1 p.m. ET and take the first step toward your writer's life!]( 🤔 Wait … What is UX, exactly? [Take a look at this Beginner's Guide.]( 😄 From the UX copywriting pioneer: [3 ways to make your writing more user-friendly](. 🤩 Southeast Asia or South America? [Copywriter designs life as a digital nomad.]( An avalanche of opportunity! 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