Most copywriters know the score. A product is created. A marketing team builds a campaign. Designers create the look and feel. And finally, a brief ends up in their inbox with a heap of Lorem Ipsum needing to be replaced with well-crafted words.

Well, it’s not that simple anymore. And rightfully so. The boundaries between copywriting and design are being constantly blurred as user experience specialists with deep understanding of narrative and conversational design emerge.

Enter UX copywriting.

What is UX copywriting?

Although it’s not a new concept, UX copywriting has only started to be taken seriously in recent years. It’s no longer a rarity to see job ads for roles such as UX copywriter or UX writer for huge companies such as Google, Amazon and PayPal.

At its core, UX copywriting is copy written specifically for user-facing touchpoints. This copy must speak in the company’s tone of voice, be personalised and valuable to the user.

Usually integrated within the UX team, UX copywriters work closely with UX designers (some super-talented individuals might wear both hats, although despite the overlap they remain different skill sets). UX copywriters and designers work closely side by side to unlock customer insights and tailor content and the overall design to produce the best possible results.

Why is UX copywriting important?

Let’s face it, if a user lands on a website and doesn’t know what they’re supposed to do and why, there’s a serious problem. UX copywriting and design looks to remove this problem from the get-go.

It’s also likely that when employed as an in-house UX writer, you’ll take on other roles that you’d expect in a more traditional copywriting or marketing role. These include building out and executing an editorial or content strategy, writing marketing copy and liaising with stakeholders and legal teams to ensure your copy won’t get the company sued. Score!

But additional duties aside, UX copywriting remains unique for its conceptualisation at the beginning of the design journey instead of at the end. It’s also at its most crucial when it comes to the onboarding process; as well all know – first impressions always count.

UX copywriting at its best will make it clear what the user should do next. Where they should click, where they should scroll, where they should purchase.

What makes great UX copywriting?

Much like other forms of copywriting, UX copywriting is at its best when kept simple, precise and beneficial. Whereas other types of copywriting, such as writing copy for marketing, is often supported by humour, UX copywriting is more about getting to the point without trying to be too clever. It’s about saying what you mean.

That said, great UX copywriting should also still sound human. It should also sound like your brand. All touchpoints should be connected, from EDMs, social media and blog posts and copy written across your website, the tone of voice used in your UX copywriting should be no different.

UX copywriting at its best will make it clear what the user should do next. Where they should click, where they should scroll, where they should purchase. It’s about creating a clean, clear and usable flow that still manages to sound like your company. Once you’ve got this right, you’re on your way to becoming an expert UX copywriter.

Still lost for words? Hire a copywriter to do the hard work for you.