5 Reasons Why I Love Freelance UX Writing (and Why You Might, Too)
As a freelance writer, there are lots of different directions you can take. You can focus on a certain type of deliverable (e.g., newspaper articles, white papers, web copy, landing pages, email sequences, etc.), industry, type of client, and so on.
One lesser-known option for freelance writers, though: UX writing—yes, the buttons, titles, notifications, and more. (And no, it’s not boring.) If you’re interested in technology, are a sticker for clarity and consistency, and love a good challenge of fitting a complete message into a concise package, it might be just the thing for you.
Read on for five things that sealed the deal for me with freelance UX writing—and why you might want to consider it, too.
1. It’s so, so diverse.
Back in 2009, Apple ran TV ads for its new App Store that revolved around the slogan “There’s an app for that.” Fourteen years later, there really is an app for pretty much anything and everything—paying bills, transferring money, managing healthcare conditions, shopping, ordering food, looking up synonyms, you name it. And that’s just the consumer side. On the B2B side, companies now have dashboards and platforms that streamline, automate, and optimize so many different parts of their business and day-to-day work.
So many tasks and processes that we do in work and in life happen online or via some platform or interface, which means the opportunities out there for UX writers really run the gamut.
I’ve worked on:
A diabetes management app
A scheduling/time management app with a companion smartwatch app
A medical cannabis app for dispensaries and patients
An app for signing up for and managing internet service
A platform for managing drone fleets
and so many others.
The products I work on span fintech, health tech, cybersecurity, industry 4.0, to name just a few, and companies from additional industries and sectors are constantly reaching out about my company’s services.
The diversity—of target audiences, industries, products, and pain points being addressed—means that I never stop learning and I’m never bored.
2. You get to see and impact new technologies.
I can’t even begin to list how many times clients have reached out to me about a product that I never, in a million years, would have imagined on my own. Working as a freelance UX writer means being exposed to tons of new technologies, market sectors, and trends—and going deep. You don’t just hear about these products; you actually get into the weeds with the teams bringing them to life. From digging into the user research to being the first to define how the product “speaks,” you get to see what goes on behind the scenes and play a significant role in how the final product looks and feels.
3. It can offer more consistent work than other types of freelance writing.
When you write the copy for a website, you’re done when the copy’s done (after revisions, tweaks, etc.), which means you have to get back out there and look for your next web copy project (or hope it comes to you). Of course, there’s something nice about being able to start projects, wrap them up neatly, and move onto the next thing. And there are usually plenty of individuals and companies needing web copy (or email sequences, blogs, etc.). But the variability can lead to lots of uncertainty and ups and downs in your workload and income.
UX writing projects, on the other hand, can offer a lot of consistent work. With digital products or interfaces, there’s typically a product roadmap, outlining a whole evolution of new features and product improvements, many of which have UX copy needs. Once you start working on a product, getting to know its voice and tone, user background, and flow, it often makes sense to continue working on it. For me, that has meant kick-off projects that turn into ongoing retainers. I have clients I’ve worked with every single month for the past three, four, and even five years.
4. You can write, without having to play the sales/marketing/SEO game.
I love writing, but I often found it draining to have to spit out long-form projects (think 1,200-word blog posts, 10-page websites, etc.) quickly, not to mention play keyword roulette and try to bulk up the word count for SEO. I’d hardly call myself an email whiz.
I love how UX writing is all about being clear and concise, about understanding the user and telling them what they need to “hear” to be successful. It doesn’t mean UX writing is always faster than writing long-form pieces—on more than one occasion, I’ve spent over an hour pondering a term or going back and forth over a single line of text—but it feels like there’s less of a grind when you’re working mostly on short bits of text, even if there are a lot of them.
5. The market’s not saturated yet.
Take a look at Upwork, Fiverr, or LinkedIn, and you’ll see page after page (after page…) of copywriters and content writers. There are tons of freelance writers who focus on email sequences or web copy or blog posts. But there are far fewer freelance UX writers. UX writing has reached exciting new heights over the past few years, but it definitely hasn’t hit its peak yet, and there’s still lots of room for freelance UX writers who want to break into it. Maybe… you?
Looking to break into freelance UX writing? Join the waitlist for the next cohort of UX to Success, the only program for freelance writers who want to get their start in the exciting world of UX writing.
