Why You Shouldn't Hire a Content Writer for Your UX Writing
You know you need a writer to help you bring your new digital product to life. The writers you know are all talented wordsmiths and content experts. You can hire one of them and call it a done deal, right?
Well, not so fast…
There are 8 key differences between content writers and UX writers that need to be considered when deciding who to hire for a UX writing project:
1. The goal of their writing is different.
Content writers write to build awareness, generate leads, and market and promote business. They use longer copy to educate the reader and convince them to take action. This call to action—usually to buy, but maybe simply to sign up or share—is the sun around which their writing orbits.
UX writers write to guide and enhance the user of a digital product. Their focus is to make an app or platform as simple and intuitive as possible for the user. The UX writer may also want the user to sign up, but it’s typically not their job to convince anyone of anything. They’re more likely to focus on gently guiding the user through the flow and along the path they’re meant to follow. (This isn’t completely unrelated to marketing, as happy customers make the best salespeople, but UX copy is meant to improve the user experience with a product, not to sell first and foremost.)
2. The approach of their writing is different.
Content writers flex their creative writing muscles—they use words to tell a story in a way that makes the reader want to engage, and continue engaging, until they buy.
UX writers have a much more technical backbone. They can be creative, too, but their creativity is most often seen in their ability to break complex topics into clear, concise instructions or information that supports the flow and promotes user comprehension and accessibility. While defining, knowing, and implementing a company’s voice is key to their work, their main job is to guide the user through their product journey. This means UX writing is as much about understanding how users—and platforms—think and act as it is about writing. (This does not, however, mean that UX writers have to be super geeky or tech wizzes.)
3. The style of their language is different.
Content writers strive to find compelling and engaging words that convince customers to take action. They spin stories and employ different elements of prose.
UX writers aim to use simple words, and often as few of them as possible. This is both because the space they have for copy is often limited and because their job is to help the user move forward as quickly and with as little mental effort as possible.
4. Who they work with is different.
Content writers are usually loners—most often they get a brief on what they will write and they’re off on their own, flying solo.
UX writers, by necessity, work as part of a team. Even freelance UX writers like me work (virtually) alongside product designers, coders, and often designers as they write. There’s always a period of “shutting up and writing,” but it's never from start to finish.
5. The tools they know and use are different.
Content writers need fewer technical tools. Often they work in Google Docs or Microsoft Word, research on the web, check their spelling with Grammarly, and they’re good to go.
UX writers learn to master Figma, Adobe XD, and other collaborative design tools, as well as project management software like ClickUp, Monday.com, and Jira. They have to familiarize themselves with the software development process and workflow to understand where they fit into it and how to make sure they don’t jam it.
6. Who they write for is different.
Content writers write for search engines, not for users. They craft front-facing, call-to-action-oriented copy.
UX writers write for users. They must see the whole picture of how a product works, always aware of what comes next and the flow through which the user will move through a product. They must plan for when something goes wrong and write the copy that will help the user exit such moments quickly and gracefully (think: error messages).
7. The number of words they can use is different.
Content writers write prose, and though their content needs to be tight as blogs, for example, are usually no longer than 800 words, they have the luxury of full sentences.
UX writers write microcopy (aka UX copy), with the allotted space often dictating whether they have to shrink down their message into as little as one or two words.
8. Their attention to design is different.
Content writers rarely think about design.
UX writers work closely with designers and have the design in mind at all times.
—
So can you hire a content writer? So it all comes down to the kind of writing you need done.
Content writers know how to move readers and inspire them to take action, most often to buy.
UX writers help users use the product they’ve already “bought,” whether that means actually purchased, or simply chosen out of all the other similar options on the Internet. The intent is to make the user experience as pleasant and efficient as possible in order to keep the user loyal to the product.
An experienced UX writer has a focused skill set, a strong sense of design, a comfort level with specific tools and technologies and eagerness to learn new ones, the ability to work as a team, and a keen interest in people and their needs.
All this isn’t to say that content writers can’t do UX writing—content writers may have a good foundation to transition into UX writing, including good writing skills, the ability to understand a product, and the focus on identifying and writing for a certain target audience. But don’t assume that they’ll be an automatic fit.
Looking for a UX writer? Drop me a line here.
And if you’re a content writer who’s intrigued by UX writing, join the waitlist for my upcoming course, UX to Success.
