Being the first & sole UX Writer: A solo act with big impact

Bonus: 30-60-90-day plan Notion template (Free to duplicate and use)

Welcome to the challenging yet exhilarating journey of being your team's first UX writer/content designer!

In this role, you are a trailblazer, shaping a user-centric culture within your organisation. However, pioneering this path comes with unique hurdles, responsibilities, and opportunities. This guide is crafted to arm you with essential strategies to not just survive but excel as the sole architect of content strategy in your team—with a 30-60-90 day plan and some checklists.

Assumptions

(at least I made these assumptions before falling flat on my face)

Yours: Everyone will understand the value of UX writing.

Reality: You’ll have to explain what UX writing is and how it benefits the product.

Your team's assumptions: A "copy fixer" is joining us and will polish existing content at the end of the design process.

Reality: They’ll have to slowly ‘learn’ to include you from the beginning.

When I first joined, people wanted to show me their designs at the end to “fix the copy.” I realised I had to introduce language to help people understand that I also provided value as a strategist and collaborator. “Let’s work together on content,” I’d tell them.
~ Kendra Ralston, Staff Content Designer at Cash app

It’s clear that you’ll be wearing many hats—writer, strategist, researcher, and potentially an educator. So…

Let’s set the expectations right: Challenges ahead

1. People might expect too much from you. Or too little.

2. There may not be anyone to give you context on what’s happening or happened (you’re responsible for getting that knowledge transfer for yourself)

3. Building relationships can feel like carving a tunnel through the mountain

4. Within weeks, you' might be fielding a tonne of workload a.k.a. content debt (the classic!)

5. No data, metrics or framework to measure the impact of your work

All of these lead to the 3 major roadblocks on your way to success:

1. Feelings of isolation

2. Difficulty getting buy-in

3. Imposter syndrome

All of which we’ll tackle in this post.

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Have you been flying solo in your team as a UX writer/Content Designer and felt like this guy here?

I’d love to hear about your experience, the challenges you faced and how you addressed (or are addressing) them.

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After hours of research, reading personal stories and drawing from my own experiences, I have created a framework for you (the brave first UX writer/content designer of your team) to turn those roadblocks into fertile soil:

Learning & integration, Process establishment, and Initial audit & content creation

Even if there are people to guide you, the following framework or JTBDs will keep you focused and positive:

The above is an updated version of the 30-60-90-day plan I created for myself on Notion. Feel free to duplicate it and customise it for yourself.

Here’s the link: https://uxwritingbud.notion.site/30-60-90-day-plan-for-UX-Writers-Content-Designers-03abab2d77f344f9b362a69c4182e0e8

Step 1: Learning the ropes

One of the most rewarding aspects of being the first UX writer is building the foundation for a strong content design practice within your organisation.
~ Me :)

1.1 Build relationships

Your job satisfaction and everyday happiness rely on these relationships. Soon, you’ll be working in full swing and need help managing timelines, getting a buy-in, and securing the resources you need to succeed (and sometimes, blowing off steam). And that’s when these relationships will set you sail.

So, what you need to make notes of are:

• Working styles

• Departments and hierarchy

• Tech stack, tooling and governance

1.1.1 Schedule 1-on-1 meetings with key team members

Schedule one-on-ones with key team members to understand their roles and daily tasks, and build trust. It’s also a great (read: sly) way to get included in meetings (because many times we’re accidentally not invited), email lists and team channels.

During my first few weeks on the design team at Codecademy, I set up a series of info-gathering sessions. I met with groups of designers by business unit. Plus, I scheduled one-on-ones with design team members working across product squads. This included UX research, design systems, and communication design.

My goal was to get to know the team, their existing pain points, and opportunities related to UX writing. This information would inform my process work. Plus, it would help me determine priority UX writing projects to make a quick impact.
~ Megan O’Neill, Senior Content Designer, Vimeo

“What are your expectations from my role” and “How do you see me succeeding at this position” would be two common questions I would ask at the end of my interviews, to assess the implicit or explicit expectations peers had about my role.
~ Arturo Rios, Product designer at Zenput

1.1.2 Connect as a human and identify allies

Connect over common ground, such as hobbies, interests, and disinterests (and frustrations!), outside of your job function.

Very soon I realised that I won’t be able to do my job if I don’t know the end user, and that was a challenge in itself. So, I struck up friendships with folks from user research and customer support teams—we were equally passionate about giving users the best experience of their lives (via our product, of course) without losing sight of the business goals. We supported each other and worked through problems holistically.

After these two, my most helpful allies came from the Business Intelligence and Data teams.
~ Me

1.2 Get that knowledge transferred

Okay, so there’s no one to tell you a download of what’s happening and what has happened till now. What do you do?

Take matters into your own hands and get that knowledge transferred.

1.2.1 Secure meeting invites

During the meetings, your task is to understand the overall challenges the teams are working through and make a map of the stages of a UX project (discovery, design, development) where you can make a difference.

Fair warning: People might be reluctant to add you to their meetings, wondering if you'd actually make an impact. Tell them that you'll be a fly on the wall, only listening and understanding what's going on for context. If the meetings don't feel valuable, you'll silently leave. Don't forget to make notes. They'll come in handy later!!

If you’re the first UX writer in your team, it’s likely that your colleagues might not be sure which meetings to invite you to and at which stage of the design process to involve you. My solution? I would just show up to all meetings, even the ones where I didn’t have anything to contribute. Over 2-3 months of showing up to all meetings, I could decide for myself where I could add most value and where I probably didn’t have much to do. It was uncomfortable to just be a fly on the wall in some meetings, but it was totally worth it. Because once I had figured it out for myself, my colleagues happily followed my lead and knew when to get me involved.
~ Sidika Sehgal, UX Writer at Obvious

It's a nice idea in theory, but "Show up to all meetings" also implies you know when and where these meetings are happening. Meetings are usually not added to a public calendar, so it falls upon your teammates to keep you informed - and in my experience, people are usually too busy to be worrying about someone else's day to day work.
~ Mohana Das, Lead UX Writer at PayU Finance

Sometimes, you’re working with multiple teams with clashing meeting times. There’s no cookie-cutter solution to this challenge, but your relationships in the team can help with those invites, and you could also request to shadow key folks.

1.2.2 Request to shadow

Pick a few team members to shadow and observe, particularly designers, product managers, or anyone you’d be closely working with. You can offer to do some of their boring tasks, like follow-ups and email content editing, in exchange for understanding their workflows and tools, pain points, and how UX writing can be integrated.

1.3 Contribute actively, with caution

Now that you have some context and your notes, it’s time to narrow down and start contributing in small ways. When the time is right, offer your suggestions during meetings or in one-on-one sessions.

I usually do this 1:1 as I found people you've just met are more open to suggestions in a more intimate setting, than in a group, but you do you.

Frame your recommendations as improvements, not criticisms. Focus on how UX writing can make their existing workflows more efficient.

Ask questions.

Don't be afraid to ask questions about established processes and team dynamics.

I know I'm contradicting myself in a single breath, but...hear me out...you're the newest addition, the freshest eyes, THE user experiencing their team dynamics and work processes for the first time—you get what I mean? You're experiencing the first-time UX of the team, and as a user, your feedback matters!

What I did was quite nerdy, but it made a lot of sense then (and helped me pace myself). I noted my ideas/thoughts, did a RICE analysis, and shared when the timing felt right. I made changes and built influence—slowly but surely.
~ Me

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I’m curious about your methods for gaining insights and integrating into new teams. Care to share?

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1.4 Conduct an audit

Conduct an audit of existing user interface copy and UX to identify areas for improvement and establish a baseline. This will also give you an overview of the project/product, and you'll be able to ask more pointed and informed questions, adding weight to your integration.

In the next phase, you’ll act on the audit findings (more info on handling competing priorities in that section).

Take the time to audit and catalogue the existing content so you can develop a full picture to inform your writing. Doing this work up front helps you get to know your company and its products, voice, tone, and other elements of content style, identify strengths and weaknesses, and create a catalogue of writing to ensure consistency or kickstart new ideas.
~ Laura Widener, Content Designer at Frontier Communications

It can be tempting to jump right into projects, but it’s helpful to know what resources exist, and what you’ll need to create.
~ Andrew Stein, Director, Principal Content Designer at TIAA

1.5 For your team: Organise workshops and become a ‘content translator’

Honestly, I was never 100% on board with educating the team about our value because why should we have to do the work around the work to explain what we do? We're already in the system because we were needed, right?

“Why do we need content design at this company?” is not really a question for you to have to field. Your offer letter answered that question. Your subject matter expertise was required, approved by the business purse string pullers, and now you are here. Swag has been ordered just for you, friend. If the question persists, your hiring manager will surely be able to answer.
~ Chelsea Larsson, Senior Director of Experience Design, Expedia group

However, having worked alongside a lot of designers who have worked in silos and never really had a chance to interact directly with a content practitioner, I understand that not everyone has the visibility as to why a content person was hired, what's the scope of our abilities, and even how to work with us—which is huge!!

And so they might need a crash course on UX writers. But once you've done that and forwarded that PowerPoint deck to the group email address, you're done! No more explanations are needed.

What should be in your deck?

1. Benefits of good UX writing
2. What makes UX writing good
3. UX writing principles and terminology for non-writers
4. How to collaborate with UX writers (with a strong emphasis on involvement from the discovery phase)

You know what? Skip the deck. Just invite everyone to a meeting and play this video: Candi Williams’ Config talk from 2023.

1.6 (optional): Get fluent with your industry

A few of you may have switched industries, from MarTech to FinTech for example. To contribute meaningfully to a discussion, you’d need to understand the industry landscape (on top of the company and team dynamics) and speak your tongue. You’ll also need to understand your competitors' different business models, revenue streams and marketing styles to make informed decisions and trade-offs.

It can take a LOT of years to get that kind of fluency. However, you can get yourself a crash course in the initial days by signing up and going through:

• Popular industry newsletters and podcasts

• Research papers, whitepapers, news articles

• Forums and communities around your competition and industry

Step 2: Setting yourself up for success

This is a crucial step where you create processes, a.k.a. habits, to make failing impossible (or least likely).

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
~ James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

2.1 Create a style guide

If you're the first UX writer/Content Designer in your team, there’s a high chance that there’s no content style guide or rules. Thus, it falls upon you to create them. Hurray!

To show what value you bring to the table, establish your content expertise (read: supremacy) AND make your life easier, develop a guide outlining voice and tone, as well as specific writing guidelines for different scenarios.

This page on the Working in Content website houses great resources for creating a style guide.

Go a step further. Integrate this style guide within the design system.

I created a content design system using Figma variables to appear on repetitive elements like buttons, error texts, tool tips, etc. and for predefined screens. A one-time effort that saved me hours and hours later. Once enforced, all I had to do was 80% content review and 20% new content development, opposite of what I was doing initially.
~ Me

Jason Fox teaches you how to do it in just 90 seconds: Content variants in Figma

2.2 Create a content measurement framework

Language and linguistics are such a subjective topic that it’s tough to quantify their quality. But…

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.
~ Peter Drucker

So, to measure the quality of your output (and others’), you must create a content measurement framework. You may not need to apply it always or test every bit of content string against it, but it comes in handy when you’re trying to show why what you’re suggesting is better for the user/business or during audits, where you can show how the overall quality of content has improved. So it would help if you had a single yardstick to measure the before-after.

Now, there are many ways to measure content quality, and there is never a single framework that will work. You’ll have to experiment and customise for your product, audience, and business goals.

Here are a few ways to go about creating this framework:

• Content heuristics scorecard developed by Jason fox - It is based on Abby Covert’s IA heuristics research and Strategic Writing for UX by Torrey Podmajersky and is simple, quick and effective.

• Scorecard for evaluating UX by Bobbie Wood - It’s quite comprehensive and considers different types of components.

• Content usability heuristics modified by Autumn Kotsiuba - These are based on the UX usability heuristics by Nielsen-Norman group and adapted by Autumn for content.

Remember, the content measurement framework is meant to assess your output (content), not your work's outcome (impact on business/user).

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What tools or techniques do you find effective in measuring content impact? Share them in the comments.

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2.3 Project-manage yourself

Yes, you might be reporting to a product manager, UX lead, or even the CEO, but since you’re the only one in your kind of function (writing), you’ll have to project-manage yourself. That means acting like a traffic controller to ensure that neither you’re overwhelmed nor is the team’s workflow jammed.

The two most effective ways to go about this are:

1. Request intake form

2. Content calendar

Request intake form

Taking time to create and document your intake process can help you stay organised. Whatever project management platform your team uses, you can link it to a Google form or the platform’s native form feature, entries of which can turn into a brief for you to get started.

A streamlined process that everyone can use to make requests will save you time (and anguish). You can ask for the following:

• Brief of what needs to be done, including screens and access to Figma (or other tools)

• Any research or reference links

• A ‘requested’ completion date (‘requested’ because the final delivery date will be assigned by you as per your availability)

• The team sending in the request

• Any KPIs or remarks to help you prioritise better

Don’t worry if the process is not perfect and if you decide to change it entirely. You’re working in the UX field, and that’s all about iterations!

Content calendar (or schedule)

Make your roadmap and monthly/weekly work schedule visible to everyone you work with. This will help communicate your workload, and what your current priorities are.
~ Christina Grocott, UX Writer at Getaround

You can use any of the project management tools your team uses or have one of your liking to offer your team visibility on your tasks. I find Kanban boards effective, but you can have your own process. The important thing is to have everything in a central location that’s easily accessible.

If anyone assigns you something in a comms channel like Slack or Teams, don’t hesitate to respond with the link to the request form. 

Clear communication, process of receiving requests, prioritisation, feedback loops, approvals and project management are crucial in making sure you don’t go nuts. (Just kidding, but you get the drift.)
~ Me

2.4 Stay connected and accessible

Staying connected is not synonymous with staying in touch like your daily Hi’s and Hello’s. It’s about being connected in meaningful, purposeful ways around work. This could look like:

• Using the same project management tools as your team, or at least having access to contribute to each others’ dashboards

• Making UX Writing a required sprint or a pre-release checklist item

• Sharing examples of good/bad UX writing and what makes them so in group chats

• Being present in meetings and brainstorming sessions even if you’re not contributing actively

• Commenting and contributing or just reacting in group chats and discussions

Staying connected helps you get visibility in more than one ways. Remember that this team is not used to seeing you around, and if you’re working remotely, those catch-up instances will be reduced further. UX is a team sport; stay connected and show you’re there whenever needed.

Step 3: Making an impact

Time to get into the ‘zone’.

Document everything!

One ongoing action item here is to document everything, which applies to everything recommended in this post. As a UX writer, you’ll be switching between meetings and contexts and having a place to document or document your logic/thoughts, in general, helps you and your team understand how you arrived at something and why you prefer that. Even months later, you can always return to your documents and understand why certain decisions were made.

Comments I left for my team to communicate my perspective when I’m not physically present to do so.

Other than this, start documenting your notes, insights, observations (long form) in a single place for posterity.

3.1 Clear content debt

No designated UX writer means loads of inconsistencies, unrefined voice and tone, a large number of users tagged and othered as ‘edge cases’ and missed opportunities for brand-love building.

Finally, you’re there—the avatar!

Like it or not, clearing content debt will be your first task.

UX debt includes any ongoing problems in the experience due to launching a fast, easy, or careless solution that negatively impacts users. Whether it is introduced deliberately or accidentally, it’s important to look for UX debt in these areas of the experience that are prone to debt buildup:

• User interface (buttons, links, and visual styling)

• Interaction design (movement from page to page, animations, and scrolling effects)

• Copy, content, and messaging (labels, headlines, and written text)

• Information architecture (navigation structures and content classification)

• Accessibility elements (contrast, visual focus indicators, text alternatives, etc.)

• Customer journey consistency

• Omnichannel seamlessness

~ NN group

If you look at your product through this lens, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed by debt. That, plus the everyday requests, will be sufficient to compel you to find a less noisy corner, decline all meetings, and spend your days ménage-à-trois-ing with your work and laptop.

Prioritisation is the name of the game.

Identify the areas with the biggest impact on user experience and focus on those first.

Clearing content debt is crucial, but balancing daily work as a sole UX writer is also essential. Instead of asking for weeks to focus solely on clearing the debt, I suggest an agile approach. I would dedicate a few hours each day to clearing the debt, blocking my calendar during these hours to avoid interruptions.

I’d definitely avoid unnecessary meetings, ones where I’m not adding any value or those that are not adding value to my work, and save time for other important tasks.

I’ll begin with a comprehensive audit of existing product flows, content, documents, etc. and identify the most critical areas that need immediate attention. Accordingly, I’ll create a roadmap that prioritises the sequence in which content debt will be addressed.

Clearing content debt is an ongoing process. It’s wise to strike a balance between clearing existing issues and supporting ongoing projects.
~ Supriya Kasar, Content Designer at Microsoft

How to prioritise?

You can make informed decisions about your workload by prioritising with any of the following:

• Eisenhower matrix bucketing tasks by importance and urgency

• MoSCoW method to categorise tasks into must-have, should-have, could-have, and won’t-have, or will not have right now.

• Assign items a RICE score based on reach, impact, confidence and effort (For content work, I let the ‘confidence’ score slide and work with the other 3)

• Or, simply look for low-hanging fruit—high-impact, quick wins—to cement your place in all desired discussions.

If two or more action items are equally important, let their assignors butt heads and figure out amongst themselves which one you should prioritise. You stay outside of the ring.
~ Me

3.2 User research integration

Advocate for user research early and often, incorporating user testing insights into UX writing.

Otherwise, how can you confidently say that your copy delivers the desired outcome? Without user research you can’t even validate your content measurement framework! How you score the content for your product depends not on your past experience with other products but on the experience of this product’s current users.

Very soon, I realised that I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I didn’t know the end user, which was a challenge. So, I struck up friendships with folks from user research and customer support teams—we were equally passionate about giving users the best experience of their lives (via our product) without losing sight of the business goals. We supported each other and worked through problems holistically.

After these two, my most helpful allies came from the Business Intelligence and Data teams.
~ Me

To align stakeholder interests with your ideas, you need every bit of data and insights on your side. And that can come only from user research. So,

• always ask for relevant research and user interaction data when accepting UX writing briefs

• make it a point to go through unrelated research or data points (they can spark great ideas)

• help out the research team with usability testing, drafting survey/interview questions, or reworking the research findings into a more user-friendly language

3.3 Participate in testing and demo

To gain valuable insights, offer to participate in product demos and user testing sessions. You could even ask to be the test user.

Yes, you would have seen those screens before, but your brain processes information differently when you interact with the final product (like how you spot a typo right after hitting ‘Send’). Jokes apart, you will notice gaps or missed opportunities when seeing the whole product with its micro-interactions. Your focus will shift from punctuation in static copy to how soon the status message is disappearing.

Similarly, participating in demos and watching others use your product can give you insight into where they’re stuck or where they feel amused. This will give you a broader understanding of your product and open up areas where you can make a difference.

I think that real value as a Content Designer comes from taking a more sort of end-to-end strategic view that empowers your whole team to deliver good content long term and not just you as a Content Designer in that moment.
~ Liberty Howard, Head of Content Design at TPXimpact

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We’re done with the first part of the post—initial tasks.

Remember, these are just some initial tasks. The specific needs of your organisation and projects will dictate the order and focus of your work.

Let’s move to tackle the three major roadblocks anyone in your position will encounter.

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Ongoing strategies: Major challenges

1. Feelings of isolation

2. Difficulty getting buy-in

3. Imposter syndrome

Feelings of isolation

Feeling isolated as the sole UX writer can be a major hurdle.

Why this is a challenge

• Because you’re a team of one.

• Because you can’t always bounce off ideas.

• Because you’re too scared to be vulnerable.

• Because bonds and teams are already built, and you’re the only new kid in the class who speaks a different language.

The need for self-preservation quickly takes over your happiness and pride (and feelings of supremacy) as a sole UX writer. What if they sense that I’m freaking out? What if they don’t see value in my work? What if they decide to replace me with AI or just fire me? The job market is heart-breaking…So, I should not let my guard down, let them know what I’m going through, and always fight back for my work (or, opposite, comply with their suggestions).

All these thoughts and feelings make the first and sole content designers shrink themselves and stay out of reach, struggling to collaborate effectively with their colleagues.
~ Me

How to resolve it (or pre-emptively avoid it)

Revisit tasks 1.1 to 1.5. That should take care of 90% of your situation. Here’s the advice for the remaining 10%:

1. Build rapport with colleagues from different teams. Don’t restrict yourself to just your immediate team. If you need help bouncing off ideas or are stuck with ‘linguistic’ problems, reach out to other writers in the company. There are plenty of word nerds out there looking for other word nerds.

2. Err on the side of overcommunication. Make sure everyone knows what you’re doing, even if you’re struggling. Struggles show that you’re human and trying to do something no one’s ever done. That’s brave.

3. Be open to feedback. Relationships are a two-way street, especially at work. When you open yourself up for feedback and actively listen to your peers’ or other stakeholders’ points of view, you demonstrate a willingness to unlearn and learn. You show that you really hear your team and care. You don’t have to accept every bit of feedback, but that openness and willingness will help build others’ interest and investment in your work.

Difficulty getting buy-in

Demonstrating the value of UX writing to colleagues is crucial for gaining buy-in.

Why this is a challenge

• Colleagues don’t understand the value or impact of UX writing.

• They don’t know how involving you from the beginning can help them.

• They believe content cannot be measured or could be data-driven.

• They continue to believe that people don’t read.

How to resolve it (and pre-emptively avoid it)

Suppose you do the tasks listed above in this post. In that case, some of these concerns will be addressed to some extent, such as educating the team about UX writing, which can inform them of its value and creating a content measurement framework that can give them an idea of its quantifiable aspects.

But, that won’t be enough. You’d need hard numbers. Data doesn’t lie.

1. Create a stakeholder map or follow the RACI matrix format for deliverables: With some pre-planning, you can identify the stakeholders you might need to spend extra effort with upfront, saving many headaches later on. The idea is to get people invested in your work and process from the beginning. Invite them to brainstorm with you, think out loud, and highlight their contribution in group sessions.
   
   Learn more about conducting stakeholder mapping workshops from the author of Leading Content Design, Rachel McConnell. Here’s what a stakeholder map looks like:

   

   ‘Stakeholder management’ is a misleading term. It’s actually ‘stakeholder alignment’, meaning you need to align their goals with your output. You’re playing for the same team.
   Champion user research and you’ll meet your user-centric goals. Understand business constraints and expectations and you’ll get your buy-ins.
   ~ Me

2. Conduct A/B testing: Compare the effectiveness of existing copy with your improved UX writing to showcase a clear data-driven difference.

   Not enough budget or time for it? Do guerrilla testing within the extended team. Just 5 users are enough.

3. Focus on user-centric metrics: You’re doing it for the user, so it makes sense to show value of your work in terms of user-centric metrics. Track how UX writing changes affect task completion rates, error reduction, user satisfaction surveys, and time spent on tasks.

4. Highlight business goals: When nothing works, frame UX writing improvements in the context of their impact on key business metrics (e.g., conversion rates, customer retention).

When working towards a metric, even as a team, I always asked about its current value, what was expected after the UX activity, and the industry benchmark.
~ Me

And don’t forget to stand your ground. Sometimes, you’ll have to put your foot down to arrive on the same page. But when you know you’re right, and there are ways around the said business constraints, stand your ground and push for change.

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What challenges did you encounter in gaining buy-in for your work and how did you overcome them?

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Imposter syndrome

Ah! It’s showtime for the self-doubting mean voices in our heads. Many new UX writers struggle with feeling like they don't belong.

Why this is a challenge

1. Because you’re the new kid surrounded by teammates who’ve been working on this product for long.

2. Maybe they have more experience, worked with big companies, and solved big problems while you were ‘just’ writing in a dark corner. 

3. Maybe they studied a structured curriculum in a proper college, and you’re self-taught using free content from the Internet (like this newsletter).

Feeling like an imposter and lacking confidence in your abilities is normal. However, ask yourself: Do I really not have the skills I was hired for (after 5 gruelling rounds)? Have I really been winging it all this time?
~ Me

How to resolve it

This fantastic observation and advice from Chelsea Larsson always brings my confidence back:

When you ask if you belong at work, you allow the possibility that you don’t. That perhaps you do not have a seat at the mythical table. 

When you bravely cast off any doubt that you belong, you remove that façade of power from the people who don’t really have power over you anyway. And you get to ask a more interesting question. 

How do I belong?
…
So, instead of looking for an invitation, start with an introduction.

Do This

I’m the content designer writing the guardrails for our AI prompt library. What are we working on next?

Not this

I’m new! Can you please include me?
~ Chelsea Larsson, Senior Director of Experience Design, Expedia group

Here are some other ways to deal with the mean voices, a.k.a. taking the reins of your life back:

1. Embrace the learning curve and stay updated. A new product, a new team, and new ways of working are all good things. Recognise that every UX practitioner on your team started somewhere, and challenges are opportunities for growth.
   Additionally, stay up-to-date on UX writing trends and best practices by attending online courses, reading industry publications, and participating in webinars.

2. Seek support from the UX writing community. Join online forums, meetups, or connect with other UX writers for support and knowledge sharing. Share experiences, learn from others, and stay motivated.

3. Celebrate your wins. Document and track your achievements, big and small. This will help build confidence and showcase your value to the team. Also, handy during appraisals.

4. Focus on the user: Even if others don’t recognise the value of your efforts, remind yourself that your work is ultimately about improving the user experience.

Final thoughts

These insights and actions aim to transform potential roadblocks into stepping stones for success, enabling you to lead with confidence and creativity. As you navigate your role, remember that each challenge is an opportunity to refine your skills and advocate for the importance of content design. Your journey is about making a lasting impact that extends beyond the written word, fostering an environment that values and understands the power of strategic content.

The image below, Andy Welfle’s six tips for growing a content team, summarises the content of this post beautifully:

Andy Welfle’s Six Tips for Growing a Content Team (the person who started the content design practice at Adobe) and is currently Principal Content Designer at Microsoft (Image source)

The Notion template also comes with a tracker that you can duplicate!

Here’s the link: https://uxwritingbud.notion.site/30-60-90-day-plan-for-UX-Writers-Content-Designers-03abab2d77f344f9b362a69c4182e0e8

Just duplicate the page and customise.

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Are you a solo UX writer? Share your experiences and challenges in the comments below! What tips would you give to someone just starting out?

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UX Writing & Content Design communities:

• UX Writing India - Slack channel, LinkedIn group

• UX Writing Hub - Facebook group

• Working in content - Sign up to their newsletter to join their Slack channel

• Content+UX - Slack channel

• Content Strategists - Facebook group

• UX Writing - Subreddit

• Women in UX - Facebook group

• UX Writers & Content Designers - LinkedIn group

• UX Writing & Content Design - Linkedin group

• Daily UX Writing - Facebook group

• Conversation designers internet club - Facebook group

• Stockholm UX writing and content design - Meetup group

Please drop links to any UX Writing, Content Strategy and Content Design communities you know of. Let’s help each other out.

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Many, many thanks to the creators of these resources:

• How to succeed as a sole UX writer | Advice by Kendra Ralston

• Score card for evaluating UX content | How-to article by Bobbie Wood

• Job shadowing | Explainer article by Ivan Andreev

• 10 Design heuristics in UX Writing | Article by Autumn Kotsiuba

• Five tips for success as a solo UX writer | Advice curated by Megan O’Neill

• You don’t need permission to do your job | Advice from Smallish book

• So you’re a solo UX Writer…| Advice by Christina Grocott

• Content variants in Figma | How-to article by Jason Fox

• From Solo to Scaled | A book by Natalie Marie Dunbar

• Word to the words - a content and product design love story - Candi Williams (Config 2023)

• UX Debt: How to Identify, Prioritize, and Resolve | Explainer article by Anna Kaley

• Content heuristics score card created by Jason Fox

• It’s not if you belong, it’s how you belong | Advice from Smallish book

If there’s anyone I missed crediting for their work or you, as a reader, want further information about anything, feel free to chat with me.