My exact UX content writing process
Sneak a peek, make it your own or build upon it
After the stack on the Usability of UX content, I received some queries about incorporating those principles without compromising the brand voice, user emotions, business goals, or any of those principles. It’s a legit concern. Sometimes, making our UX text all warm and fuzzy stretches it out, or keeping it snappy blurs the message.
So, I’m sharing my process of writing UX content, where I incorporate one principle after another and still create a few options for my team to choose from.
Here’s the kicker: I share the writing and editing process with my team too, making it hard for them to contest the final output. (A less effort-intensive way to convince stakeholders!)
For the uninitiated, UX Writing Bud translates UXW mumbo-jumbo to human so you can learn and kickstart your career with the least effort and investment. If that’s your jam…
I’m picking an example from the 15-day UX Writing Practice Prompts for this activity. (Fill out this Google form to get these UX Writing Practice Prompts for yourself)
Product: Travel booking app
Scenario: The app is experiencing high refund inquiries due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The user’s trip has been cancelled, and they need to request a refund.
Background
User: 65-year-old retiree with an average literacy level residing in a small town
Brand persona: Compassionate, informative, and helpful
UX Writing task
Write a message informing the user about the cancellation and offer an option to request a refund. Make sure the message is convincing, compassionate and easy to understand.Usability principles to consider
Accessibility
Presence of heart/consideration for the user
Clarity and helpfulness
Transparency ⇒ Reliability
Brevity and purposefulness
Base content (the skeleton)
First off, I lay down the groundwork. Think of it like a lighthouse that doesn’t let the poet inside overrides the UX writing spirit. They are also good reminders for the purpose of the UX content (because icons and images are not sufficient) at that stage for my team.
As per the prompt, the guidelines are:
Core message: inform the user of the cancellation and refund policy
CTA: offer the option to (request) a refund
Base content
Title: Trip cancelled
Message: Request a refund. Our team can help.
CTAs: Refund | SupportThis is also how most UX writers receive content requests when working in silos and are asked to do their magic at the last moment. (Rant for a later day)
Back to the topic…
If the product doesn’t have a style guide, then style notes like tone of voice, punctuation, capitalisation, verbosity and word choice are also mentioned. For this prompt, style notes would be direct, humble, informative, helpful, compassionate and also, neutral (Flight cancellation is not anybody’s fault, and there’s no need for the product to share/take on that blame).
Constraints and considerations
Constraints are unavoidable in UX content. Mostly, it’s character space. In this case, considerations are the age and literacy level of the user.
Additionally, I’d share my perspective and try to get the devs on board for adding text-to-speech functionality.
Now, we’re not writing just for this user, but being mindful of them would make the experience more accessible to others who face similar challenges. Read more about writing for older humans.
Technical accessibility (in theory) ✅
The fun begins, a.k.a. the iterative process
Fleshed-out first draft: Transparency
Title: Trip cancelled
Message: Your trip was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. You can request a full refund for your trip. Our team can assist.
CTAs: Request refund | Contact support
Link: Cancellation & Refund PolicyTransparency ✅ (Reason for cancellation + what % of refund + link to policy)
2nd draft: Purposefulness, Helpfulness and Accessibility
My approach:
Inform the user about the incident, the reason and what they can do next for resolution (title and message)
Offer more than one way to arrive at the resolution (self-refund, via customer support)
Share resources for further information and help (link to policy, customer support)
Use simple words from common parlance, plain language, no metaphors or slang, and consistent terminology. Keep a neutral yet conversational tone.
Use as many words as required to convey the complete message.
Link’s text’s font size and colour to be visible and large enough to be clicked (Will share my perspective and try to get the designers on board for this)
Copy explorations
Title: ⚠️ Your trip was cancelled
Message: Your trip, unfortunately, was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. We're here to support you during this time. You can request a refund. Our team is ready to assist.
CTAs: Request a refund | Contact support
Link: View Cancellation & Refund Policy
Rationale: Emoji to grab attention, doesn't blame or accept the blame for the situation, delivers the complete message in the most to least important order, uses commonly-used wordsTitle: Important: Trip Cancellation
Message: Your upcoming trip has been cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. We understand this might be disappointing. You have the option to request a full refund. Our team is here to help.
CTAs: Request refund | Get help
Link: Learn more about our Refund Policy
Rationale: Impersonal title, conveys an understanding of the user's emotions, stays on the topic of 'refund', shows the support team's eagernessTitle: 🚫 Trip Cancelled: COVID-19 Update
Message: Unfortunately, your trip had to be cancelled due to ongoing travel restrictions from COVID-19. We understand the challenges this brings. You can initiate a refund for your booking amount. We're here to provide guidance if needed.
CTAs: Start refund process | Need more support
Link: Check our Cancellation & Refund Policy
Rationale: Incident + cause in an impersonal title, conveys an understanding of the user's emotions, indicates 'refund' will be a process (no instant)Title: Action Required: Trip Cancelled
Message: Your travel plans have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. We're here to make things easier for you. To resolve this, you can request a refund for your booking. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need more information or assistance.
CTAs: Get a refund | Ask for help
Link: Read our Cancellation & Refund Policy
Rationale: Begins with the need for action, affirms the control is still in the user's handsI’ll pick one or maybe create another from the phrases that make the most sense to me. UX content proceeding to the next stage:
Title: ⚠️ Action Required: Trip Cancelled
Message: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, unfortunately, your trip stands cancelled. We understand this might be disappointing. To resolve this, you can request a full refund of your booking amount. If you need assistance, our support team is ready to help.
CTAs: Request refund | Contact support
Link: Learn more about our Cancellation & Refund PolicyPurposefulness ✅
Helpfulness ✅
Accessibility ✅
Being mindful of the user’s emotional state, age, and literacy level, presence of heart (considerations for the user) is also covered. So…✅ to that too!
3rd draft: Brevity and Clarity
My approach:
Stay within the character limit without compromising clarity, helpfulness and information.
Use simple words
Graphic: ⚠️
Title: Trip Cancelled
Message: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, your trip stands cancelled. You can ask for a refund. Contact our team for support.
CTAs: Request refund | Contact support
Link: View Cancellation & Refund PolicyGraphic: ⚠️
Title: Trip Cancelled: Covid-19 Update
Message: Your trip is cancelled due to Covid travel restrictions. To get a full refund, simply request it. We're here to assist if needed.
CTAs: Request refund | Contact us
Link: Refund PolicyTitle: Important: Trip Cancelled
Message: Trip cancelled due to Covid-19. You can request a full refund. Our team is here to help.
CTAs: Request refund | Get help
Link: Cancellation PolicyTitle: Trip Cancelled: Action Required
Message: Covid-19 affected your trip. Request a full refund. Contact us anytime.
CTAs: Refund please | Need help
Link: Read Cancellation InfoTitle: Trip Cancelled due to Covid
Message: Request a full refund or contact us for help.
CTAs: Give me refund | Need help?
Link: Read the refund guideGraphic: 🚷
Title: This trip was cancelled
Message: Your trip is off due to Covid-19. You can request a full refund. Contact our support team for assistance.
CTAs: Refund request | Seek help
Link: Refund GuideSame process now—Pick one of these or create another from the phrases that make the most sense. UX content moving to the next stage:
Graphic: ⚠️
Title: Trip Cancelled
Message: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, your trip was cancelled. To get a full refund, simply request it. Contact our support staff for help.
CTAs: Refund please | Contact support
Link: View Cancellation & Refund Policy
Rationale: Emoji replaced with a graphic to grab more attention, 'simply' to convey ease, 'please' to go with 'request', more personal CTABrevity ✅
Clarity ✅
The copy can be used at this stage too. However, I strongly advocate for empathy. Hence, the 4th draft.
4th draft: Add empathy, if missing
My approach:
Step into the user’s shoes—connect what’s just happened with the same incident I faced or similar, like failed plans, loss of control, a mix of shock and despair, etc.
Don’t throw in humour or try to be cheeky—the user is elderly and might not understand the humour or feel offended.
Side note: I was really tempted to use phrases like score a full refund, our crew, break no sweat, we’re all ears, Covid chaos, pulled the plug on your plans, got your back, hit us up, etc. But, the guidelines I set for myself (my approach) brought me back to sanity.
Copy explorations
Graphic: ⚠️
Title: Trip Cancelled
Message: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, unfortunately, your trip was cancelled. We understand this must come as a shock. Don't worry! You can request a full refund. Contact our support team for help.
CTAs: Refund please | Contact support
Link: View Cancellation & Refund PolicyGraphic: ⚠️
Title: Trip Cancelled
Message: Covid-19 restrictions disrupted your plans. We understand the challenges this brings. Worry not! You can get a full refund. Contact us if you need help.
CTAs: Refund please | Need help
Link: View Cancellation & Refund PolicyGraphic: ⚠️
Title: Unforeseen Twist: Trip Cancelled
Message: Covid-19 has unexpectedly twisted your plans. We know it can be frustrating. To make things easier, we're offering a full refund. For help, our support staff is a message away.
CTAs: Get refund | Message support
Link: View Cancellation & Refund PolicyGraphic: ⚠️
Title: Trip Cancelled
Message: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, your trip stands cancelled. It's disappointing, we know. But don't worry! You can request a full refund. Our support staff is here if you need guidance.
CTAs: Request refund | Need guidance
Link: View Cancellation & Refund PolicyOut of these, I’ll choose two that I find most appropriate (info + empathy).
Empathy ✅
Presenting the top dogs to my team
I present…
Base content (skeleton)
Fleshed-out first draft (what ought to be there)
Winning 3rd draft (If they like it snappy…and cold.)
Two favourites from the 4th draft and why they rock
…and let the team decide for itself. 60-70% of the time, there’s no pushback. When there is, I share my entire editing process and get the team’s perspective. If there’s a tie, we leave it to the experiments.
Remember:
Even if a copy is a winner, one must still experiment and try to improve it (Of course, within reason. Testing every bit of copy will make you go bonkers.)
And…we’re done!
So there you have it, my step-by-step UX content creation dance.
I’m curious to know your thoughts on my UX content writing process. Please share them in the comments. And be generous with your thoughts.
Houston, we have a problem!
⚠️ Disclaimer: This piece is part-advice, part-rant. Skip the read if you’re not up for both. The past few days, I have been knee-deep in UX content reviews for apps, dashboards and websites. Not that I don’t do this on the side for passing time. But this time, it was more intentional for the usability course I’m pursuing, which made me wonder:
What I didn’t consider in the example prompt:
Presence of multiple trips - Will the text remain generic with ‘trip’, or can it be customised to ‘trip to Delhi’?
Event and vehicle of first information delivery - Will it appear upon tapping on that trip, opening the app, in a push notification, in-app notification, or an email? How will a 65-year-old person trying to maintain their step count streak indoors during Covid-19 know their trip was cancelled for the first time?
Automated refunds