Why Writing Small Fragments of Copy Can Make You an In-Demand Writer (and 5 Ways to Get Started)
By Sandy Franks

There’s no denying that long-form sales copy can help a client acquire lots of new customers and increase their overall sales.

But writing short bursts of copy can also pack a big punch. And the demand for trained UX copywriters to craft those key pieces of copy is growing at a rapid pace.

That’s because the Return on Investment (ROI) of UX is huge. According to a recent study by Toptal, a global hiring firm, “Every dollar a company spends on UX copy and content brings between $2 and $100 dollars in return.”

In the UX world, short fragments of text are called microcopy and businesses use them to enhance a customer’s online user experience, hence the title UX.

What happens when you learn to write UX copy is that you become an advocate for your client’s base of customers.

But writing UX copy also changes how you see the customer because you think about their goals and the benefits they’ll gain when they visit your client’s website and make a purchase.

Examples of places you’ll find UX copywriting and content are on:

• Page titles
• Page headings (and headlines)
• Taglines
• Email subject lines
• Summaries, decks
• Hints, tips, explainers
• FAQs
• Order pages
• And much more

And while UX copy is short in length, the words you choose make a big difference to your client’s customer. (One word made a $300-million difference to Amazon’s bottom line … read more about that story here.)

But how do you actually compose UX copy? Well, you follow many of the same methods as writing long-form copy. Here are five ways to get started writing UX copy:

Get Started Way #1: Know your audience. You’ll want to research to find out your client’s ideal customer. You can do that by talking with your client and also doing in-depth research on your client’s industry and marketplace.

Get Started Way #2: Identify product benefits. With UX writing, you want to include every benefit you can think of and then you’re going explain how these benefits are possible. For instance, you’ll answer the question of what your client did to make these benefits come about.

Get Started Way #3: What sacrifice will your prospect make? Speaking of benefits, you’ll also want to know what sacrifice your audience is making or will have to make if they don’t buy this product. For instance, if your target audience is worried about losing weight, then one sacrifice they might make is time. How long do they have to wait to see those pounds melt away?

Get Started Way #4: Tell a story. As a UX copywriter, you’ll also want to tell the story behind the product. Why does this matter? Because stories are how people remember things. In fact, our brains our hardwired for stories, which is why they have broad appeal.

Get Started Way #5: Make a claim but back it up. In your UX copy, if you tell the prospect the product is capable of doing certain things, you have to back up that claim. You can use customer testimonials, or stories with facts and figures to show this is true.

Now, this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to knowing all about writing UX copy. There’s much more and you can learn everything when you sign up to become a Certified UX copywriter.

That’s right. Since UX is in such demand these days, AWAI has put together a LIVE coaching and mentoring program to teach you everything you need to know about becoming a UX copywriter.

The program is headed by UX expert Heather Robson, who has worked with a number of companies and clients on their content marketing and online marketing strategies, including writing for the Web. She’s been writing UX copy full-time since 2003 — long before it became trendy — or before it really even had a name.

She’s so good — and so trusted — that even heavyweight copywriters and marketers like Brian Clark, Nick Usborne, and Ann Handley have hired her to write UX copy for their businesses!

Heather also serves as Managing Editor of Wealthy Web Writer. You can learn more about Heather and the program she’s put together right here.