User Experience Copywriting:
This Massive Trend Affects Every Aspect of Business … And UX Is Creating BIG Opportunities for Copywriters

What if you could have the best of all worlds as a copywriter?

Be seen as a high-value asset by clients …

Deliver outstanding long-term results, ensuring sustainable growth for the companies lucky enough to hire you …

Get paid more than the average writer for your specialized knowledge …

And feel good — really good — about every word of copy you write because you know it’s helping to improve the lives of the customers who choose to make a purchase?

That is what’s in store for you when you decide to learn the ins and outs of user experience (UX) and apply that knowledge to your copywriting and content creation.

As a UX copywriter, you’ll work with your clients to create sales copy, email messages, website content, and more that helps readers find what they’re looking for … and even enjoy the process of being marketed to.

If that sounds good to you, then you’ll want to keep reading.

When you do, you’ll learn more about UX copywriting, including …

• What exactly UX copywriting is and how it helps both your reader and your client.
• Why more and more companies are seeking out freelancers with UX knowledge.
• How you can start applying UX principles to your copy today.
• The typical types of projects you’ll work on as a UX copywriter.
• And how you can increase your value by offering UX copywriting services.

Let’s dive in by answering the question, what is UX anyway?

What Is UX?

User experience (UX) describes how a user feels when they interact with a product or service.

UX looks at the customer journey, from beginning to end, and works to insure the user comes first throughout the entire experience.

A company which embraces UX needs all of their efforts to blend in seamlessly … from how they handle telephone enquiries, to how they market and communicate with their customers, all the way through to how they follow up with lapsed customers.

Everything is aimed at making the user experience the best it can possibly be — simple, painless, rewarding.

And the user experience is always happening …

If someone is reading a blog post, they’re having a user experience …

If they’re searching for a specific product, they’re having a user experience …

If they’ve just signed up for an email newsletter … you guessed it, that’s a user experience, too.

Every interaction or touchpoint a company has with a person shapes the experience — which means every touchpoint is important.

And the numbers show smart marketers are embracing UX because of the impact on their customers …

The User Experience Trend Is Inescapable

According to the company Industry Research, spending on user experience is going to grow at more than 16% a year for the next five years, going from $465 million in spending to $1.3 billion before the decade is out.

Based on growth trends, the Nielson Norman group predicts that there will be 100 million UX professionals in the world by the year 2050 … meaning that very nearly 1% of the entire global population will be working in user experience. Think about that.

The statistics show that UX is inescapable — this is where everything is going.

So companies are now paying more attention to the user experience they’re creating for their prospective and current customers — mainly because it impacts their bottom line!

And companies are starting to see opportunities to improve the user experience at every touchpoint. That means web pages, product pages, blog posts, ad funnels, customer service scripts, social media content, FAQs, and more need to give the readers a good experience.

And it’s a good idea to start learning more about UX and how it applies to what you do as a writer. So let’s start by digging into this trend and what makes it different …

What Is UX Copywriting?

UX copywriting is writing that puts the needs and goals of the user first. It’s all about clarity and specifics.

Since UX is the experience a person has when interacting with a company’s website, mobile app, software program, email, or overall online presence, every piece of copy each step of the way is aimed at making the user experience the best it can possibly be.

Whether it’s a homepage, an email, or an article, understanding what the visitor wants and delivering it is the primary objective in UX copywriting.

What Is the Role of the UX Copywriter?

A UX copywriter’s job is to make every online touchpoint a positive and intuitive experience for the user.

The UX copywriter looks at where the user has come from and where they’re going next. They want every interaction or touchpoint to be smooth, simple, clear, and straightforward for the user.

Their job is to iron out any wrinkles along a user’s journey — which results in more sales, more repeat customers, and more profits for the business.

A UX copywriter’s job includes both writing persuasive copy and understanding the customer so they can guide people from one step to the next.

They follow the journey a user takes and remove any obstacles. Every step on the journey should be clear and easy to follow. For a UX copywriter, the job is to make every interaction intuitive for the user … whether it’s clear button text, simple instructions when a sign-in error is encountered, a clear ordering process, informative content, or conversational copy.

A UX copywriter’s content should fit seamlessly into the buyer journey to make it the smoothest, most hassle-free experience it can possibly be. And this is why UX and UX copywriting are so important to any business. If you make the user journey painless, the user is far more likely to buy and then become a repeat customer.

Every experience along the way is a “touchpoint” and each one is important, so let’s take a deeper look at that …

What Is a Touchpoint?

A touchpoint is any interaction between a business and their prospect or customer (the user). A touchpoint can be as big as a 20-page sales letter or as small as an error message.

If the user is reading it, clicking on it, selecting it, or otherwise interacting with it, it’s a touchpoint.

Now think about all the touchpoints that involve the written word …

Landing pages, homepages, product descriptions, order devices, social media posts, ads, emails, articles, customer service scripts, welcome messages, training videos, e-newsletters, special reports … even button text on a mobile device! The list is endless …

To create a positive, purposeful experience, those touchpoints need to be written by someone who understands UX … in other words, a UX copywriter.

User Experience Goes Beyond Design

In the early days of user experience as an official and recognized skillset, it was often referring to the design of a website or software program.

But think about how much the words on a website influence your experience with it.

Have you ever read a paragraph on a website, and realized you weren’t quite sure what it meant or what you were supposed to do next?

Or have you ever read a blog post, and felt disappointed because it didn’t live up to the promise in the headline?

What about reading a sales letter where you felt manipulated or talked down to?

Of course you’ve had experiences like these! Everyone has.

And these are user experience problems. Specifically, they’re UX copywriting problems.

Good UX copy is meant to create a deliberate, positive experience for users by making the words on the page easy to read, clear, honest, and maybe even fun.

And here’s the best news … when companies do this, they usually exceed their goals, so everyone wins!

Why Do Clients Care About UX Copywriting?

Obviously, exceeding goals is a good thing. But how does that happen?

Providing a good user experience helps a company in a lot of ways. Good UX:

• Earns the trust of new prospects.
• Lowers the cost of acquisitions.
• Increases how long customers stay with a company.
• Boosts buying frequency.
• Builds word-of-mouth sales.
• Lowers customer service costs.

Let’s look a little closer at each of these.

Earning the trust of new prospects is hard. When you anticipate their needs and show up in a consistent way, you help build trust.

Acquiring new customers is expensive. And the more crowded the internet gets, the more it costs.

But there are ways around those rising costs.

A great way to lower the cost of acquiring a new customer is to increase how long that person continues being a customer.

How often do they purchase from you? If their buying frequency goes up and if they keep coming back to you for years instead of just months, they become a much more valuable customer.

Think about all the companies you buy from again and again. Chances are they make it easy … they make it fun … and they make you feel like they care about your needs.

The most reliable way to make that happen is to offer a better experience.

Another way to lower the cost of getting new customers is to increase your word-of-mouth marketing. It makes sense that people will trust the recommendation of a friend more than they trust the self-serving promises of a company.

You earn word-of-mouth business by creating a great product and serving your customers well. In other words, through good UX.

Providing a good user experience also saves companies money. By anticipating user needs, a company can reduce the number of customer services calls they get. That’s a huge deal, especially for big companies. Providing a good user experience to customers also tends to result in happier employees and less employee turnover … another big savings that is the result of good UX.

UX has been a big win for the companies that have embraced it … and other companies are starting to take notice. That means more and more often, you’ll find companies that are looking for professionals with knowledge of UX … even if they aren’t very knowledgeable of UX themselves.

Being a User Experience Expert Gives You a Way to Stand Out from the Copywriting Crowd

Companies in nearly every industry are embracing UX. And since almost everything a company does impacts the user experience, they want to work with people who understand UX principles and how to apply them.

Knowing how to create a good user experience through copy and content can open a lot of doors for you as a writer.

A quick scan of copywriting jobs on Indeed — full time and freelance — shows companies asking for things like …

• The ability to partner with UX designers.
• An understanding of how user experience affects conversion optimization.
• The capability to craft UX copy.
• An understanding of how UX affects customer journeys.

It’s becoming more common for companies to ask about user experience knowledge in the people they hire. They want to know that you understand the basic principles underlying user experience and how those principles shape the copy on a page.

When you can say, “Yes, I do know about UX and how to apply it to my copy,” you’ll make an unforgettable impression.

When you understand how to craft copy that supports a deliberate and positive user experience, you’re going to stand out to your potential clients … especially as more and more businesses are clamoring for UX skills.

So Just What Does It Take to Become a UX Copywriter?

Think about how you feel when someone tries to sell you something.

You’ve probably had a wide range of experiences from feeling backed into a corner to feeling really excited about the whole process.

When you’re feeling backed into a corner, it’s usually because you can sense the person on the other end is trying to make the sale, regardless of your needs, concerns, or desires.

But when you feel excited about the process, it’s because it feels like the company or salesperson is interested in you, in understanding your problem or need, and in honestly assessing if they can meet that need.

If it turns out they can, you feel great!

As a UX copywriter, you’re working toward that second outcome.

You’ll find yourself drawing on a number of skills as a UX copywriter.

• You’ll be an advocate for your client’s customer, gently reminding your client that their customer’s goals need to come first.
• You’ll be an empathetic listener, trying to determine your user’s frame of mind, so you can connect with them and help them achieve their goals, solve their problems, and fulfill their needs.
• You’ll be a reputation manager for your clients, helping them to build affinity and credibility with their audience.
• You’ll be respectful of the person you’re writing to.
• You’ll practice helping before selling … and often make more sales because of it.
• You’ll work to put everyone — you, your client, their customer — on the same team. If you do your job right, you all win together.

And of course, being able to write clearly and conversationally is essential.

Establish and Fulfill Expectations to Create a Better User Experience

Imagine going on a trip and staying at an AirBNB. You prefer an AirBNB because you like having your own kitchen and you also like how every stay is unique. One hotel room is more or less the same as the next, but with an AirBNB there are surprises.

Sometimes that’s wonderful, and other times … not so much.

Sometimes you end up in a place that photographs beautifully. It has great light and makes good use of the available space.

But the furniture is uncomfortable. The bed makes you sore. And the sofa is like something out of the Flintstones.

Now obviously, the owner of this AirBNB we’re imagining isn’t going to say outright that the furniture is uncomfortable. But if they approach the description with UX in mind, they can create an expectation with their audience that the place is able to fulfill.

For example, they could focus on location and who the rental is perfect for. If they framed it as a landing pad for someone planning to spend their days exploring the city and their evenings checking out the nightlife, that visitor isn’t going to be disappointed. As a close-in place to sleep rather than a homey place to stay and work during the day, the AirBNB works.

One of your roles as a UX copywriter is to establish honest expectations within your reader, so when they do make a purchase, they’re happy with what they get.

A Little Bit of Care Goes a Long Way

Writing good UX copy stems from caring about the reader. You want your client’s customer to succeed, and everything you do stems from that desire.

Good UX copy is honest. It strives to provide objective information so readers can make good decisions. It’s helpful and it’s personable.

One reason UX copy is so important is because it matters how you treat people … and how you talk to people is a big part of that. How you talk to people goes a long way to determining how they feel about you.

Imagine for a minute that you’re a parent looking to buy a bike helmet for your child. That’s a small purchase with a lot of emotional weight riding on it. You want your child to have fun. But you also want them to be safe. And you especially want to protect them from head injuries.

So you begin researching children’s bike helmets.

One site opens with this copy (a real example):

It isn’t that this copy is talking down to the reader, but it’s all over the map. You want to figure out how to choose the right helmet for your child and two breaths in, this page is trying to redirect you to teaching your kid how to ride a bike.

On another site, you find this copy:

That copy connects with the reader immediately by helping them imagine their own child’s riding habits. And it finishes with the promise that it has what you came to find. Plus, it recognizes the one struggle that all parents face: “Will my child actually use this or will it be a fight every time I ask them to put it on?”

Most parents are going to feel a little on guard with the first example. It’s easy to wonder if the copy on that page has an agenda other than giving advice on finding a good helmet for a child.

The second page is doing a better job of meeting a parent’s expectations, staying focused on the parent’s goal, and demonstrating and understanding and concern for the parent’s needs … things that UX copywriters take very seriously.

Now that you understand a little about the skills you need, you might be wondering what kinds of projects clients hire UX copywriters for.

What Kinds of Projects Do UX Copywriters Work On?

UX writers work on a wide variety of copy and content: landing pages, homepages, product descriptions, order devices, social media posts, ad copy, emails, articles, customer service scripts, welcome messages, e-newsletters, special reports, button text on a mobile device or app … the list is endless.

Remember, every piece of copy is a touchpoint with a customer that helps to shape their experience.

That means just about any project you can think of could benefit from being crafted for better UX.

But there are projects where UX is more essential …

• E-commerce pages — especially product pages.
• Sales funnels — the step-by-step nature of sales funnels can become confusing if you lose sight of the user experience.
• Email marketing — when you send someone an email, you’re entering their space. Providing a good UX is crucial if you want to be invited back.
• Content marketing — no one wants to read boring, difficult, or confusing content.
• Mobile marketing — mobile users want information NOW, so the user experience has to be simple, quick, and easy.
• Event marketing — events, whether they are in person or virtual, are all about the experience … and that includes the marketing and content to promote the event.

And the time is always right to improve the user experience. Whether the economy is strong or shaky, smart companies invest in UX.

Companies that understand the importance of UX will hire UX professionals because they know that providing a good user experience is key to their success. Forrester research reports a better UX design can increase conversion rates up to 400%!

Give Readers the Answers They Want with User-Focused Content

Whether you call it a blog post, an article, or content, user experience plays a big role in content marketing. And that means a lot of companies want UX copywriters to help them plan and write their content.

Most often, these companies will turn to UX copywriters for help with educational content. These are the articles that people read when they’re researching a solution to a problem. Think “how-to” articles and “best solution” articles.

If someone is asking, “How do I do something?” or “What is the best way solve a problem?” they’re not looking for sales material. They’re looking for helpful, user-focused information. And savvy companies will make sure to provide it, often with the help of a UX copywriter.

There’s a good reason for this:

How do people get on an email list? They encounter content from a company and they like it, so they join the company’s list.

How do people find a website? They put in a search term on Google, and Google returns results that it hopes will be helpful — in other words, it returns content.

How do companies know what to post on social media? At least in part, this is determined by content.

So, content plays a huge role for a lot of companies. And there’s plenty of data to show why.

In a survey of 1,700 marketers conducted by Semrush, 55% of respondents said that producing more content is key to ranking higher on search engines. 53% said producing higher-quality content was essential to better rankings.

In research curated by Ahrefs, 67% of marketers report that content marketing brings in leads … 72% say that helps to educate their audience … and 63% use content marketing to build awareness.

And 81% of marketers say that content marketing is core to their business.

And these days, people will read three to five pieces of content before they reach out to a sales rep or make a purchase. Without good content, companies lose sales.

But the key word there is “good.”

People aren’t looking for ho-hum content. They’re looking for articles and blog posts that answer their questions, give them a deeper understanding of what they’re looking for, and if possible, entertain them in the process.

In other words, they’re looking for a good user experience!

Which is why more and more companies are looking for UX knowledge in their content writers.

Make It Easy for Shoppers to Say Yes to a Product

Think of all the e-commerce sites out there!

In the United States alone, there are more than 2.5 million e-commerce sites.

Every one of these sites has products to sell. And every one of those products needs its own page.

That’s a lot of pages that need to be written.

And the sites that are performing best are the ones that provide a good user experience on those product pages. The design needs to be intuitive and pleasing, of course. But the copy also has to be good. Otherwise, the page will underperform.

In fact, in data gathered by Convert Cart, studies and surveys showed that:

• Nearly nine out 10 customers cite the product page content as the factor that most influences their decision to buy.
• Nearly nine out of 10 also say that they won’t buy from a company again if the product descriptions prove not to be accurate.

If the product descriptions aren’t accurate (a huge part of UX), very few of the people who do buy will be back for future purchases. And the company will see more returns, which is expensive for them.

That’s why some of the most successful e-commerce companies (think Amazon and Zappos) make huge investments in UX. Done well, a good user experience — including well-written user-focused copy on the product pages — can turn an e-commerce company into a household name.

Bring a Better User Experience Into the Inbox

Email marketing continues to be the hub of most online marketing efforts.

Businesses use email in all sorts of ways.

They nurture relationships with email newsletters … they promote products with special offers … they launch products with sales funnels … they make announcements … confirm purchases … provide support … all through email.

But one type of email message is especially important to the user experience and often goes ignored by companies.

This is the welcome message. The email that goes out to a new subscriber or customer welcoming them to the list (or product or app), establishing expectations, and sowing the seeds for a satisfying experience.

Welcome emails, sometimes called onboarding messages, are ridiculously effective — when written well.

How effective? According to Hive.co, welcome emails have a staggering 91.43% open rate. And Campaign Monitor has found that people read welcome messages at a 42% higher rate than the regular messages sent out to a company.

When someone signs up for a list or purchases a product, you have their attention. They’re watching for what comes next. And what comes next is the welcome message. Unfortunately, so many companies don’t give it the attention it deserves, and that’s a big missed opportunity.

Not only does the welcome message give a company a chance to highlight what’s valuable about their products and services, it also sets the tone for the new subscriber or customer going forward.

You can be deliberate, helpful, relevant, and useful — creating a great user experience that primes more of the audience to take the next step and make a purchase … or another purchase.

Or you can write a bland, boring useless message that’s utterly forgettable.

Smart companies are turning to UX copywriters to craft welcome messages that make a lasting good impression with their audience.

Each of these projects can help a company remain profitable during a tough economy and enjoy healthy growth when the economy is strong. It all comes down to providing a good user experience on key pages … and to do that, a company needs the help of a good UX copywriter.

But, what if you love the idea of UX, but you don’t feel ready to tackle writing side of things?

Well …

As a UX Specialist, You Can Do as Much or as Little Writing as You Want

One of the neat things about UX copywriting is that you can scale it to fit your needs and your skill level.

If you’re still getting the hang of copywriting in general, you can quickly learn how to recognize good and bad UX copy … and how to make suggestions for improving it.

Your work with your clients might simply be to review several pages on their website and their key sales funnels and suggest changes to improve the experience and flow of the copy.

That’s one level.

Maybe you have some confidence in your writing skills, but you still get nervous working from scratch. You don’t like to deal with a blank page.

In that case, you can take your client’s existing copy and edit it to improve the user experience. So, instead of suggesting changes, you’re making the changes yourself and sending them over to the client to implement.

That’s another level.

Or maybe, you love to figure out the client’s voice, the customer journey, and everything in between. So, you write UX copy for your clients starting from scratch.

That’s yet another level.

Using Your UX Knowledge to Increase Your Value as a Copywriter

Like any writer, a UX copywriter’s rates are influenced by a number of factors.

How well you convey the value you create for your clients … the industry you work in … the size of the clients you work with (and the size of their budgets) …

Writing for the user experience is a lot like writing for SEO. It commands a premium. So don’t be shy about charging a higher rate for your UX copywriting services.

Begin by looking at the standard range of fees for the projects you’re interested in — you can find them in AWAI’s Pricing Guide. Then consider that you’re bringing a specialty skill to the table. Based on that, aim for the top half of the range for the project in question, even when you’re just starting out.

In addition to getting comfortable with the higher value you bring and charging accordingly, there are other ways you can use what you know about UX to increase your value.

For instance …

Creating High-Value UX Copywriting Packages

Packaging your writing services can be more convenient for your clients and gives you a way to bring in higher fees for the UX writing you do.

Packaging your services is also advantageous because you can ensure your client sees a better result, which means they’re more likely to hire you again and to send your referrals.

So what does a UX package look like?

Well, that depends on the main type of UX copywriting you do. Let’s imagine that you specialize in writing email welcome messages. Instead of just providing the messages, you could create a package that provides:

• Sign-up form copy
• A sign-up landing page
• A confirmation page
• A thank you page
• An incentive report
• A confirmation message
• A three-part welcome series
• An offer landing page

By adding the most logical components that would be used with the welcome message series, you expand the work you’ll do and increase the fees you can earn.

Now instead of charging $600 for writing a three-part welcome message, you’ve created a package that will ensure a better user experience, improve conversions, and reduce unsubscribes for your client. Plus, now you can charge upwards of $3,000 for the combined elements.

Offering a One-Day Website User Experience Rehaul

If you want to get creative, have a little fun, and provide your clients with tremendous value, consider spending a half-day with them, reviewing their website for the user experience, and making suggestions, recommendations, and edits right there in real time.

This kind of one-day intensive teamwork session could provide your client with a laundry list of changes to improve the experience of their site. During the day, you could give them ideas to test and make edits to the copy on their most important pages. Plus, you’ll be able to have conversations with them about the why behind your recommendations, answer their questions as you go, and put your focus on what they value most.

Depending on the size and budget of the company, you could charge $500 to $2,500 for a half-day session like this.

Those are just a couple of ideas for designing UX copywriting services that deliver big value to your clients, increasing your earnings and their results.

How Becoming a UX Copywriter Can Lead to More — and Better — Clients

Based on the growing trends, in 10 years or less, just about every business out there will be expecting you to have some knowledge of what goes into creating a purposeful user experience as part of your foundational copywriting skills.

But for right now, tech companies, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies, and e-commerce companies are the ones who will perk up and lean forward when you say you understand user experience (UX) principles and how they apply to writing and marketing.

But any company can benefit from delivering a good user experience … and your clients will also be more responsive to you when you’re providing them a good user experience.

So, really, you’ll find your UX copywriting skills add value and set you apart no matter who you’re talking to.

Clients Want UX … Even If They Aren’t Quite Sure What It Is

UX has become quite a buzzword in the recent years, as you can see is this Google Trends graph …

Even businesses that aren’t quite sure what UX is, are aware it’s something they need to pay attention to.

Take this anecdote shared by Heather Robson, a UX copywriting pioneer:

More and more, companies are realizing that UX is important, even essential. Many of them aren’t sure what all UX entails, but they’re looking for professionals to help with it … including copywriters.

When you can say that you understand and specialize in user experience, you’ll immediately set yourself apart from other copywriters and give yourself an advantage.

Maybe the Best Thing About UX Copywriting

When you think about making a living as a writer, what do you picture?

The answer to that question is as unique as you are, but there are some things that are common desires among writers.

Many writers are shooting for all of the following in one way or another:

• Financial security
• Scheduling freedom
• Location flexibility
• Work satisfaction

It’s a pretty great combination.

But, with a lot of writers who are just starting out, that last one tends to be an afterthought.

When you’re landing your first few clients, it’s easy to focus on how much you’re going to get paid … and not having to punch a clock. You may be willing to take on just about any project. Some you’ll love. And some might be tedious to the point of being painful.

The more time you spend as a freelance writer, the more value you’ll find in doing work you find rewarding.

When you’re doing work that’s meaningful and that you’re really proud of, it brings a level of satisfaction and content, not just to your work life, but to your whole life.

You can spend your workdays on things that fascinate you. And even when you’re not working, you might find yourself thinking about work, not because you’re worried or stressed … but because you’re excited to get back to it.

If you want work you feel good about right from square one — and that’s a wise approach — then UX copywriting is one of the best “feel good” opportunities you’ll find.

At the beginning of every day, when you’re working on UX projects, you get to feel really, really good about the work in front of you.

You’re helping your readers … even when you’re selling.

Your goal, as a UX copywriter, is to help people see if the product you’re writing about is a good fit for them, and if it is, to help them make the purchase with confidence and ease, and then to help them succeed with what they’ve bought.

And if that sounds like a good fit for you, then UX copywriting is something worth looking into.

Help Your Clients Land Customers for Life

UX copywriting gives you the opportunity to help your clients better serve their customers. It’s an approach that is built on respect, transparency, and empathy … and most importantly, treating customers like people rather than transactions.

All that adds up to a copywriting skillset you can feel amazingly good about every time you use it. Plus, it’s one your clients will value and that will set you apart in your marketing.

And that’s a “feel good” opportunity if there ever was one.