“Hello World”, Literarily: Pivoting to UX Writing
I love to write a lot. I love it more than I love dogs which is saying something because I had three dogs at one point in my life. Unfortunately, one of them, named Tigger (yes, after the Tigger in Winnie the Pooh) died suddenly shortly after I moved to the USA for my masters. But this article is not about that. As much as I want to tell you more, it is about UX writing. Did I tell you that I love writing?
Why UX Writing?
Following my move to study for my Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing, I, in the course of navigating school and life, had new clarity about my passions and career goals. After weighing my interests and vision, I made the decision to pivot to UX writing. It is an intersection for my passions for technology, writing, and making money. You might say that my passion for the latter is greater than the former, and you would not be wrong, at least not entirely.
My introduction to technology, as we know it, was a laptop someone bought for my father circa 2008. I spent a chunk of time on that thing, creating some of my first social media profiles (Facebook, Yahoo mail, Twitter, Hi5), some of which I still use today; and playing games. My parents thought I had a knack for technology since I spent too much time tapping away on that HP laptop, and signed me for a computer school. I learned a lot but somewhere along the line, everything changed. I decided I was going to be a singer in a red dress with a thigh-high slit. Why red? I have no idea. Evidently, I abandoned that dream because I fell in love with this maddening thing called writing in my first year at the University of Lagos.
What is UX Writing?
Forgive my manners, I just went on a ramble about everything but the actual thing this article is about: UX Writing. User Experience (UX) writing is writing (micro)copy for digital products (apps, websites) that helps users navigate that product with ease. It is anticipating the user’s needs and writing a copy that matches and answers the user’s needs, kinda like a sensei/life coach. You can read more about it here.
Now, UX is a rather vast and interesting field, and I know this because I have taken at least five different courses on design, and writing for the web. Don’t worry, I’ll share some of them with you, keep reading. I first heard, actually read, about this field on Twitter but I did not pay much attention until I moved to the US. With better infrastructure and UX writing showing up everywhere on my feed (eyes on all involved), suddenly I took that as a sign to get to work. I started to read, network (which was really searching for UX writers on Twitter and Linkedin) and connect with them.
My Journey So Far
One of the first people who responded to me was let’s call him G and he recommended Content Design by Halvorson Kristina Richards. Prior to this, during my mildly obsessive research, I had gotten a copy of Strategic Writing for UX: Drive Engagement, Conversion, and Retention with Every Word by Torrey Podmajersky and started reading. Let me tell you for free, these books will get your mindset through the door of UX writing. He also shared the UX Resource Library which is an all-you-can-eat-buffet for UX Writing, everything from courses to clarity calls with industry experts. This is where I met, let’s call her W, who works as a senior UX writer at one of the biggest fintech companies and she encouraged me to learn design alongside UX writing. I had already spoken to @Everythingnaart during her free clarity sessions at the time and she advised me to start the Google UX Design course on Coursera. So, I did. I am currently rounding up the third module on Building Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Prototypes. I hope to share my project(s) with you in a bit on my new portfolio which I am building on Squarespace.
Considering the fact that UX writing is a crucial part of sales, as it also requires that you walk users through the buyer’s journey, I started learning The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing to better understand the user’s journey and how to sell. I also used Linkedin Learning to be better aware of UX Foundations: Content Strategy.
How?
Make no mistake, this is one of the hardest things I have ever done because I have had to combine this with my full-time MFA program, and my job as a Graduate Assistant in the Poets Database project with the current Poet Laureate of the state of Virginia. And I am easily distracted (well, used to) by social media, crippling loneliness, and movies while gobbling ice cream. But I want this, need this more than several things. So I downloaded Flora which is a great tool to lock yourself out of your phone. I also dedicate at least two hours a week to taking classes and making notes in my rather pretty journal with colour-coded pages. I also follow wonderful UX writers and people achieving great things across social media; Instagram, Twitter, and Clubhouse who indirectly motivate me with their hard work and consistency. I have to give a special shout out to Amin A also known as @Everythingnaart for her Clubhouse rooms and Twitter spaces which have ABSOLUTELY changed my mindset on the endless opportunities that are available if you are willing to do the work. If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I recommend that everyone should follow her. Do so now!
Finally, it has been one year since I arrived in the USA and I am immensely grateful to God and clarity that I did not have at this time last year when a gust of cold wind made me mutter “Jesus, it is so cold” as I walked out of the airport. I am now actively applying to internships, with more confidence in my skills than ever before. All things work together for good. I am rooting for you.
