Open book: Robbie Bernal
Hear from Robbie about navigating the path from Brand to Product writing
Hi Robbie! To start, tell us what you do at Opendoor.
I’m a Content Designer focusing on Seller Products. In other words, I help create the content that our customers see when they work with Opendoor to sell their home.
Content you say? So like, words?
Yup. But not just words. My job is also to work with Product Designers, Product Managers, Researchers, and Engineers to determine what the customer experience should be — not just the words that go into it. In fact, sometimes the best way to explain something isn’t words at all.
For example, take a look at what customers see when they visit our home buying page. This could have been a paragraph. Instead, we decided to show buyers what it will look like when they are ready to make a cash-backed offer.
A year ago, you transitioned from another role at Opendoor. Can you tell us about that?
I previously worked as a Copywriter on the Brand Design team. That’s a fancy way of saying I wrote online ads, landing pages, radio and video scripts, and emails. All of that work was in service of attracting more customers to a simpler, stress-free home sale.
Opendoor is still a very new concept for most people. The way people buy and sell homes hasn’t changed in what…a century? So part of my job was simply to pique people’s curiosity and show them alternatives to the traditional ways of buying, selling, or getting financing.
Another critical part of the job was to show how Opendoor makes a complicated process simple and refreshing. Here’s an example of a video I created with the team without needing much budget.
There’s no doubt in my mind that working with the Marketing team at Opendoor prepared me for a transition to Content Design. I was fortunate to partner with world-class marketers who apply thoughtful strategy and analytical rigor to every piece of creative we test.
I grew from a writer who only thought about “what would be cool” to a writer who instead thought about customer problems — and how messaging might address those problems.
And what about being on the product side of the business? What’s different?
Relatively speaking, Content Design is in its infancy. (Or maybe it’s a toddler now. I’m not sure.) I don’t have all the answers, but I can share some observations.
Product design feels more structured
I find the Product design process to be more structured and phased. This isn’t a knock on Brand, by the way. I’m not sure applying this structure to Brand design would be productive.
When you’re in a product design sprint, it’s always apparent what phase of the project you’re in. Are we still defining the problem? Are we exploring a wide range of solutions? Are we refining one concept?
This type of context-setting is music to my ears. It helps ensure that we’re asking the right questions at the right time and that we don’t get distracted by shiny new solutions.
The tradeoffs feel more extreme
Writing for the product often means you’re working with less space. If you thought being concise on a landing page was hard, wait until you try an error message on a mobile design.
To make your writing more concise, you’ll sacrifice things like clarity or a human tone. It’s a tricky business, and it’s why we content people always do so many iterations. We agonize over these tradeoffs.
What do you find to be similar?
Small words have a big impact
Once, we removed the word “today” from a Facebook ad and saw the click-through rate plummet. I remember being both astonished and relieved that one little word could matter so much. This holds true for product copy.
It’s (still) a numbers game
When I worked in advertising, I was once tasked with writing eight billboards for a client. My Creative Director opened the printer, took out 100 sheets of paper, and asked me to fill all of them with ideas.
We looked over the ideas later and selected eight. I have never forgotten just how important it is to do an immense volume of work. Whether you’re writing product or marketing copy, that’s where the good stuff is.
Co-creating is essential
There are times when you need to be heads-down, but all too often, Content Designers don’t let people into their thought process. If you don’t share things early, you can get really off track. This often leads to a “big reveal” where you discover that you and your stakeholders simply aren’t on the same page. The best way to fix this is to get aligned early, and to share often.
Showing your work helps stakeholders understand the way you approach content. It also enables you to understand their goals and perspective.
Any advice for people starting out or transitioning to content design?
There are three things that I find myself saying again and again. They are proving to be useful so far.
Make life better for your Product Managers
On day one, I told our Senior Director of Product Management that his Product Managers lives should be easier with me here. If they aren’t, I told him it meant I needed to improve. Find a way to help your Product Managers hit their goals. They’re your goals too.
Sign yourself up for managing consistency
In the chaos of production, being consistent with words and conventions is difficult. Make yourself accountable for this. Make a glossary of terms used at the company and share it widely. QA against this glossary and ensure that customers aren’t getting mixed messages.
View content as a bridge between strategy and design
Part of your role is to connect the product strategy to the pixels and words on a person’s screen. And it’s a two-way street. You can discover things with your design partner that make you go back to your product manager to rethink the strategy.
You mentioned before that you had an interesting path to landing at Opendoor. What’s the story there?
It was somewhat serendipitous, really. A friend of mine was working on a photoshoot in Phoenix, and she met a designer at Opendoor. They got to talking, and the designer mentioned she needed a copywriter to partner with. I applied, interviewed, and got the job.
A month or so later, I packed up all my stuff and drove to San Francisco with my dog. I’d never even visited the city before.
Wow. Well, we’re sure glad you came.
Me too.
P.S. If you liked what you read and are interested in learning more, check out our jobs page! We’re always hiring.
