What I learned as Slack’s first product writing intern
Content Strategy + Thoughtful Word Choices = Product Writing
From the first time I opened Slack, I was charmed by the way the product talked to me. Accidentally taking an impossible action in Slack was met with a friendliness that abated my discomfort. It reminded me that there were people behind this product who wanted to make my working life better. After using Slack to coordinate student-labor organizers, talk about ethical content strategy, and more, I was completely sold on the product — which led me to apply for Slack’s first Product Writing internship.
I came into this role not knowing what to expect. Now, having spent my summer as an intern, it’s clear to me that writers are a crucial part of design at Slack. We shape the product with our words and unique content expertise through a few key ways.
Taking Out Unnecessary Content
Writers at Slack are exceptionally good at knowing what needs to be said, and when it should be said. In particularly complex and confusing interactions, we’ll figure out what you need to know, and organize it in a digestible way.
When a workspace requires two-factor authentication, we send an email to its members to explain this new security measure and any necessary set up. Members need to know what two-factor authentication is and what they need to do next. An older email had this information, but it was sandwiched between fluff in the body copy. In my rewrite, I reorganized this information so that the most important information was in the email header and the button. That way, members can easily scan the email and effectively accomplish the task at hand.
Rethinking Interactions That Are Difficult to Write
We’re also quick to determine when content should come in a different way, shape, or form. When it feels impossible to communicate something within the given parameters, it probably is. Product writers won’t wrack their brains to accomplish the impossible. We know when a content and design shift is necessary. But don’t just take my word for it: Andrew Schmidt, a product writer here at Slack, explains this skill quite well.
Making Product Experiences Better With Good Copy
Copy sits at the center of a lot of experiences in Slack. Good copy can clarify confusing interactions. When you become a part of a Slack workspace, you automatically join a channel called #general. This channel has every member of the workspace, to make it easy to contact the entire team at once.
Sometimes, members will try to leave this channel, and we’ll have to let them know that they can’t. But it’s not as easy as saying “you can’t leave #general.” The tricky part about the general channel is that it can be renamed, so members of your workspace may think this is another channel where membership is not required.
When I was rewriting this dialog, I kept in mind that this copy needs to explain the purpose of required membership in #general (or whatever it may be called now) to mitigate any frustration or confusion:
Working Closely With Design — as Partners
Good design is about effective communication, whether that be through visual or written components. Slack understands this, and writers are brought into projects early, alongside designers. Both parties are equally included in making product decisions. We still have our fair share of debate, but design and writing are more like close siblings rather than classmates forced to work together on a group project.
There are typically one product writer and one designer working in tandem on a feature, holding equal stake in making product decisions. This structure of co-working proved to be helpful when I tackled the redesign of switching Slack plans with designer Kat Vellos. One of the challenges was just deciding what content would be necessary to include. Answering questions like “What does an admin need to know before they cancel their plan?” and “How much information is too much information?” with a writer — early on — allowed for lots of mobility with design explorations.
What makes a user come back to Slack? There are probably hundreds of different answers. But what brought me back to Slack (and eventually my internship) is that writers at Slack know that real people use our product, and write with them in mind. We, the writing team at Slack, aim to bring moments of delight and empathy to people’s everyday working lives — one carefully written string at a time.
Interested in an internship with Slack? We’re hiring!
