UX Writing in EdTech (Part 3)
The solo UX writer and their advocates
By Sarah Mondestin from BrainPOP
“When you make decisions that affect the experience someone else has, you’re designing.”
― Michael J. Metts, Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience
It takes a village
I was an elementary educator and school principal for 11 years. It was — hands down — the most rewarding and most difficult work I’ve ever done. I loved helping children learn and letting teachers teach, but I ended up losing time with my family and getting lost in the job. Somewhere between the Coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, my priorities shifted and so did my role. Now, I’m the sole UX writer at BrainPOP — an EdTech company that empowers kids to shape the world around them and within them. Even though I may be the only UX writer in title at my company, I’m not alone.
This career pivot from school administration to EdTech took a village. At BrainPOP, I connected with professionals from other disciplines, learned about different EdTech positions, and grew into a new role. During this journey, a group of incredible women (and UX writing advocates) changed the course of my career and our company.
In this final article of our 3-part series, UX Writing in EdTech, we highlight the unique role of the solo UX writer and the powerful part they and their advocates play in EdTech. I ask four BrainPOP leaders about the importance of UX writing. (These are the women who gave me the space I needed to grow, encouraged me to pursue UX writing, and advocated for the practice long before I arrived on the scene.) Their perspectives provide insight for other solo UX writers and a model on how to be a better UX writing advocate.
Investing in time well spent
I was initially hired as the Content and Community Moderation Manager for a new playful product we were building for kids. But when that part of the project was over and I was exploring different career paths within the company, Karina, you were the first person to introduce me to UX of EdTech. You told me to, “start here.” But you also knew I studied English and you suggested that I consider UX writing. Why did you think UX writing was important for an EdTech company to pursue?
Karina Linch, Chief Product Officer: BrainPOP’s super power is our ability to connect with kids to deliver learning outcomes. One of our work values is to “create simplicity” and we’re serious about not only saving teachers time, but ensuring that any time they spend on BrainPOP is time well spent. It’s so important for an EdTech company to build scaffolding and support into the product experience through UX Writing. If we don’t, we’ll waste precious teacher minutes by placing the responsibility to explain how to use the product back on them. EdTech UX writers have to have deep empathy for their users and ensure a product is joyful, authentic, and drives results.
“After having UXW support over the past year, I can’t imagine ever going back.” -Abby Adams, BrainPOP
Navigating a digital experience
Abby, you were my first manager at BrainPOP. When I was considering a career in UX, I remember you giving me a crash course on product design. You told me to read Inspired by Marty Kagan and the rest was history. Why did you decide to give me the space to grow as a UX writer in the product department?
Abby Adams, Senior Director of Product: Especially when designing interactive experiences for kids, the interplay between interface design and the words that we use is so important. I have always been a believer that if you need to use words to explain, your design isn’t optimal. In learning more about UXW (and especially as you advocated for the craft), I started to see that yes, part of UXW is the actual words that a kid reads as they attempt to navigate a digital experience. But so much more than that, UXW is about vibes.
Why did you think UX writing was important to our product team?
AA: One of the questions we ask when making products is, How can we establish the relationship between our product and the kids using it by defining clear product principles, a tone of voice, and alignment around vocabulary used in the product? As a product manager guilty of using my own voice in UI, or determining words as the absolute last priority, it has been an absolute game changer to have a dedicated UXW and the craft supporting our product definition phase, into product launch and iteration. After having UXW support over the past year, I can’t imagine ever going back.
“We knew that UX writing was important to our design process. That wasn’t the challenge. The challenge was realizing that UXW is a craft and we needed to figure out how to make that a part of our product design craft.” -Stephanie Hom, BrainPOP
UX writing is a craft
Stephanie, you helped to create the UX writing role for our company. You had the idea of starting small with one or two squads and created UX writing objectives to help get me started. Why did you help create this role and push for this practice?
Stephanie Hom, Vice President of Product Design: We wanted to evolve UXW as a practice. We knew people were writing copy but we wanted to embed a UX writer in a specific team and into the actual design process. We wanted that whole interaction and collaboration between designers to be a part of the process. So as the need grew, the work grew. As the work grew, the teams grew.
We knew you had an interest and the skills, so I composed a description or a proposal of the role and work of a UX writer. But I made sure to review it with you to see what you were thinking about the role. (It’s important to have the person you’re writing the description for review it and explore what they think we should do and make sure there’s mutual interest and input.)
Was it difficult to get people to understand the importance of UXW in an EdTech company?
SH: We knew that UX writing was important to our design process. That wasn’t the challenge. The challenge was realizing that UXW is a craft and we needed to figure out how to make that a part of our product design craft. Although UXW is a speciality, it’s not a separate entity. Whoever is creating the words plays an integral part in the design of the user experience. UXWs need to collaborate with all of the participating designers at the same time to understand the problems and the feelings, go through those assumptions, shape the experiences, and experiment together so that they can learn.
“It makes a difference to have someone whose only job is to think about the words and who also isn’t already proud of the design.” -Thea Hogarth, BrainPOP
UX research and UX writing
I remember as a new UX writer being added to your UX research team. I learned that you were really our first UXW in practice at BrainPOP who had been such a strong advocate for the role. Thea, why do you think UXW is an important field for EdTech companies?
Thea Hogarth, Associate Director of User Research: It makes a difference to have someone whose only job is to think about the words and who also isn’t already proud of the design. I’m still doing some UXW and UXR. When I get my touches on a design — as a UX writer — the questions I ask about the words and messaging can sometimes unearth limitations and technical constraints. But it’s valuable to have a dedicated UXW coming in and thinking about how complicated this thing is that we’re trying to explain. UX writers asks questions like, What are we asking people to do? How much are we asking them to do? Are there things we’re asking them to remember?
As for solo UX writers, I don’t think I’ve met someone who doesn’t feel like a team of one sometimes or who doesn’t feel like they need another person on their team.
You’ve taught me a lot about the intersection of UX research and UX writing. You lead our research team but you also do UX writing for the company. How do you fill both roles?
TH: I first started as a Features Writer, then became a UX Researcher then had a UXR+UXW job title. Soon, we dropped the UXW title when I moved into a UXR leadership role — but I still do UX writing! UXR and UXW is a really good combination. People who work with words and who do research inherently really care about what they do. They know If I don’t do this it won’t get done. But it’s important for solo UX writers to set boundaries.
Key takeaways
- Solo UX writers in EdTech need advocates.
The practice of intentional UX writing and content design is still new to some EdTech companies. But as we continue to build more products for kids and educators, people are realizing the need for UX designers who focus on content. As Kristina Halvorson, founder of Brain Traffic says in Content Strategy for the Web, “Organizations [are] waking up to the fact that content can make or break a user’s experience” (2012).
If you are a solo UX writer, find your advocates. They may be the folks who appreciate what you do or who may have been doing the work before you got there. They may even be the skeptics who need a little more convincing about the value of UX writing. If it seems like you have no advocates, tell more people about UXW and share your work. At BrainPOP, we created a Community of Practice (CoP) of people who do UXW across the company from different departments. We meet regularly to share what we’re working on and find ways to strengthen and grow the practice together.
2. Solo UX writers are leaders.
Many UX writers were hired to “work on the words” but later found themselves working on content strategy. In order for UXWs to design content, strategy must be in place. In order for a UXW department to grow, systems must be in place. Solo UX writers soon become leaders in their craft, building strategy and communicating the impact UX writing has on the company, and growing their teams. They’re not working on one project and moving on. They’re creating microcopy libraries, style guides, content systems, and learning how to strategize all while growing their products, their practice, and their companies. UX writers are leaders, whether they manage other people or not. They are managing a practice and setting up the framework for long-term growth.
3. Prioritizing and setting boundaries are key.
UX writers may spend a big chunk of their time trying to educate people about the practice and show the value of their work. In her book, From Solo to Scaled, Natalie Dunbar highlights the importance of putting people first with some advice from Candi Williams, Head of Content Design at Bumble. Williams says, “Content is at the heart of every product and every experience. Yet having to explain and justify its value is exhausting for the wonderful folks who give products meaning, clarity, and relevance.”
When UXWs are able to prioritize the work — showing the impact on specific projects and owning a specific area — it leaves time for focusing their efforts and setting boundaries. If you are a solo UX writer, be sure to set boundaries for yourself with your manager. If you are someone who works with a UX writer, honor these boundaries to help them succeed! In the words of Andy Welfle, “Trying to be everything to everyone simply [isn’t] sustainable.”
Solo UX writers don’t have to do it alone. There is a team of people that will support and nurture the growing practice. Whether it is a Community of Practice from other departments, a group of enthusiastic leaders, or the global UX writing community, the advocates are out there. Find them and build with them.
Other resources for solo UX writers in EdTech
- Article: Five tips for success as a solo UX writer (Megan O’Neill)
- Book: From Solo to Scaled (Natalie Marie Dunbar)
- Community: Content + UX on Slack
About the author
Sarah Mondestin is a UX Writer at BrainPOP and the Editorial Lead at UX of EdTech. Sarah also owns Writer’s Grit, a company that provides professional services to people who need writing support. In her past life, Sarah was an elementary school principal and taught English to college students. She has previously written about her shift from education to EdTech.
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