Contemporary Rhetoric: The Necessity of UX Writers
Editor’s note: This paper was a pre-cursor to a final project (PPT) designed for presentation to corporate executives regarding the need for UX writers. It is an example of contemporary rhetoric.
The Necessity of UX Writers
Introduction
Successful online user experience is a result of strategic UX content. Companies need to create UX content that drives a positive and revenue-generating user experience. How can they do this? Hire a UX writer. User experience (UX) writers create measurable content that impacts the bottom line.
What is UX writing? UX writing is "...the act of writing copy for user-facing touchpoints. This copy must not only embody the voice of the organization, but must also be considerate and useful for the user” (Bjoran, UXBooth).
Content must be more than considerate. UX writers use content to engage their audience. They build trust with their audience. They persuade or direct their audience to an end goal: a conversion. Whether it's a completed registration form, a video view, or a tangible sale, if a user completes the task intended by the UX writer, the user converted. These conversions are what marketers measure on a daily basis, and those measurements are what they use to determine if the UX writer created the content successfully.
UX writers are able to get users to convert because UX writers are unique. They aren't creative copywriters. They aren't UX designers. They aren't research analysts. UX writers are a combination of all of those positions.
UX writers are analytical and creative. They develop creative content based on quantitative data that engages their audience, while constantly testing their content to analyze where improvements can be made.
UX writers research their audience using objective data that covers every aspect of their audiences' lives until they feel like they've known their audience for a lifetime. They realize that their audience may "perhaps be best specified through the analysis of precise, concrete situations" (Lunsford, 197). They develop extensive customer personas based on their quantitative research. They understand that that they must know their audience because that knowledge is key to creating successful content. They also understand that problems arise and conversions are lost “when the logic, arrangement, and style of one discipline is imposed upon another” (Ruszkiewicz, 4), so they remain focused on their researched audience.
UX writers do not simply "...write something just because [they] always have. [They] don’t write something just because it was mocked-up or built that way. [They] write because [they've] determined that the user needs what [they're] writing” (Collins, Medium). UX writers never lose focus of their audience. As "reformed marketer" Amy Lockwood emphasized the importance of audience consideration during a recent TED talk about her time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, "We need to think about the customer—the people who's behavior needs to change...because it might just save their lives " (Lockwood).
Finally, UX writers understand that, “when it comes to writing (and speaking and quantitative reasoning), various fields [audiences] value different things,” (Hanstedt, 49-50), so they create a company’s content that is so easily understood, it simultaneously becomes persuasive and leads to conversions. To accomplish this task of persuasion, UX writers utilize tactics dating back to Aristotle, including the conscious choice of “specific words…instead of vague ones” (Smith, 84) to build customer loyalty and retention. They ensure users “get the exact information they need if they click a particular link or button” (Woroch, Usability Tools).
Unfortunately, many companies don’t understand the importance of a UX writer, and consequently, don’t want to add a UX writer to their overhead budget. This proposal is designed to show key stakeholders and decision makers that UX content is the key component to a successful user experience—and hiring a UX writer is the only way to make that happen.
Current Situation
In today’s online business world, more and more companies are looking to their website as a revenue source. Many companies are turning to content to help them achieve those revenue goals.
Online content has four objectives to achieve with users:
Provide information
Direct interactions
Connect with emotions
Persuade
Companies just entering the online revenue-generating arena know what they want their content to do, but don’t necessarily know how to create their content so it renders their intended results.
Today, data showing the drastic impact of content on conversion rates (e.g., Expedia increasing revenue by $12M by removing one field in their check-out form, ASOS cutting its cart abandonment rate by half, or The Heritage Foundation increasing revenue by 274% by moving its sign-up form, etc. (Moth, Econsultancy)) is shining a light on the need for writers focused on successfully directing user interactions: UX writers.
Convincing corporate executives to add resources is often easiest when you can prove those resources will add an even greater value to the company's bottom line. UX writers develop “…well-written copy [that] contributes to the look, feel, and usability of [a] site. It allows users to easily navigate the page. It enables them to quickly find important calls to action. With ease, they can access content that is relevant to their goals in using [a] product” (Spencer, Fresh Consulting). That type of content is measurable and can be directly correlated to revenue generation. A few metrics to use to justify and showcase the value of a UX writer include:
INCREASE CUSTOMER RETENTION
The old adage of 80% of a company's business comes from 20% of its customers still rings true today. The higher a company's customer retention rates, the higher their revenue. In fact, “increasing retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25%-95%” and a “2% increase in retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%” (Toporek, Customers That Stick). A good user experience will engage customers and keep them coming back for the same pleasant experience—increasing revenue and decreasing costs.PREVENT ERRORS
According to Dr. Susan Weinschenk of Human Factors International and an outspoken advocate of user experience research and testing, "the cost of fixing an error after development is 100 times that of fixing an error before development of the project is completed" (Weinschenk). UX writers work with the design team to prevent misguided user experiences by developing clear and concise content that speaks to the customer's needs. The cost of fixing errors that a UX writer could have prevented can be quickly calculated in time and resources. Christine Austin, a front-end web designer/developer, calculates the cost of errors as: "(# of Error) x (Avg. Repair Time) x (Employee Cost) x (# of Employees) = Cost" (Austin, IMPACT). With an equation in hand, UX ambassadors can quantify the need for their services and skills to corporate executives.SAVE DEVELOPMENT TIME
"By researching and utilizing best UX practices, [companies] can stop wasted time and reduce development time as a whole by up to 50%" (Austin, IMPACT). Even if a company is testing content, by employing UX best practices, those companies can save time and money through fewer rounds of testing.IMPROVE SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS
Creating content that is easy to navigate and quickly provides users with the information they want is one of the many factors in Google's algorithms that determine search engine rankings. If your company's keywords are not appearing in the first three search engine results, UX writers can help improve those rankings. As Jeff Greer of the Center for Plain Language explained, those improved rankings can equate to bottom-line revenue: “…when Google sees evidence that your site is meeting your customers’ needs, you’ll see a corresponding increase in your search rankings. And when you rank higher in the search engine results, you’ll find yourself getting more traffic and more new customers” (Greer, Center for Plain Language).
"The best overall way to calculate ROI for UX is to first decide [the company's] key indicators, estimate the lost opportunities...due to poor UX, estimate the cost to fix it and/or the cost to do it right, then do the math" (Austin, IMPACT). Similar to how "writing about course material can help students clarify and deepen their thinking about [course] material" (Keifer), corporate executives who can see the tangible savings and revenue generation of UX writers will have a better understanding of the value of UX writers.
Overall Suggestions
Generally, the solution many companies enact to achieve their content goals is to hire a copywriter. In the past, copywriters were a one-size-fits-all position. They wrote content for everything from print ads and billboards to email content and web pages. They created brilliantly branded content for a company that painted the exact picture the company wanted their customers to see.
When it came time to write content that made a customer convert, however, many copywriters were lost. “While [copy] might make perfect sense in the mind of a [writer], the experience of [reading] it is often full of frustration for users” (Spencer, Fresh Consulting). It takes a trained writer with both an objective and creative eye toward their audience to provide a user experience that executes effortlessly and doesn’t require the user to think. “Writing is a key part of user direction and user comprehension” (Spencer, Fresh Consulting), and when the writing falls short, which happens often when general copywriters try their hand at UX writing, so does the user experience.
Specific Project Specifications
This project will be in the form of a customizable PowerPoint presentation that content department managers can complete to show their key stakeholders and decision-makers why the increased overhead costs associated with hiring a UX writer will more than pay for itself in the form of increased revenue generation from online conversions, overhead cost reductions due to UX practices put in place, and increased customer retention.
A PowerPoint presentation is a typical mode of presenting a proposal to executives. Complete with background information and research regarding the importance of UX writers, case studies showing the success of multiple companies who choose to utilize UX writers, as well as customizable equations that allow content managers to input their company’s specific numbers that detail the quantifiable benefit of UX writers, this PowerPoint will be invaluable to any content manager struggling to convince executives of the need for a UX writer.
Conclusion
A company’s website content needs to speak to its audience in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. No website should provide obstacles for its users—and it is UX writers who ensure those obstacles never appear. As interactive strategist Renny Gleeson stated, in the world of UX writing, "Little things done right matter" (Gleeson).
Copywriters are not all equal in their skills and abilities; creating effective content in one area does not necessitate the same effectiveness in another area of content. UX writers research and understand their users in a way that allows them to create content for a user experience that makes the user convert—and the overwhelming success statistics and case studies prove their content was the catalyst for the increased conversions at companies around the world.
For companies to be successful in today’s competitive ecommerce landscape, corporate executives must embrace the concept of UX as a necessity. “Effective writing must be a company-wide endeavor” (Wiens, Harvard Business Review), and it must be embraced by everyone in the company—from the top down. They must hire UX writers to engage with their audience and make those customers convert. This resource will help content managers convince their company executives and decision makes that UX writers are a justifiable expense.
Appendix
Content marketing is important to any company that wants to thrive in today’s online business world. Whether it’s for the purpose of branding or generating revenue, content impacts every company. In fact, Wiens emphasized that poor writing or writing that does not reflect the company’s audience will not engage customers and will not generate customer sales. Gerard considers the other side of the coin and takes an objective look at online content, providing a multitude of statistics regarding the benefits of using content marketing as a strategy for increasing online sales revenue.
Companies that want to go beyond content marketing and really focus on user conversion need to also focus on user experience (UX). Specifically, they need to hire UX writers. UX writers are not typical copywriters. They are both analytical and creative, and they have studied both the subjective and objective data of their audience. As Bjoran stated, UX writers have the ability to write creative, engaging, and branded content, while also having the capability and experience required to conduct detailed, technical, and advanced user research. They know how to create content that encompasses the totality of their audience knowledge. UX writers create their categorization and definition of their audience as Lunsford concluded, through “the analysis of precise, concrete situations," and by using it as a “helpful theoretical and practical grounding for efforts to understand how texts (and writers and readers) work in today's world.”
This knowledge of both the subjective and objective audience data makes UX writers unlike most copywriters. This all-encompassing knowledge of their audience is imperative, as Kiefer stressed that a writer must be fully cognizant of the audience they are addressing in order to provide their audience with content that is effective to the writer’s purpose. Hanstedt’s real-life student scenarios detailing how writing to different audiences requires knowledge of each individual audience in order to be effective further emphasizes the need for UX writers to remain focused on researching and analyzing their audience’s needs. After gathering and analyzing their comprehensive audience data, UX writers are prepared to create content that effectively and efficiently directs the actions of their audience to a conversion.
Part of this effective and efficient writing process includes creating content that not only resonates with an audience, but also motivates them to take action, or convert. UX writers are able to use their intimate knowledge of their audience and construct content that appears to effortlessly direct users on a pathway that ultimately leads to a conversion. Lockwood spoke passionately about the importance of steadfastly focusing on the end user and creating a message for that end user—even when internal organizational influencers may be pushing writers in a different direction. Ruszkiewicz stated that problems arise within a discipline when audiences are ignored or treated as one across all disciplines. He acknowledged the difficulty in writing one piece for multiple audiences in multiple disciplines, but noted that imposing the “logic, arrangement, and style of one discipline…upon another” will create problems for disciplines beyond the initial audience. This principle holds true for website audiences as well. Writing for one segment of a target audience may differ drastically from another writing created for another segment. While general copywriters may often believe that one marketing message will suffice for multiple audiences, UX writers understand Ruszkiewicz’ theory and the importance of acknowledging and writing to audience differences.
With extensive objective data about their audience in hand, UX writers turn to their creative side and create content directed to their users. Going back to the days of Aristotle, as Smith discussed, UX writers use the foundations of rhetoric to create content for any situation through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos. They deliver a message to their audience in such a fashion or style, lexis, that it is believed, trusted, motivating, and ultimately, proven effective to the writer’s purpose through a measured conversion.
Specifically, as UX writers create content, they use certain creative tactics that appeal to their target audience. Collins stated that UX writers know to eliminate content when it’s not needed, and they know how to effortlessly guide users through a website. They use clear, concise, simple, and familiar language that includes words the audience cares about and does not include jargon; they explain the benefits to the user and not features of the product; and they construct content in a way that allows users to easily and quickly find the information they seek, which Greer and Woroch emphasized as some of the key methodologies to successful UX content. UX writers also make content scannable and easy to understand, which can have the greatest effect on users, according to Spencer.
This type of user-centered content can be used throughout a website. As Gebbia and Schwartz noted, content can be used to build trust with users in even the most anxiety-ridden situations, including renting your home to a stranger on Airbnb.com. Gleeson added to this idea of building trust with users through his example of creating content around 404 error pages. Even the most annoying and problematic pages on a website, such as a 404 error page, provide the opportunity to direct a user to a desired endpoint or conversion because at every opportunity in the user path, UX writers understand how their audience feels. They anticipate what to say to their audience to make them feel even better about the company they are visiting online.
The value of UX writers can be seen through many lenses, including many quantifiable lenses. Whether it’s through customer retention rate increases, search engine rankings improvement, increased error prevention, decreased developmental time, or increased sales revenue, quantifiable data can be calculated to show a tangible value attached to UX writers. Austin explained through a series of equations just how to quantify and realize the true bottom-line value of a UX writer. For example:
Conversion rate calculation:
# of people who convert / # of site visitors * 100% = Conversion (%)
Average revenue per user:
Revenue from paid services / # of registered users = ARPU ($)
Product/service support costs:
Total support expenses / # of registered users = Support cost per user ($)
Post-implementation error repair:
# of errors * Avg. repair time * Employee cost * # of employees = Repair cost
Weinschenk detailed how preventative testing and strategic thought from UX professionals can save companies millions of dollars each year—either in error prevention or additional revenue, providing even more quantifiable support for UX writers in an online business. Moth’s case studies of real-world companies from around the globe prove that “relatively small changes to a site’s UX can result in big increases in conversions and profit.” For example:
Moz
Moz earned an additional $1 million in revenue by creating new sign-up pages. UX writers and designers interviewed customers about their motivations behind signing up for various service offerings. They then developed wireframes to test the original sign-up page against the new sign-up page. The new page had a 52% increase in sign-ups for memberships.
Expedia
Expedia earned a $12 million profit increase after a small UX change to a form. The original form included an optional field asking users to input their company name, which caused confusion. By removing that company field, Expedia’s conversion increased to a level that equated to a $12 million increase in profit.
ASOS
ASOS, a clothing retailer, cut its cart abandonment rate by half by removing the customer account creation requirement at checkout. Customers still actually create an account, but the content no longer specifically says “Create an Account”; rather, customers are now required to enter a password, in addition to their name and email address, which is essentially the same as creating an account—but users don’t view the two processes as equal.
As Moth’s case studies demonstrate, the data is strong and persuasive—UX writers have a dramatic impact on a company’s bottom line.
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