UX Writing Challenge Part 1
I recently discovered a free email subscription that gives you UX (user experience) writing prompts each day for 15 days. The goal is to improve your UX writing each day, and to really think about these prompts. Each email gave a scenario and a challenge including details of how long the headline, body, buttons, etc. should be. Here’s an in-depth look at just 3 of those challenges.
Challenge 1: Flight Cancellation
“A traveler is in an airport waiting for the last leg of a flight home when their flight gets abruptly canceled due to bad weather. Write a message from the airline app notifying them of the cancellation and what they need to do next.” This challenge gave the following constraints: headline: 45 characters max, body: 175 characters max, and button(s): 25 characters max.
| Text | Reasoning |
Alert: Flight 237 Cancellation | The goal is to grab the user’s attention. Using the word “Alert” not only grabs the user’s attention, but it also lets them know there is important information to follow. I included the flight number because it is possible a user can have multiple flights or layovers, and it is important for them to know which one is canceled. |
Due to adverse weather conditions, all flights leaving JFK airport have been canceled. We apologize for the inconvenience. | The body gives the important information to the user while also giving empathy to the undesired outcome. |
[Reschedule Your Flight] and [Contact Us] | The buttons give the user options for what they can do next. Adding a “contact us” button gives it a personal touch to show empathy during a frustrating scenario. |
Challenge 2: Sports App
“A user is a working parent, and a big sports fan, in the midst of their favorite sports season who can no longer attend games. Write a promotional screen for an app that lets a user choose teams, sends game reminders, real-time score updates and highlight videos.” The constraints were similar to challenge 1: headline: 40 characters max, body: 175 characters max, and button(s): 25 characters max
| Text | Reasoning |
Game Day: Your Sports Bulletin | The headline is the title of the (imaginary) app. This is straight to the point while giving the user needed information. |
Get all your favorite team updates in one place! Choose your teams! Get real-time updates! View highlight reels! and more! | The body tells the user what the app can do for them while also creating a fun and energetic tone. To make this tone work, shorter sentences that start with verbs and end with exclamation points are highly effective. |
[Download Now!] | The button uses a call to action in order to entice the reader to download the app while keeping the energetic tone of the body. |
Challenge 3: Grocery Subscription
“A user is in their favorite supermarket. They open the supermarket’s app on their phone to see what’s on sale and are greeted by a promotion. Write a promotional home screen for a subscription service that delivers groceries to the user once-a-month for a flat fee.”The constraints are the same as challenge 1: headline: 45 characters max, body: 175 characters max, button(s): 25 characters max
| Text | Reasoning |
Tired of driving to get groceries? | The headline tells the user that there is a problem by giving a question. It’s more effective when the problem is one the user didn’t know they had. |
Get fresh groceries delivered right to your door for only $10.99 a month! | The body gives a solution to the problem given in the headline while telling important information such as the price. |
[Sign Up Today] | The button gives a call to action to the user while also adding a friendly touch. An alternative would be “sign up now” or “sign up”, but neither of these have the same friendly feel to them. “Sign up” feels too cold while “sign up now” feels too aggressive. |
Takeaways:
Even though I am only explaining 3 out of 15 prompts, I can definitely tell that my UX writing is getting better since I first started the 15 day challenge. It’s just as people say: practice makes perfect. To try this challenge out yourself visit their website and sign up for free.
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