Bricks before paint: On Mastering UX Writing Fundamentals
There’s a concerning trend in UX Writing – and maybe even more so in related fields like UX Research and UX Design, too – that I’ve especially noticed over the past few months, and especially with career switchers who are new to the field of UX.
And that is an increasingly widespread lack of interest in deep knowledge, and an overwhelming obsession with fast production and efficiency.
To be honest, I don’t even want to dive deeper into the root causes all over again because we’ve done that so many times already: the layoffs, the pressure to prove output, the AI hype that promises speed and scalability, and probably most importantly the myth that UX is an easy field to enter.
However, this trend isn’t really new.
Quick and Funny: An Old Problem
The first time I noticed this pattern was when I started discovering UX Writing challenges – an organized sequence of prompts consisting of UX Writing tasks such as writing an error message for a certain situation. And participants often post their results, e.g., on Medium, in Facebook groups, or on LinkedIn to receive feedback on their work, especially from more experienced UX Writers.
What I always found strange was that these prompts typically lack all, literally, all the context required to actually make proper writing decisions, including the flow context, the brand, and the target audience.
Which is also why the feedback on the writing samples often consists of either generic advice like “Use active instead of passive voice” or basic usability aspects.
But the core problem remains: there’s simply not enough information provided – neither to write good copy, nor to give good feedback on the copy. Even more concerning, neither the beginners nor the senior professionals seemed to take issue with that.
(Of course, some people do take these challenges more seriously. They create full case studies, work with real or fictional brands, define a target audience, and even map user flows to produce genuinely thoughtful copy. That’s great – but as I’ve figured, it’s not the norm.)
A New Spin: AI and Personal Brand Hype
So, yes, superficial, context-free UX copy has been around forever. Probably long before we started calling our discipline „UX Writing“. But I feel like current trends give these old patterns a new and intensified dynamic.
One of those trends is the increasingly dominant presence of AI tools in community discussions. These conversations often overshadow more meaningful dialogue about the actual craft of UX Writing, like comparing voice and tone design of different brands, documentation frameworks, and other core topics of UX Writing.
But there’s more. I also see an increasing amount of UX Writers putting a strong focus on building a personal brand in UX Writing on Social Media. Which only makes sense, given the tight job market – of course, you want hiring managers to find UX Writing content when searching for your name (and, maybe a big relevant following, too). However, due to limited knowledge, experience, creativity, or simply time, many end up posting generic, frequently AI-generated tips like „craft microcopy with clarity and empathy“ or „lead with clarity“ (what does that even mean?). These posts will get you reach, but they don’t add value to community discussions.
The other week, I’ve even come across a YouTube channel on UX Writing where someone with no professional history or proven expertise in UX Writing publishes entirely AI-generated videos about UX Writing, often with either very vague and superficial or even false advice. The same person – who by the way calls himself a UX Writing expert – posts UX Writing content on LinkedIn, again, entirely non-substantial and completely AI-generated.
Okay, but… Why bother?
A true (!) expert from our field recently posted about how she doesn’t care if a post is created with the help of AI or not. And to some extent, I agree. Heck, this blog post right here is created with the help of AI, too. But there is a huge difference between using AI to help you get your point across and using it to actually have a point.
Tools like ChatGPT are great at the former, bad at the latter. If you ask ChatGPT to give you ideas on what to post on LinkedIn, per default, it will give you dull, non-substantial, unoriginal, blah-blah topics. Or topics we’ve already read about a zillion times. The 5 books every UX Writer needs to read. The 5 reasons why every product team should include UX Writing. The 5 most important principles in UX Writing.
However: Flooding social media platforms with superficial, dull content is not only pointless and boring for readers actually interested in UX Writing. It’s harmful.
With all this no-substance wisdom I feel like our discipline begins to sound less like a professional field grounded in expertise and more like something anyone can do with a bit of empathy and a feeling for words.
And with that framing, our jobs truly do start to look replaceable. To outsiders, UX Writing must indeed seem like it could be handled by a confident project manager with a little empathy, good communication skills, and access to ChatGPT.
What’s the Problem?
To me, the real issue is this: too many people writing UX copy – especially beginners – focus too much on producing and too little on learning.
Trust me,
if you dive DEEP into our craft, original content ideas will pop up automatically;
if you dive DEEP into our craft, AI cannot replace you. You’re far ahead of what it can do.
If you dive DEEP into our craft, your expertise will outlive trends, buzzword, hypes;
if you dive DEEP into our craft, your contributions to our community will lead to an authentic following.
But you cannot skip the part of diving deep into our craft.
You cannot achieve efficiency without mastering the fundamentals. You cannot build a functioning content design system without having mastered accessibility in UX Writing. It makes no sense to publish a collection of UX Writing ChatGPT prompts without having mastered inclusion in UX Writing.
And also, if you’re trying to take short cuts to the center stage of the UX Writing community, you’re only crowding the space, without actually making a valuable contribution.
Sweat the Basics
My call is to both new and experienced UX Writers: commit to deepening your baseline knowledge. Yes, stay up-to-date with trends while doing that, but don’t spend all your energy chasing trends like AI integration, without investing in the essentials. There is no judging (let alone mastering) of trends without knowing the deep fundamentals of our craft.
Here are the areas that I recommend exploring in depth, after 8 years of working as a UX Writer:
What UX Writing Is (and Isn’t): Learn the principles of good UX Writing, the role of a UX Writer, and the responsibilities it entails, including defining your own writing process and setting up a quality assurance workflow.
Inclusion and Accessibility: Understand inclusive UX Writing, alt text, aria labels, trauma-informed UX Writing, cultural sensitivity, localization.
Voice and Tone: Learn how to design a brand-specific voice, create and evaluate style guides, and apply them effectively.
Documentation and Collaboration: Know how to document your copy, collaborate with designers and stakeholders, integrate tools (including AI) into your workflow, and how to build a content design system.
Research and Testing: Get familiar with research methods for UX copy, like how to conduct and evaluate desk research, user interviews, focus groups, and quantitative studies. You don’t have to do all of this yourself, but you need to understand what makes research valid, and what good UX research for UX Writing looks like.
Soft Skills: Practice explaining your writing decisions professionally, learn how to find your place in a product team naturally, figure out how to effectively communicate the importance of UX Writing and and how to ensure smooth early involvement.
What Resources to Use
It’s less about specific resources and more about building a continuous learning habit. You won’t learn UX Writing in ONE bootcamp or in ONE three-hour course (and I say that as someone who offers a three-hour UX Writing course) or by reading one single book. Articles and blog posts are a great supplement, but they can’t replace structured, intentional learning. Start with a strong foundational course, then build from there. Avoid vague, AI-generated content. Keep on learning. And: learn from instructors who’ve actually worked as UX Writers.
Conclusion
There’s no shortcut to becoming a great UX Writer. It’s not just about producing copy quickly or staying on top of every new trend, not about posting about UX Writing as much and often as you can. This won’t make you a good UX Writer—and frankly, it doesn’t even convey the impression of one. Everybody who knows a thing or two about UX Writing knows it isn’t about instinct or empathy – it is about knowledge and highly intentional use of it. Invest in building and refining your skills, and trust me, you will find the magic of our craft yourself, when you allow yourself to sink into it.
