4 Big Companies That Use UX Writing As A Growth Engine

I'd like to start off this blog post by differentiating between UX Writing and Copywriting as I feel like there's a lot of misunderstanding.

A UX Writer simplifies the usage of a product or a service by choosing simple words. A Copywriter attracts customer through storytelling and choosing inviting words.

See the difference? One works in Marketing, the other works in UX. With that out of the way, I chose 5 apps/companies that I believe excel in UX Writing. Let's get right into it.

Netflix - Preventing Potential Confusion

Netflix cures a very irritating problem I have with most subscription services. They don't necessarily tell you what you're signing up for when you're starting a trial, will you be charged right away or when the trial ends? Will I receive a notification beforehand? These are all patterns some companies use and rely on to generate revenue from free trials. They expect you to forget and eventually get charged.

There really cannot be any confusion to any potential customer regarding when they'll be charged, it's clear as day.

Google - Explaining Why Certain Information Is Required

Know how when you're signing up for curators you're asked to pick topics, artists, etc? Well, the reason is pretty obvious in this scenario, but there are times when it isn't and it's always great to explain to the user why you need certain information, especially if that information is private.
Another great example of this is Aaptiv, an app that provides you with trainer-guided workouts on demand.

Duolingo - Encouraging Interaction

Really any product or service's goal is to increase user retention and time spent using said product or service. A good way to do this is to encourage interaction only when needed. Duolingo is a popular app that lets you learn languages in a fun and engaging way, most likely than not users will sign up for an account to continue learning and save their progress in order to reach their goal of learning a new language.

NPR - Encouraging Action When You Come Across a 404

Most 404s nowadays are pretty useless, they just tell you that they haven't found the page you're looking for with an image of Obi-wan. A good 404 error page will give you options. Continue searching, report the missing page, and even suggest content that you can read. NPR does this wonderfully as you can see in the image above.

Previously published at https://blog.moeminmamdouh.com/4-companies-that-improve-their-product-through-ux-writing