Some basics you probably already know:

• Website users don’t read, they scan.
• Eye-tracking research shows that people scan web content in an F-pattern.
• Using bullets and shorter sentences aids readability.

What you may not know, though, is that usability is only one part of the overall user experience (UX) picture.

Meet UX Expert Kristine Remer of JuneUX

With mere seconds (and about 3 clicks) to grab people, we writers have been learning to fall OUT of love with our clever, darling children words. So what’s a writer to do in a UX world?

I recently connected with someone who could answer my question: Minneapolis-based UX expert Kristine Remer.  I noticed Kristine because she’s a smart, funny tweeter — and she generously suggested meeting over coffee.

A self-taught usability professional, Kristine was designing wireframes and optimizing her former employer’s site before she knew what to call it. She read all she could about usability, which at the time only consisted of early works by the fathers of the industry, Jakob Nielsen and Steve Krug. Over seven years at Home Decorators Collection, Kristine and her team brought the e-commerce site to a point where it was making $1M per day. She’s now a consultant, helping Fortune 500 and other large companies with user experience design and strategy.

First things first. What’s the difference between usability and user experience (UX)?, I asked. Are they interchangeable terms? As it turns out, these weren’t such dumb questions. In Kristine’s experience, many companies are still learning about what user-centered design is and how to incorporate it into their workflow.

She thinks of UX as an umbrella term for:

• User experience design
• User research
• User interface design
• Usability
• Content strategy
• Customer experience

Advice for Copywriters from a UX Perspective

When it comes to copywriting for a client whose site is undergoing a UX overhaul, Kristine thinks it’s great when writers are involved in the upfront user research. The better you understand the users, their motivations, and the tasks they want to undertake on the site, the more effective you will be as the copywriting team member.

What other advice would Kristine give writers working as part of a UX team?

• “Ask for research-based user personas,” she says. The most common mistake people make is to guess who their users might be, without the benefit of real research, and “they end up designing and writing for themselves.” To create a truly delightful user experience, you have to really understand each type of user, their background, and motivations. Kristine usually conducts between 8-15 interviews when identifying a client’s user personas.
• In hundreds of usability tests she’s conducted, Kristine has noticed that “people tend to only read three things: headlines and subheads, bulleted lists and links.” She points out that search engines also like links that actually say something about what the user will see next — as opposed to hypertext urging users to “Click Here!”
• Forget everything you know about snappy, marketing-y headline-writing. Instead, write headlines that really SAY something, and help site visitors scan and understand your content quickly by breaking up large blocks of copy into smaller paragraphs and bulleted lists.
• Avoid jargon and acronyms whenever possible, as some of your users may be investors, journalists or job seekers unfamiliar with your industry.
• Users also tend to be drawn to content that is visual, so Kristine recommends working with your design team to create informative graphics or illustrations. An example she really likes is the jean buying guide on American Eagle’s website (see below). “The content is so simple and straightforward. Informative content doesn’t need to be thought of in terms of sentences and paragraphs – also think about content in terms of writing captions and call-outs,” she says.
• She also recommends trying to set content goals. What action do you want users to take after viewing the content? Comment on it? Complete a form? Buy something? “If you measure the outcomes of your content, you will undoubtedly improve as a copywriter,” Kristine says.
• “In most cases, the content IS the user experience,” says Kristine. “So having the right information and the right amount of information in the tone and language of your site’s users is a must.” She also recommends that copywriters learn more about the fast-growing content strategy field. There are numerous books and blogs out there to learn more. She recommends starting with uxbooth.com/blog/complete-beginners-guide-to-content-strategy/.
• Read more about UX. Kristine recommends resources like uie.com/brainsparks/, uxmatters.com, useit.com, alistapart.com and boxesandarrows.com.

I’m happy to report I finished my homework. Introducing my copywriting portfolio, conveniently located right here on my blogsite for all who wish to peruse it. I encourage all prospective clients to line up and take a gander. And if you have questions, don’t hesitate to drop me a line: leawrites [at] gmail [dot] com.

I anticipate good things for us this fall!

Image courtesy of Brian Snelson.

As a Twin Cities-based copywriter and recent “transplant” to the area, I was lucky enough to find a new home with a stunning perennial garden. At least for now, I’m surrounded by flowers when I sit by my window to write. (Believe me, I’m drinking it in before the snow flies here in Minnesota — isn’t that supposed to happen in, like, a week or two? I haven’t lived here in ten years, so I forget.)

Now, while that may sound tranquil and lovely to some, those who garden know that it’s a WHOLE lot of work. In fact, looking out at my yard can sometimes even stress me out. I haven’t had a garden to care for in years, I think, I’m overwhelmed. Where do I start? How do I keep the weeds at bay? Which ones are weeds, anyway?

After an initial bout of “botanic panic,” I did, of course, calm down and set myself some realistic goals. Broke the whole project into bite-size chunks, small enough to accomplish in spurts. Sure enough, over time all that weeding, pruning, watering, fertilizing and tilling have actually yielded noticeable results. Lovely results.

Call me weird, but I can’t help but think of business networking when I tend my plants. (Well, not every time I tend them. Sometimes I’m just yanking weeds and cursing the mosquitoes.) You know what I mean — just like fertilizer and pruning yield bigger, better blooms, personal attention yields stronger relationships. Leave your plants and professional contacts alone, and they wither.

It’s time for me to roll up my sleeves and grow my garden of contacts. The chaos of our cross-country move is over, the kids are settling in at school, and I now have a chance to think. So, as I plan my next steps, a list is forming in my head — what can you add to the list? What are your best networking tips? I’d love to hear them.

My Networking To-Do List:

• Consider joining a networking group in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
• Get more active on LinkedIn. Join some groups, get to know new people in those groups.
• Make a list of my social media/blogging heroes, and follow their blogs and tweets regularly. Leave comments that truly add to the discussion when appropriate.
• Blog regularly here about copywriting, social media marketing, small business and Twin Cities happenings.
• Reconnect with friends and former colleagues, let them know what I’m doing. Buy a few of them a coffee, and ask for their advice.
• Brush up the résumé, so it’s ready at a moment’s notice. Practice my elevator speech.
• Watch the freelance job boards.
• Volunteer at my kids’ new schools. Hey — when you’re new in town, it pays to stay open to all the possibilities. You never know where you’ll make a valuable business contact. Or a new friend.