Selection of five UX Writing Challenge proposals

Project background

Developed by Ryan Farrell, Daily UX Writing delivers a writing prompt via email every day for two weeks. The idea is to write the copy within 10 minutes and post it to Twitter or the Facebook group for feedback.

I mocked up five of my copy proposals below. The first two show Ryan’s feedback.

Flight cancellation notification

**Scenario:** A traveler is in an airport waiting for the last leg of a flight home when their flight is canceled due to a severe storm at their destination.
**Challenge:** How does her airline app tell her this and what does it say?

**Headline:** 45 characters max
**Body:** 175 characters max
**Button(s):** 25 characters max

Thought process

For this notification, it’s essential to make sure the flight cancellation message is the first thing you see. To achieve that I front loaded the message with the word “Attention”.

I then provided the reason why the flight was cancelled, apologised and offered a solution.

In the Call to Action (CTA), I provided a clear indication of what to do next.

Captura de pantalla 2019-10-13 a las 19.58.53.png — Website dialog

**Scenario:** The user is trying to view a website to help them buy a car. But, the content can’t load without the user’s location. They need to enter their ZIP code and first name.
**Challenge:** Ask them where they live and who they are without sounding like a creep.
**Body:** 45 characters max
**Button(s):** 15 characters max

Thought process

This challenge was tough. 45 characters doesn’t give you much room to ask for two pieces of information (first name and ZIP code).

I front loaded the body with the action (enter), requested the two pieces of information (name and ZIP code) and provided the user with the result (see cars nearby).

The CTA colour and switch to first person aims to make it clear that this action needs to be taken by whoever reads the message.

I was encouraged by Ryan’s feedback explaining that including “nearby" helped improve Click Through Rate (CTR) in the real life A/B test that inspired this prompt.

Captura%2Bde%2Bpantalla%2B2019-10-13%2Ba%2Blas%2B19.40.01.jpg — GPS notification

**Challenge:** How would you let the user know there’s a fire happening in a nearby town that is causing road closures? The effect on their commute is unknown, but there is a definite danger if the fire gets closer. How do you communicate this to them? When? Write it.

**Headline:** 30 characters max
**Body:** 45 characters max

Thought process

Given the gravity of the situation described in this prompt, I took the unorthodox decision to flank the main message in 4 exclamation marks. I wanted it to be absolutely clear that there was severe danger ahead. I also encouraged the person reading the message to check reliable local news sources live updates.

In hindsight, OK seems like a lacklustre way to close this dialog. “Got it” would perhaps be more in line with the tone of the rest of the message though I’m not sure it would be understood by non-native English speakers.

App notification

**Scenario:** While editing a note in a note-taking app, a user’s phone suddenly runs out of power and abruptly turns off. After the phone recharges, the user opens the app.
**Challenge:** Write a message that the user will read immediately upon opening the app. What do they need to know? What steps (if any) do they need to take to recover their content? What if they can't recover the content?
**Headline:** 40 characters max
**Body:** 140 characters max
**Button(s):** 20 characters max

Thought process

The headline clearly communicates what happened.

The secondary message suggests why it happened so the user can learn about the function. In the future, they won’t need to worry if their phone battery dies while they’re writing a note.

The tertiary message indicates what the user can do now.

The CTA button lets the user access their unfinished note.

Offer in supermarket app

**Scenario:** 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.
**Challenge:** Write a promotional home screen for a service that delivers coffee to the user once a day, every day for an entire year.
**Headline:** 45 characters max
**Body:** 175 characters max
**Button(s):** 25 characters max

Thought process

The headline aims to describe exactly what this offer is about and provide a benefit in 45 characters.

The offer duration (1 year) is communicated in the secondary message.

For the first button, “Give it a shot” employs an engaging and promotional tone that relates directly to the offer and elicits an action.

In the second button “No thanks” makes it easy to close the offer and move on.