Wow (STOP). Interesting (STAY). Of Course (CONTINUE).
Let’s start with copywriting.
Wow. Stop. Copywriting.
Copy can make a reader stop and think “wow!” Or stop and feel (and maybe even think.)
When you walk into the American Museum of Natural History in New York you meet a dinosaur skeleton. A T-Rex. It’s … huge. You recognize it. It’s the same one you’ve seen in films. There’s no way you can miss it. If you’re a kid it can take your breath away and change your dreams. It gets the grownups giddy as they remember their childhood.
It never does nothing. Or, to put it positively, it always does something. To every visitor.
In the same way that the T-Rex invites and excites, but doesn’t claim to be the whole museum experience, copywriting invites the reader to stop. And then explore. How? Among a lot of other things by touching feelings. The T-Rex reminds everyone of something and makes them feel delight/fear/nostalgia/excitement. Good copy also hits the emotional spot.
That’s why most people can write, but some are brilliant at writing copy.
Now it’s time to see the museum. You want that. Because you were wow-ed by the T-Rex.
Interesting. Stay. Content writing.
Content makes the reader stay. How? By being interesting. Seems obvious, but it’s that simple.
The difficulty is how to be interesting when there is so much to be interested in.
Have you taken a guided tour before? We visited two museums in New York. We took a tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We didn’t have a guide for the American Museum of Natural History. All I remember is the dinosaur (which I’m pretty sure was a T-Rex.) The Met was amazing. Mind blowing. But it had nothing to do with the displays. It was all about the guide.
Content is the difference between walking around alone or with a guide. It’s fine alone. It’s brilliant with a guide. The guide meets you at the door, peaks your interest, blows your mind, could keep your attention for hours. Makes you stay.
Good content makes the reader stay long enough to be a customer. And long enough for Google to pay attention to your site.
Of course. Continue. UX-writing.
Are you reading this, thinking that UX-writing is the guide? Sometimes it is. But it’s actually all those things that you didn’t notice.
Remember thinking about pinch zooming to see which Metro you should take? Nope. That’s great UX.
All the times you found a place to eat, found the toilets, found the entrance, found the ticket desk, and a whole load of other “of course” moments, that was great UX.
But UX is more than that. It’s the guard that firmly, but kindly, asks you not to touch the display. It’s the kindly lady that helped you find the entrance when you were confused. It’s the cashier asking you to try another card. It’s all those little messages that made your day enjoyable and saved your brain power.
So when you need a T-Rex to make your readers stop and say “Wow!” you want a copywriter.
When you need a brilliant guide to make you stay longer than you had planned, you want a content writer.
And when you want your reader to be happily ignorant of the “of course” feeling, you want a UX-Writer.
