[Tweet courtesy of the Kubie estate]
A few days ago, I came across this twitter thread by Scott Kubie. I wish I could say that I instinctively rubbed my chin, frowned a bit, and then went "hmmm... interesting". However, it was just me sitting there, staring blankly at my phone as I blurted out: "ay güey, that makes total sense."
People don't know (or care) who writes what
Think about it for a sec. People don't tell the difference between content marketing, copywriting, UX writing, or support content. In their eyes, all those words contribute to their experience. It doesn't matter who wrote them, what they did to write them, or even if they're on brand.
They don't use products to admire how a marketing writer wrangles words for ad copy or how a UX writer is diligent with their word choices for an error message. Nope, they use products to get things done.
This quote by Sarah Richards sums it up beautifully:
"Generally, people want to understand. Not marvel at your language skills."
It also makes me smile because it's the first thing you learn (the hard way) when you start to write for digital products.
So, if people who use digital products see "all the words" as part of the same experience, why do the people who write for said products pretend some types of content aren't part of that user's experience?
Each team has its own goals.
These goals tend to be different from one another, even if everybody is working on the same product. That's why writers have to focus on different things. I get that. They also have to do it that way because it's that variation of writing skills that provide greater value to the product (at least from a business perspective). I get that too. The problem is, this inevitably creates silos.
Writers keep passing the baton and hoping the next writer will continue delivering the message instead of collaborating. The fact that the writing focus is different doesn't mean that the main goal should also be different. Yes, marketing wants to persuade, yes, UX writing tries to guide, and yes, product support answers questions. But in the end, every writer working for that product should aim for the same: help deliver the best possible user experience with their words.
Language is not seen (or used) as a system.
Words still tend to be an afterthought. I know. It hurts. But in most digital product teams, words are something that comes at the very end, something you sprinkle on top, even though it's a fact that you can't solve product problems with words.
However, when writers come together and share what they learned and how they use words to achieve the product's goal, language becomes a system. A tool that teams can use to design scalable solutions, which avoids duplicating (or even triplicating) work, and it makes it easier to keep consistency. The best part is, they start to realize that words can also be used as components and that there's no need to start from scratch every single time.
Peek over the wall.
That first time is always the hardest. Try to reach out to other writers (or people who end up doing the writing) in your company and grab some coffee, or tea, or hot cocoa. Understand what makes them tick, what are their goals, their frustrations, and learn from their experience. You'll be amazed at how many different perspectives there are to the same product you both write for.
Once you've established the first contact, keep a certain rhythm to it. Schedule monthly syncs, create slack channels (ours is named #writersroom), or even involve them in your content crits. Silos won't disappear any time soon, but we can at least try to write our way out; together.
