Daily UX Writing Challenge- Day 2
Hi there,
In today’s challenge, the task was a little different. So the goal was to promote an app that provides live scores, game fixtures and all. I considered several factors; the attention and time span that the users might have, the kind of sports that can be used, using familiar terms in the sports industry, and also following the guidelines. So, here’s how I went about it and the results I came up with.
The problem here is that the specific user demographic that this promotional copy is targeted at is struggling to keep up with their favourite sports and teams because they can’t attend games. As someone surrounded by friends who watch football, I know how frustrating this can be. The target audience, specifically, is a working parent that doesn’t have time to watch games and, as a result, needs to keep up with live updates. So, the copy aims to tell them what’s in store for them and how the app will benefit them alone.
Heading
Deciding what heading to use took me longer than I expected. The way I approached the copy at first sounded like pure copywriting, which was just too sales oriented. Then I remembered that it is a UX writing challenge, so it has to sound helpful and user-oriented. So, I went through a couple of iterations. The Eureka moment hit when I came up with “Never miss another game update this season”. But it exceeded the character count. So, I switch a couple of words and came up with the final copy version
“Never miss any game updates this season”
Body
My first iteration of the copy made me realise I was taking the wrong look at the challenge. I mean, it is a promotional copy. However, it needs to sound user oriented and empathetic too. The very first copy I came up with was a little too “salesy”. Although I kept using “You”, it felt a little forced. I just felt like I could re-word it better. Take a look.
“You don’t have to miss live updates because you can’t attend games. Here’s your chance to access live score updates, game reminders and video highlights of your favourite team.”
So, I tried again. Multiple times. I had about four other versions before coming up with the final version of the copy in the design. I went through different routes. Highlighting the benefits without seeming overwhelming, using the right language, and others were the factors that influenced my choice here.
One copy iteration that I felt “almost confident” in was:
“Too busy to attend games? Keep up with your favourite team this season with real-time reminders and live score updates, and on-demand highlights of each game right from your phone”.
It looked like it worked, but it exceeded the word count. In trying to figure out what to take out, I realised I used “and” twice, and I also used “attend” games, which isn’t very familiar in the language of the sports. This was how I ended up with the final copy, where I changed “attend” to “watch”.
Edit: So, after I submitted my entry and got feedback, I realised that the copy I decided on was too long.
“Too busy to watch games? Keep up with your favourite team this season with real-time reminders, live score updates, and on-demand highlights of each game, all from your phone.”
The second sentence had to be broken down. Yet another insightful thing because I seemed to miss that part of the attention span I mentioned earlier. So yeah, my final copy is now more coherent and easier to read.
Buttons: Since it is a promotional message trying to get people to download the app, I didn’t think too far. It’s only right that the download options for the Apple store and Google Play Store are the buttons.
Getting to Day 2 of his challenge made me realise a couple of things. One, maybe I was just overthinking by not starting this earlier. Two, using terms familiar to the target audience and the product’s niche is really important. This is where conversation mining and research come in. Having a practical example of what I’ve read and learned repeatedly will definitely make it stick.
So, yeah. That’s it for today! Thank you for reading. I’d love to read your thoughts and suggestions.
See you on Day 3!
