How to use UX principles in writing.

“UX” (user experience) is one of those industry terms that can sound like fancy jargon to outsiders and requires highly specialized knowledge. In fact, in my experience, even seasoned marketers can throw the term around to sound like they know what they’re talking about without understanding how UX principles truly work.

But if you have to communicate things as part of your job, whether to internal or external audiences, you should be using UX principles in your writing. It’s a secret weapon that will ensure you get what you want out of those communications. And this is true even if you’re using AI to assist with drafts.

First, some quick background, and then I’ll show you how to easily apply UX to your writing.

The term UX refers to the overall experience a user has when interacting with a product, system, or service.

In simplistic terms, for example, a website with “good UX” is easy to use…speedy loading pages, clear navigation, visually attractive, and a seamless experience with no annoyances. A website with “bad UX” is difficult to use…it can have pages that take forever to load, be confusing to find what you want, have harsh or distracting visuals, have broken links or missing information, and so on.

UX is a term heavily used in design work…graphics, visuals, and products. Letting UX principles guide their work enables designers to create things that have smooth, frictionless interactions with minimal (if any) negativity for the user.

But imagine how much better your life would be if all your written communications created smooth, frictionless interactions.

Here’s how UX applies to writing.

In this context, I don’t mean becoming a “UX copywriter,” which is a specialized job in itself.

I mean the everyday communicator – in marketing, sales, the executive suite or whatever – using UX principles to make their written communication frictionless.

This can apply to emails between colleagues/bosses/direct reports, documents of any kind, marketing emails to key audiences, and especially anything that has a call to action. Because if you want the reader to DO something, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for them to do it.

To achieve that, let these three tips guide you:

Spend enough time before writing to clarify in your own mind exactly what this communication needs to achieve.
Anticipate questions and hesitations your readers may have and address them proactively.
Make strategic choices about how the information is organized and – if necessary – comes across visually.

Let’s break each of those down further so you know exactly what to do.

1) Clarify your goal before writing.

Believe it or not, most folks don’t do this…and I say that from my vast experience hosting writing workshops and working with tourism executives on their writing. Most people sit down and just spew out words. If you’ve ever tried to write an email or document and spent an absurd amount of time backspacing over what you wrote before you get into a groove, you know what I’m talking about.

You might think you know what your goal is, but in reality, people most often come at writing with the goal of “I have to write (this thing).” They’re not really thinking of the writing part as just a tool that’s going to help them achieve an end goal, which is communicating information and/or getting the reader to do/think/feel something.

When you aren’t crystal clear on your goal, it usually results in “bad UX” writing, such as:

Wordy, repetitive information that never quite makes the right point
Any calls to action getting lost in a sea of meandering words
Confusing the reader as to what they’re expected to do/think/feel
Losing the reader’s interest quickly

Take a beat – or as many beats as necessary – before you start writing to answer this critical question: what do I want the reader to do/think/feel after reading this? And then, keep that goal front and center to guide your thinking for the next two steps.

But keep in mind that clarifying your goal is particularly essential if you’re using AI to help with your draft. If you’re a regular AI user, you know that the clearer your prompt, the better the outcome. “Garbage in…garbage out” is an apt phrase here.

2) Anticipate and address questions proactively.

This one might be the hardest part because it’s not always easy to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. But I have found that often times, people write with blinders on…filling in detail gaps in their own mind and not realizing key points are missing from the finished piece of writing.

If you want a good laugh that proves this point, watch this dad try to follow his kids’ written instructions for how to make a PB&J sandwich.

When your audience is reading your communication, whether that’s a meeting invitation to your team or a marketing email to potential guests, “good UX” writing anticipates and addresses all their questions in the initial communication.

Why is this helpful? Because they don’t get distracted away from your call to action by all the questions that pop up in their brain as they’re reading. Even better, it reduces (or hopefully eliminates) the need for them to come back to you with questions, which would delay you getting the result you want…which is getting them to do/think/feel something.

This example will give you an idea of what I mean.

You’re inviting colleagues to a three-hour strategy meeting from 1-4pm. So you write an email that says:

Hey all. We’re going to meet about the 2026 strategy next Thursday from 1-4pm. Please come prepared to discuss your thoughts based on the budgets and programs that John shared earlier this year. I’ll send an invite. Thanks!

If I’m the recipient of that email, I’ll immediately wonder things like:

Should I eat lunch before or will food be served? (yes, my first thought is always about food)
Do I have those docs from John? Did I even get them? Where can I find them if I don’t have them?
Am I going to be asked to make a presentation here or is it more of an informal discussion?
Who’s running the meeting and what will the agenda actually entail?
Three hours is a long time to sit in a meeting…will there be a break?
What’s the goal of the meeting…are we making decisions here or just discussing things?
What else do I need to do to be prepared for this meeting?
Is this virtual or in person?
And if it’s not clear by the email distribution, who’s coming to this meeting?

If that email went out to 10 people, all 10 of them are likely to have at least a few of those questions…which means you’d be stuck volleying back and forth with 10 people to answer questions.

A “good UX” approach of that same email would be:

Hey folks.

All department heads will meet in person next Thursday from 1-4pm in the 18^th floor conference room to discuss the 2026 strategic plan. Please come prepared to discuss your thoughts based on the budgets and programs that John shared earlier this year, which are attached again here for your convenience.

Sue and I will lead the meeting and each person will be asked to spend 5 minutes sharing how the budget impacts their department. Then we’ll brainstorm together on how to achieve the goals shared on the last page of the attached program document. We’d like to leave this meeting with at least five workable ideas for discussion at the next leadership meeting.

Drinks will be provided and please feel free to BYO lunch. We intend to use the full three hours, but we’ll take a break midway through.

Please accept the calendar invite coming your way shortly.

Is that email a little bit longer? Yes. But it’s not TOO long and it will eliminate at least 98% of the questions the recipients are likely to have. Thus, allowing them to just accept the calendar request when it arrives with no additional time wasted on either side. THAT’S good UX.

What if you don’t yet know the details but need to quickly get out the invite to lock it in on everyone’s calendar? Send this:

Hey all!

We’re planning a meeting of all department heads in person next Thursday from 1-4pm at HQ to discuss the 2026 strategic plan. More detailed information will follow tomorrow to ensure that you’re prepared, but for now we just wanted to get the time blocked on everyone’s calendar. Please accept the meeting invite coming your way shortly!

So…even if you don’t have all the details, you can anticipate that they WILL have questions and just let them know from the start that those questions will be answered. It still eliminates friction and volleying.

3) Make wise organization/layout choices.

If your goal is to make it as easy as possible for a reader to embrace your message, then organization plays a HUGE role in how they receive/interact with your words.

Here are just a few facts to keep in mind:

Giant, long blocks of copy are desensitizing. Break long paragraphs up into shorter ones. Better yet, use bullets wherever possible. The human mind LOVES bullet points…they make information more digestible.

If you’re giving a deadline – whether a booking deadline for a vacation package or a response deadline on a colleague’s email – ALWAYS put that at the beginning so the reader knows the time sensitivity. If you put it at the bottom, or worse, hidden in the middle somewhere, there’s a high risk they won’t see it. Don’t assume they will read all the way to the end of whatever you sent.

Especially if you’re communicating a lot of information, or complex information, put down everything you need to say and THEN go back and reorganize. It’s hard to organize as you create, so let it all flow out and then reread it using the lens “what’s the best order to unfold this information for the reader?”

If you’re using AI to help with writing, you still need to be aware of facts like these to be sure you’re getting an effective result. You might have to prompt it with commands like “this copy is too dense, break it up into more easily readable paragraphs and use bullet points where possible.”

Also, sometimes to be most effective, written words need a little assist from visual layouts. Pete & Gerry’s did a marvelous job with this email to their database talking about the rising costs of eggs and the bird flu epidemic. The subject is serious and written words alone would have come across flat, like a crisis statement or a formal press release. The combo of visuals and simple, brief, and distinct text boxes make this email SO easily digestible by the reader. It’s not arduous to read it so you actually DO read it.

Overall, using UX principles in writing is the best way to ensure you get the result you want from readers. Does it take more time/thought on your part (even if you’re using AI) to approach writing this way? Sure. But that’s the whole essence of UX: you work harder/smarter to make it easier on the user.

And THAT makes it easier for them to do/think/feel what you want.