To hone my craft and expose myself to different UX writing briefs, I undertook the 15-day Daily UX Writing Challenge. Here’s the work.

Scenario:
A traveler is in an airport waiting for the last leg of a flight home when their flight gets abruptly canceled due to bad weather.

Challenge:
Write a message from the airline app notifying them of the cancellation and what they need to do next.

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

Behind the Words:
I crafted the headline to be clear and concise, to effectively relay a piece of bad news that requires immediate attention. The ⚠️ emoji also helps convey urgency.

The body copy first elaborates on the problem (what happened and why), before informing users that a solution has been reached (this immediately provides some reassurance amidst the uncertainty).

Finally, the primary CTA invites them to View new itinerary. Beyond closing the loop for the user, this also helps the airline minimise moving parts with fewer flight booking changes. If users still wish to change their flights, the option is available as the secondary CTA.

Scenario:
A user is a working parent, and a big sports fan, in the midst of their favorite sports season who can no longer attend games.

Challenge:
Write a promotional screen for an app that lets a user choose teams, sends game reminders, real-time score updates and highlight videos.

Headline: 40 characters max
Body: 175 characters max
Button(s): 25 characters max

Behind the Words:
The headline starts off with the typical Never miss another… expression—slightly clichéd, but it gets the message across effectively. Ending the line with GOOAAALL!!! gives it character, and makes it more relatable (by speaking their language) and exciting.

The body copy describes the app’s functions in neat bullets to get the message across quickly and avoid cognitive overload. Using icons also aids with quicker information association.

With the selling all done, the Download app CTA is then written to be simple and functional.

Scenario:
The user entered the wrong email address to sign in to their account.

Challenge:
Tell the user to enter the right email.

40 characters max

Behind the Words:
Knowing that the user would likely experience some frustration at getting their email wrong, I crafted this error message to sound more human, conversational, and friendly, to gently nudge the users towards retyping their emails.

I made a conscious choice to sacrifice a degree of clarity and directness to achieve this.

Scenario:
A user is in their favourite 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 subscription service that delivers groceries to the user once-a-month for a flat fee.

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

Behind the Words:
Identifying the main benefit of this subscription service to be convenience, the headline was crafted to emphasise that—because what’s more enticing than skipping the grocery trips and lazing on the sofa?

The body copy presents users with all the information they need to possibly form a decision before they reach the CTA. Doing so allowed me to opt for a more direct and exciting Sign me up! button in lieu of a boring Learn More one.

Scenario:
The user works in graphic design. While critiquing a design in a mobile app, their phone abruptly turns off. When they restart the phone, they reopen 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

Behind the Words:
Beyond being frustrating, an app crash can be extremely worrying—a user’s first and biggest concern would be whether their hard work has gone to waste.

That’s why it’s important to address that straight away, and offer them immediate reassurance with a headline that’s written to be as clear and concise as possible.

After all that fuss, the primary CTA lets users Reopen project and jump right back into their work.

Scenario:
It’s Monday. A user has just gotten into their car to drive to work. They plug their phone into the car and start driving.

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

Behind the Words:
Starting the push notification with the ⚠️ emoji helps demand immediate attention for the user, seeing how this is a rather urgent piece of news.

(Note: the app’s style guide could determine different emojis to be used in scenarios of varying levels of urgency. Consistent users will eventually familiarise themselves with these emojis, and be able to know very quickly what to expect when they receive push notifications from the app in the future.)

Keeping it short and simple, the problem is highlighted in the headline, and the solution lies in the body copy—to be taken in by users potentially affected by the fire, and ignored by those who won’t be.

Scenario:
A sports fan is at a wedding while their favourite team is playing against their arch-rivals. Their team scores.

Challenge:
How would you, quickly, let the sports fan know about the latest play, the current score, and the key players? Write it.

Headline: 30 characters max
Body: 45 characters max

Behind the Words:
When a sports fan misses their favourite team’s game, it’s safe to assume they have something important to attend to. Which makes it important that this push notification, the user’s only way of staying updated, has to deliver information quickly and concisely.

Key information of the goal is presented in the headline using a simple and intuitive format (the same way scores are shown in TV broadcasts of games) that football fans should be very familiar with:

[Time of goal] [Host team] [Score] – [Visiting team] [Score]

The body copy can then go on to include less crucial details, like the players involved and how the goal was scored.

Scenario:
The user is a casual music fan and (on occasion) goes to live concerts. They have a music player app on their phone.

Challenge:
Tell the user that one of their favourite bands is playing live in their town. How would you compel them to want to go?

Headline: 30 characters max
Body: 45 characters max
Button: 25 characters max

Behind the Words:
My approach to this brief was simple: inform the user while getting them excited.

This is reflected in the headline, which adopts an enthusiastic tone instead of an informational one (the word “rocking” alludes to the genre of the band for even more hype).

The body copy goes into the nitty-gritty, while the CTA then presents the most natural next step for any excited fan, which is to buy the tickets.

Scenario:
The user is trying to rent a car using an application but the credit card on file has expired.

Challenge:
Write them an error message so that they can correct the problem.

Headline: 30 characters max
Body: 45 characters max

Behind the Words:
For a simple error with a simple solution, I chose to get straight to the point when delivering the news in the headline, and the solution in the body copy.

On top of that, communicating the benefit of getting on the road pronto compels users to fix the problem ASAP, without sounding overly pushy.

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 you're unnecessarily mining their data.

Headline: 25 characters max
Body: 45 characters max
Button(s): 15 characters max

Behind the Words:
A ZIP code request can be a serious privacy concern, especially when it’s not obvious why the information is even needed—users will naturally be suspicious of data-mining, and hesitant to submit their details.

To soften the approach, the headline and body copy work together to communicate the website’s primary benefit (which should align with the user’s goals). This benefit, together with a better understanding of why their information is being requested, should better convince users to fill in the text fields.

Placeholders within the text fields help clarify the exact information required:

• Name: how the user wishes to be addressed, not their full registered name

• ZIP Code: where the user is currently staying, not their official home address

Scenario:
An elderly user is doing a Google search to find an easy way to buy contact lenses online.

Challenge:
Write a title and meta description for a website that sells subscription contact lenses delivered to a user every 30 days—convince them to try it.

Title Tag: 60 characters max
Meta Description: 160 characters max

Behind the Words:
Acting somewhat like a ‘headline’, the title tag was crafted to fit as many relevant key words in as possible, while coherently explaining the essence of the website. Of course, I had to include the brand name OptiCo in it too.

The meta description then gets straight to the point in trying to sell the website in a truthful yet compelling manner.

Scenario:
A user is creating an account. When they come to the step where they are asked to enter their name, they get an error message. A fraud detection software thinks their name is fake—but it’s wrong 5% of the time.

Challenge:
Write an error message that prompts them to fix the error without shaming them for having a fake-sounding name.

45 characters max

Behind the Words:
This was a particularly tricky assignment to get right. A blanket error message getting users to retype their name could potentially be insensitive to earnest users with unique names.

My solution for an inclusive error message was to speak (and provide solutions) to both sets of users separately. They were:

• Users who’ve typed their name incorrectly (by mistake or on purpose)

  Simple Solution:
  Retype their name correctly.

• Users with a unique name that our fraud detection software doesn’t recognise

  Less-simple solution:
  As the website’s software doesn’t recognise their name, we’d have to include a link for users to contact the team, so that a manual workaround can be arranged.

All this in 45 characters.

Scenario:
A short-haul truck driver has a phone app that monitors his route, schedule, fuel & deliveries. He has 6 more deliveries before stopping for fuel and lunch. Due to unexpected traffic, he’s behind schedule.

He can choose to stay on his planned route for a few more stops, but risk running low on fuel and missing lunch, or he can get fuel and lunch now and finish the deliveries later.

Challenge:
Challenge: Write a push notification alerting him of this dilemma and options.

Headline: 30 characters max
Body: 45 characters max
Button(s): 25 characters max

Behind the Words:
I deliberated between two ways of approaching this assignment:

A: Making the choice of rerouting on behalf of the user, and simply presenting them with a CTA to reroute for fuel. Consideration: users are preoccupied with driving, and may not have the capacity to put too much thought into making a decision.

B: Presenting the user with the information and giving them two options (continue or reroute) to choose from. Consideration: users on a delivery job would appreciate the option to assess the situation themselves, and choose the step to take.

I eventually went with option B, also bearing in mind that truck drivers, being exceptionally familiar with both their vehicles and the roads, would likely be able to make a more nuanced and suitable judgement for themselves. After users are presented with the necessary information, they can then decide for themselves whether they’d like to Refuel first or Keep going.

Scenario:
A user is shopping using a price comparison app that boasts “real-time” pricing on items. As they are checking the price of an item, something goes wrong. The problem is unknown.

Challenge:
Write a message that informs the user that they cannot access the app right now. You cannot specify "why" the app doesn't work, you also want them to continue using the app.

Headline: 30 characters max
Body: 120 characters max
Button(s): 15 characters max

Behind the Words:
Assuming that the system is unable to pinpoint the exact problem, the pop-up first attempts some generic troubleshooting, giving users the option to Refresh page (positioned as the primary CTA).

If the app continues to malfunction, and the user comes right back to the same pop-up, they may then select the secondary CTA, which is to Continue shopping (bringing them back to their previous screen), and try using the feature again later.