In the past two and a half years, I have hired junior writers and mentored more than ten interns.

All of them have the potential to become great UX writers. I love their spirit and curiosity. But, I found common weaknesses among them that might hamper their career.

I have put together a list of mistakes UX writers often make — which I have also made myself — and what to instead.

1. Relying on the assumption

One of the junior writers’ most significant mistakes is spending less time deep-diving the users POV. They often made assumptions about users’ problems, needs, and goals.

Relying on assumptions can be detrimental.

Inaccurate assumptions can lead to a disconnection between the user and the content, and they may overlook essential insights or opportunities for innovation that could enhance the user experience.

What to do:

• Understanding the users before trying to solve their problems is critical. Research the subject before working on a project, validate your assumptions and get to know the background problem better.

2. Not understanding the product well

This one sounds like a no-brainer, but I often see junior writers who only have little understanding of the product they are writing.

UX writers guide users to reach their goals when using an app or a website. Writing without a proper understanding of the product for users unfamiliar with the product is like the blind leading the blind.

What to do:

• Spend more time getting to know the product well, explore, use it, and
  experience it by yourself.

3. Skiping the copy validation process

Validating the copy before shipping the roduct is basically the only way to know if our copy works well or not.

Often, junior writers do not check if their copy was straightforward, easy to understand, comprehensible, and if they successfully delivered the intended message.

What to do:

• Test your copy. Even a preference test from 5 of your colleagues would help.

4. Going straight to the solution

This one is not reserved for juniors; some middle and senior writers still make this mistake. Sometimes we want to finish fast, or we strongly believe our intuition and think the idea we have is brilliant.

Going straight to ideation without understanding the user, deconstructing the problem, and defining the issue will produce a solution that might not solve the problem effectively, or worse, leaves the problem is intact.

What to do:

• Follow the design thinking framework when looking for a solution. Design thinking brings solutions based on how real users think, feel, and behave.

5. Writing too much

One of the biggest challenges in UX writing is limited screen real estate. Space is at a premium. UX writers can only afford to write short paragraphs, not wordy sentences.

This is one challenge that junior writers seem to face every day. Writing shorter takes longer; Mark Twain famously said, “If I had more time, I would write a shorter letter.”

What to do:

• Aim to write concisely. Take time to read the sentence twice or thrice,
  and always seek the possibility of cutting the unnecessary filler words.

6. Writing too short

Yes, writing too short is also a problem.

Aim to write concisely but keep the key message intact, clear, and easy to understand.

What to do:

• Make sure the key message in your copy is clearly stated. You can also test the copy comprehension to your peers to see if they got the intended message.

7. Satisfied with the first draft

Good writing takes time. The first draft is usually still raw, the worst of the worst.

The first draft is a beginning, likely with flaws and plenty of room for exploration. The first draft might not achieve the necessary simplicity, clarity, and level of quality. Excellent copy is most unlikely made in the first iteration.

What to do:

• UX writing is an iterative process. It often takes multiple drafts
  to create contents that meet users’ needs and align with product goals.
• Don’t be satisfied with the first draft; allow yourself to write as much as
  possible, kill your darlings, write again, and read again until you run out
  of room for improvement.

8. Only filling in the blank provided by designers

One significant difference between junior and senior writers is their collaboration with product designers.

Senior writers see designers as equal partners; they collaborate side by side and design solutions together. On the other hand, junior writers tend to wait until designers come up with UX flows and lo-fi UI before they start writing texts.

The responsibility of UX writers is more than changing the dummy text provided by designers.

UX writing should be integrated with the design of the product. UX writers need to work closely with designers to ensure the content is presented in a way that is appealing and easy to understand.

What to do:

• Designers and writers have an equal say in the design. To gain confidence when collaborating with designers, learn about design and other relevant topics such as information architecture, behavior economics, usability testing, etc. A writer with design skills is unbeatable.

9. Afraid to say no

Among other mistakes, the junior writer often needs to catch up on this. The inability to say “no” may make junior writers end up to juggle multiple task beyond their capacity at once. This situation leads to burnout, decreasing the performance and quality of work.

What to do:

• Learn to say no diplomatically. Not saying yes to a new task when you already have a lot on your plate is OK. There are some ways to say no without actually saying no; for example, say that you will do the new task after finishing the current project.

10. Making Grammatical errors

Mastering the grammar of your native language can be tricky, even more so the grammar of a foreign language, which in my case, English.

What to do:

• The short term solution to fix your mistakes in English grammar is to use grammar checker AI such as Grammarly. The long term solution is to get constant exposure to English literature, take grammar classes, and convince your manager to hire an Editor.

11. Write in their own voice and style

Every brand or product has its distinctive persona, writing style, and tone of voice to talk with their customer.

When a company hires a writer, they expect them to write as the company. New writers often fail to follow the company persona and write for the product using their own voice.

What to do:

• Understand the preset persona, and keep it handy when writing for the product. Keep practicing and ask for feedback.

12. Keeping ideas and opinions to themselves

Too many times during1:1 with junior writers and talking about their ongoing projects, I found they have good ideas, initiatives, and inputs, but they only keep them by themselves.

There are three reasons juniors don’t voice their thoughts; First, they assume they need to be more knowledgeable and may need to be better. Second, they need more confidence in their ideas and feel they need to be better or worthy of sharing. Third, they feel intimidated by more experienced or senior writers, who they may see as having more authority or knowledge.

What to do:

• Start building confidence from the smallest circle to the bigger one while honing your craft. Let your senior and manager know if you feel
  your workplace is unsafe for making mistakes.

13. Not doing enough copy exploration and experimentation

Another distinctive difference between senior and junior writers is copy exploration and experimentation.

Instead of creating multiple drafts that differ in approach, diction, angles, tone, structure, or content, juniors often write a single draft from start to finish. Their copy is safe and not bad, but not exciting.

What to do:

• Keep writing, experiment with new angles, and discover new perspectives. If you run out of ideas, look for inspiration. I like looking at Apple’s copywriting when I need to escape writer’s block.

14. Giving 100% effort to every project

Knowing not all projects are the same in terms of impact comes with experience.

Giving the same amount of effort to every project is not wise. Giving 100% effort to every project is a recipe for burnout. More impactful projects need more effort, resources, focus, and attention.

Prioritization helps us to use our time and resources more efficiently. By identifying the most critical projects, you can allocate your time and resources accordingly, minimizing the amount of time wasted on low-impact projects.

What to do:

• Develop a prioritization framework that considers factors such as
  the impact on user experience, alignment with business goals, workload, and timeline. Evaluate projects objectively and consistently with your manager and stakeholders.

15. Thinking senior is always superior

Seniors are generally assumed to have more experience and knowledge than their junior colleagues, but this is only sometimes true. Seniority does not always indicate superior knowledge, skills, or competency.

Regardless of seniority, individual performance may vary. Junior writers may have more specialized knowledge, unique perspectives, and fresh ideas that benefit the team.

What to do:

• Respect your seniors, but don’t be intimidated by their presence.
  Seniors and juniors contribute differently and are valuable to the team.

Wrapping up

These are 15 common mistakes junior UX writers often make that might hamper their career.

1. Relying on assumptions
2. Not understanding the product well
3. Skiping copy validation process
4. Going straight to the solution
5. Writing too much
6. Writing too short
7. Satisfied with the first draft
8. Only filling in the blank provided by designers
9. Afraid to say no
10. Making grammatical errors
11. Writing in their voice and style
12. Keeping ideas and opinions to themselves
13. Not doing enough exploration and experimentation
14. Giving 100% to every project
15. Thinking senior is always superior

Making mistakes is a part of learning, and nothing is wrong with it. But, if you can avoid those common mistakes, you are 15 steps closer to a promotion. Best of luck!

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” — Henry Ford

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Sincerely, a former junior UX writer.