UX writing is just another name for copywriting

The day I switched to UX writing, I was sure it was going to be different from copywriting. And I was certain it was finally time to retire from making ad copy.

To my minimum knowledge, UX writing will teach me how to be more upfront. No more rhymes or acronyms.

The other difference I thought I knew precisely was the platform. UX writers dive deep into solving problems within an app (or a website for that matter), whereas copywriters would solve problems you could find in a commercial, like billboards, digital marketing, TVC, etc.

But despite the platform, I knew there wasn’t much difference between the two. Both should be able to humanize difficult information by understanding people’s reactions to all sorts of things.

Fast forward a couple of months

As I've begun my UX writing career, I was right about one thing. No more billboards. But I was wrong about not making ad copy.

As a UX writer, I was still asked to make ad copy.

I was totally okay… at first. It soon became a problem when I realized I was a bottleneck. Being squished between UX and marketing tasks took a toll on my productivity.

So I stood and spoke up. I approached my PM to make sure we were on the same page that UX writing does not involve writing ads. As it turns out, the reason they asked me to help with marketing copy was because UX writing to them was just another name for copywriting.

Is it though?

Is UX writing just another name for copywriting?

I wasn’t even sure of this anymore. On the one hand, I learned that UX and marketing have different goals and require different skillsets, just like UI design versus graphic design.

On the other hand, I believed that to excel in writing one should have the ability to adapt to different forms of content be it ad or app.

That night, immediately after work, I joined a community of UX writers, raised my concern, and hoped for enlightenment.

"Sometimes I feel that we make things more complicated than they really are. UX writing is (copy)writing applied to UX. My main goal as a copywriter is not to promote a product, but to tell my readers I understand their problems and that a product is the solution for them. It's hard to sell anything through if you don't help your readers solve their problems and achieve their goals." — Ferran Gómez Olivencia

Find the thread here (login is required).

So are they the same?

Though we may have different interpretations when it comes to the "copywriting vs. UX writing" topic, based on the explanation above I personally have concluded that UX writing and copywriting are very similar. They shouldn't be black and white.

You could have a UX writer also selling a product, or a copywriter guiding people to use a product, because ideally this person needs to understand how to solve people's problems. And solving problems is the most fundamental skill in UX writing and copywriting.