problem
The product copy in the web app was lengthy and confusing. While this wasn't a barrier for our initial developer users, as we repositioned into an enterprise tool for content creators, the technical copy contributed to onboarding difficulties, and we knew our creator audience did not initial embrace Contentful. The workaround required extensive onboarding from our Customer Success Managers.
root cause
Product copy was not top of mind for the founding product team, and most of the legacy copy in the product was written by technical roles at our Berlin HQ, many with English as a second language.
solution
I created UX copy guidelines, and identified core opportunities in the product (based on user confusion) to replace the lengthy or confusing copy with more concise, intentional copy rooted in best practices.
impact
The UX copy changes were measured through the reduction of support tickets, customer interviews and through the observations of our customer success manager team. The customer success managers reported less resistance for creators to try Contentful after these changes (combined with other product repositioning improvements I initiated in an adjacent workstream).
my role
As an IC, I initiated the opportunity through an internal hackathon, and found a way to move it forward though attaching it to a planned React Migration. I sought out support from our brand writers, UX copy industry guidelines, and also approached loose connections from San Francisco (Dropbox) to do informational interviews with their UX copy team to learn how they approached this discipline in their team.
I rewrote some of the UX copy myself, following the guidelines. I also identified core areas of the product which may benefit from greater brand expression, and sought support from our brand team to introduce these improvements.
