Insights from crafting a viral tech article
Writing is not just a creative endeavor driven by inspiration. There is a checklist to apply to each piece you write to ensure your words are clear and engaging.
Writing often carries the misconception of being a purely creative endeavor, driven by inspiration and artistic flow. While the writing process does involve discovery, there's a formula you can apply to your tech pieces to make them more engaging for your readers. I'm here to share what I've learned from writing six articles that gained traction on Medium so that you can apply what works for me to your drafts.
When Spotify laid off 1,500 employees in December 2023, after having reported positive earnings and undergone an earlier wave of layoffs, I knew there was a story to tell. I also knew this story had to be told quickly because most folks in tech would be shocked by what happened and needed to make sense of the chaos.
That's when I decided to leverage my background in UX Research—a discipline that has been vulnerable to recent tech layoffs—to dig beyond the surface and explore what Spotify's latest layoff meant for a career in UX Research.
In this article, I'm less interested in sharing with you the highlights of that piece. I’m also not here to cover the content of other articles I wrote on Medium that gained traction and enabled me to reach wider audiences.
Rather, I’m here today to share a checklist you can apply to your tech writing. The examples I offer from my work are to make my points tangible and challenge you to come up with examples of your own.
#1 Are you writing about a topic your "users" find relevant?
What's the learning?
You start with an advantage if your topic is already relevant to the group of people you're serving with your writing and wish to deliver value.
What's the example?
UX Research has faced hardships over the last few years. The democratization of our field has convinced many in tech that non-researchers can do the job. Gen AI has made some question if we still need to run studies with "real" users when we can tap into synthetic data much faster and cheaper. Layoffs, on top of all these, have made UX Researchers even more insecure, doubting if this role can survive if it continues to be seen as non-business essential.
Within this chaotic and fear-driven setup, I knew right away that another Spotify layoff would trigger even more anxiety among the people who read my work. I anticipated that my readers would have a hard time making sense of that piece of information together with the positive earnings the company reported.
"What's going to happen to me?" and "What should I do now?" were two questions I anticipated my readers to ask. I trusted in my experience in UX Research to help them make sense of what was happening, and empower them by guiding them to focus on the right thing.
What's the caveat?
Some topics are relevant to your readers, but they're already saturated topics (e.g., imagine today you will write about Blockchain or GenAI). Seek topics that you’re passionate about, are relevant to your audience, and are not written extensively yet.
#2 Are you offering a new perspective that's not considered or at least commonly accepted?
What's the learning?
Writing is a conversation where each new contributor adds something new to what's already said. That could either be a new piece of information or a novel way to make sense of what we already know or both.
What's the example?
Before writing about Spotify’s latest layoff, I read many articles and LinkedIn exchanges. Many people thought that the major reason why so many layoffs were happening was because companies like Spotify had hired too many professionals in the first place.
But, I sensed that there was more to it.
That's how I drew parallels between seasonal work and non-business crucial roles like UX Research to offer a new angle from which my readers could learn. That was my way of talking about something people found relevant in a way that was informative and creative.
What's the caveat?
Research the ideas that are already out there before establishing that what you’re writing is a new angle. Otherwise, you might confuse your readers, and your new angle might not be convincing.
Also, reference others' written work as you write your own. Doing so helps you establish yourself as a trusted authority, someone who knows what's happening in their field.
#3 Are you using plain English?
What's the learning?
Prioritize clarity and simplicity. In an attempt to offer a new perspective and explore what's not obvious, you might use complex words and long sentences. The more accessible and straightforward your written message is, the more people can make sense of your points.
Here is an article from Grammarly to give clear examples of plain language and show you what works and what doesn't.
What's the example?
My first draft on Spotify’s latest layoff was filled with long sentences and technical words to explain seasonality and specificities of business-crucial work. It took me a few attempts to improve my piece such that it got easier to read. I made sure that each sentence was as short as it could be, and I explained every term that I used.
My goal was to offer a piece of writing that my readers from different backgrounds could read under various circumstances. Also, I wanted them not just to understand but to enjoy my message. That’s why I made sure that each new sentence followed only after ongoing concepts in my thought process were clearly explained.
What's the caveat?
Create a balance between simplicity and clarity to avoid over-explanation. For example, when writing my Spotify article for UX Collective, I didn't assume that everyone was a UX Researcher so I spelled out acronyms and referenced previous articles on the subject. But I did expect people to be familiar with how tech teams work, and broadly speaking, what UX Researchers do. If I were to write the same way that I describe how these things work to my grandma, it could have been insulting to my readers.
#4 Are you editing your article such that your “users” can read at full speed?
What's the learning?
Writing is rewriting. When you rewrite, you might be working on grammar, wording, and the examples you give. But on top of all these, study the order of the ideas you present and challenge the initial order with which you build a narrative.
What's the example?
I wrote my first draft on Spotify’s latest layoff to figure out what I wanted to say. I laid out the facts, explored how the majority of people interpreted them, and challenged my readers to think differently. Then, I gave visual and textual evidence, qualitative and quantitative, to convince my readers. Finally, I answered "So what?" and asked my readers questions to guide them to make sense of their UX Research careers.
Once the first draft was ready (not perfect, but just complete), I put each paragraph on post-its (you can do it literally, or just imagine your ideas as such) and placed them after one another.
The Post-it method enabled me to experiment with "where" best a paragraph fits, not forcing the flow of my writing to go in the same order that it occurred to me in the first place.
And I asked these questions: How do these ideas connect? Do they feel inevitable? How do they build up momentum? How can they be changed?
What's the caveat?
Upon spending time with your written material, you get familiar and each detail feels obvious. That makes it harder for you to edit your drafts in a way that you’re still open to new ideas. To counterbalance this familiarity, set your piece aside at least for a day, sleep on it, and review it the next day as though it doesn’t belong to you.
To wrap up
Whether you’re considering writing for a mission outside of your company or preparing to present your piece internally, I challenge you to prioritize the points above. Check in with your readers to figure out what they’re interested in and embed your piece within their area(s) of interest. Unless you’re offering a new piece of information within that topic of interest, make sure you’re offering a new perspective that will help your readers understand the matter differently and empower them.
From my coaching clients, I know that many of us out there have high expectations from our first drafts. This works against our best advantage because it pressures us into an all-or-nothing mindset. It’s okay if your first drafts suck. What matters is that you keep on improving your piece, use plain English, and order your ideas for better flow.
Before you go: Let’s do a 1-1 session for me to coach you on your writing. As the paid subscriptions grow, I’ll also be keen to run monthly webinars. Please give me feedback, and let’s explore some ideas together as we move forward.