UX Writing #11
Inclusive writing, keeping elder people in mind, write Tile and Meta description for a website which sells Contact Lenses subscription.
This is a good challenge about “inclusive design” writing.
Design has the power to change the world and affect all strata of society for the better. This is why I work/hope/dream of working for Google someday as they do everything keeping everyone in mind. Truly democratizing tech for everyone regardless of age/gender/geography/income.
For most tech products, unfortunately, there is a big audience which feels completely isolated and ignored by the tech wave and that is “elderly” people. Ironically they are the ones who truly need technology to leverage and change their lives for the better.
In Western societies rarely do Parents stay with their Children when they really need them the most — past 60/70 years of age when dependence really sets in. This is the context where we need to operate out of.
Eyesight is one of those things which gradually become weaker as one grows older. Along with other things getting weaker, eyesight can really cripple the elderly to see the world in all its glory. Whether it's seeing their grandchildren, whether it's doing their house chores all alone, whether it's about staying physically active — buying groceries, walking on the street or in the park…eyesight makes a massive difference.
This challenge is all about how can we use words to help the elderly buy Contact Lenses online.
Let’s break down the Scenario and the Challenge —
Scenario
An elderly is doing a Google search to find an easy way to buy Contact Lenses online.
elderly — that's what whom we are writing for
Google search — more than the link, its the title and the description which will matter the most keeping our target users in mind. And also SEO to ensure our results are there right on top.
buy Contact Lenses online — convenience is the key, again keeping our target users in mind
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.
subscription service — it’s not a one-time buy but rather a service
delivered to a user every 30 days — this is the key part, keeping our users (elderly) for whom convenience matters the most
convince them to try it — another important part, for the elderly there is a huge cost to shift away from things/services they are already using as they would need to again start from researching, comparing and then eventually deciding on one. Not going to happen easily. So if one is able to get them to buy once, chances of repeat purchase are pretty higher provide there is no drop in quality. Even if there is a drop, elderly people are more prone to sticking than switching.
For those who are not aware of what are “Title” and Meta descriptions (and there will be a lot of times when people in the Product Design/Development are not aware of a lot of things/use-cases, that is where Research comes in) —
Title tags and meta descriptions are bits of HTML code in the header of a web page. They help search engines understand the content on a page. A page’s title tag and meta description are usually shown whenever that page appears in search engine results. (We’ll look at some examples of this later.)
Well written and compelling meta tags can attract more users to click to your website from the search engine results.
As far as SEO is concerned, Title and Meta descriptions are the key between winning and losing.
Let's see an example —
In the above example, the text in Blue is the title and the content below the link is the meta description. The actual link as such is of no help to judge whether one wants to click or not.
There is a whole game of how to write Title and Meta Descriptions to master the SEO, which is out of scope for this post.
Let’s see how we can write for our end user — elderly, to make them click the link.
Imagine you being that elderly. What are the factors which will compel you to click the link and therefore willing to give it a try to the subscription for contact lenses?
Let’s form a rough persona first —
Name — Joseph Cahn
Age — 75
City — Ohio, US
Stays with his wife Mary, both their children (2 sons) are Doctors and well settled in Singapore. They both visit them once every 2 years during Christmas. They don’t have any relatives within 500 km from where they stay and most of the neighbors are way younger and have a very different lifestyle and mindset than them, this limits their interaction.
Joseph has been a Marketing Consultant for close to 40 years before he retired at the age of 65. Although he had saved enough, with the rising cost of everything and virtually no income, he is trying to be as judicious about spending money as possible.
If I was Joseph, the following factors would influence whom I buy my contact lenses from —
- Price — would look for discounts
- Convenience — Due to age not able to move around much and would prefer free home delivery
- Try and buy — a trial period would ensure I am buying the right product to fit my needs
- Support — if I face any issue, I need someone to reach out to
Let’s have a look at what exists at present. A google search on “contact lenses online ohio” lead to —
Honestly, being Joseph, I do not have many options as far as the Search results yield. First 3 results are Ads and out of these only 2 seem to have the option to buy online and with discounts. There is no mention of “trial” or “support” on any of the results.
Of the remaining non-Ads results, only the last one has the convenience of free shipping. And the chances of any user clicking the last result is very remote. Users usually click among the top 5, including Ads. Many times Users will not even know that they have clicked on an Ad link.
We can do far better, can't we!
Version — ONE
Leaders in Contact Lenses|Subscription Discounts on all Brands|Try and Buy| Free Shipping
<Link>
We are the preferred retailer for contact lenses past 30 years. With our unique subscription service, which offers discounts up to 70% including first-month free, get your favorite brand home delivered every 30 days. Cancel or change your brand with just a click or a call.
Version — TWO
Try before you buy|80% discount on all top brands|24x7 support|Free home delivery
<Link>
Worried that the contact lenses you buy may not be comfortable? Here, we offer you a 1-month trial for a 12-month subscription. Change or cancel anytime, no questions asked. We offer the best price, find a better price and we will match it.
Version — THREE
Lowest price on all top brands|24x7 dedicated hotline|Subscription service|Free delivery
<Link>
We understand the power of eye-sight and want to ensure you get nothing but the most comfortable pair of contact lenses, delivered without any extra charge, month after month. With a 1-month trial, you can try various brands before starting your paid subscription.
If you are Joseph, which version would compel you to try and buy?
Past Writing Challenges —
