The User Research Strategist
The Ever-Green User Research Book
If youâve ever felt undervalued or underappreciated as a UXR, this Substack is for you. I create content that helps you define the strategy, execution, and activation within user research and calculate the ROI of your work.
Maximize your impact starting today.
Written by Nikki Anderson, the user researcher, blogger, podcaster, and founder of User Research Academy
EXPENSE IT đ°
Did you know that many employers will pay for my Substack? So you can expense this entire newsletter from your learning and development budget and enjoy the perks of the paid content without having to give up any coffee/matcha/tea/soda/snack to make up for the spend.
đ For paid subscribers:
All content, past, present, and future. You get access to all of my content from articles to walkthroughs to podcast episodes
Two link round-ups a month. Based on my hugely popular bi-weekly newsletter, I curate five of the most exciting and inspiring user research-related pieces of content I found in the past two weeks, plus my commentary on them.
Community space. This is a paid-subscibers-only space where you can have fantastic conversations on all things user research. I am in the community space nearly every day helping to answer questions.
The User Research Database. Once you sign up, you will receive an email from Sotion that will guide you through the process of getting into the private Notion database!
Quarterly calls on the SEA framework. Use these quarterly calls to work through my SEA framework and maximize your impact.
The UXR Skills Webinar bundle. This bundle of webinar recordings and slides will help with some of my most frequently asked topics.
The freebie library includes over twenty user research freebies right at your fingertips!
Suggest article topics and ask podcast questions through this form.
đ For free subscribers:
Youâll get roughly a quarter of the content that paying subscribers get.
A monthly, full article that goes deep into a topic relevant for user researchers with hugely actionable advice and insider examples, including case studies from my own work
Two podcast episodes a month answering common user research questions or inviting expert guests
Need help or have questions?
Email me at nikki@userresearchacademy.com so I can help you!
Publishing schedule and holidays
Posting schedule:
Articles go out Tuesdayâs at 9am UK time
Podcasts go out Thursdayâs at 9am UK time
Link round-ups are sent out Saturdayâs at 9am UK time
Exceptions to this are holidays For 2024, you can expect breaks in content:
December 19th - January 6th
I appreciate your understanding and thank you for your ongoing support.
This schedule can be changed in case of unexpected events. Last updated September 24, 2024.
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Usage guidelines & sharing content
One subscription is intended for one individual, and not for groups. See the âGroup/company subscriptionsâ on details for group subscriptions.
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Refunds
My business philosophy is that if you, as a customer, are not happy, then Iâm not happy. I have a 30-day, no-questions-asked refund policy. Please email nikki@userresearchacademy.com for a full refund. I appreciate it if you can share the reason you were unhappy with the contents or purchase, but doing so is not necessary for a refund.
What people say about my content
I just wanted to say that it's really great what you do, and when I say that, it's for two main reasons. The first one is that you are really an expert in what you do. I have been doing UX research for some time now and believe I am quite good at it, but I still learn so much from you. The second reason is that you give so much concrete insight. It's real, tangible advice and examples that can really help someone get started and advance in the field while falling in love with UX Research.
âFirst, you are AMAZING! Thanks for the generosity you have in sharing so many good resources. Iâve been reading and following you for a while now, and you are my go-to in terms of research inspiration. All your content is not just a piece of info but so useful that one can take it back to a workplace and implement it!â
âAfter 6 years as a user researcher, I'm looking for my next opportunity and dusting up case studies and my resume. I've been using your articles on case studies and resume writing! This will now be a quarterly task I take on to ensure resume and work examples are ready to go! âIf you stay ready, you don't have to get ready!â sage advice! Thanks, Nikki, LOVE your content. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this expertise and also in this particular experience/moment in life.
YOU ROCK!â
âThank you very much for your content. Every time I find all the articles so useful and insightful. And the most important thing is that you somehow manage to include all levels of UX researchers in your content. I hope that you will never stop writing them, as we really get a lot from itâ
âThank you so much for all your content, I really appreciate it, and I cannot tell you how much your templates, articles, and advice have helped me become a better and more confident UX Researcher.â
Hi there - Iâm Nikki đđ»
If you got this far, you might want to know some stuff about me.
I once entered a bar as a normal graduate student and emerged as an aspiring user researcher.Â
I first heard about user research at an NYC bar party way back in 2015, the year we had the seemingly never-ended debate on whether that dress was #blackandblue or #whiteandgold and also the year Google changed its logo for the first time since 1999.
Iâd love to say, since becoming a user researcher, I havenât looked back, but there were quite a few times when I seriously considered quitting to be an interior decorator or open my own bookstore (which my husband still has to tell me is a financially irresponsible idea).Â
What gave me self-crippling doubt about user research?
I was so lonely as a UXR team of one that I practiced my presentations in front of the bathroom mirror at work rather than with colleagues.
My fingers nearly broke from the hours I spent googling âhow to build a persona,â âwhat is an executive summary,â or âhow to write insights that stakeholders will actually listen to and care about that will also get me promoted because all I do is work?â (The last one didnât yield great results.)
Luckily something told me to keep on keeping on, and now people call me an âexpert in the fieldâ - someone once even called me a âlegend.â I have written over 250 articles - I am attempting to wrangle them into a book, stay tuned - on user research, spoken at dozens of conferences, and upwards of fifty podcasts and events with super cool people and organizations such as UXPA, dscout, UXInsight, and Dovetail. I also spoke one-on-one with my idol, Indi Young, during a conference tech check, so Iâm pretty thrilled.
The point is, I donât want you to experience the crippling self-doubt and impostor syndrome I did. Iâve rallied hundreds of user researchers together, cheering them on and supernova-ing their careers so they are fulfilled in their careers and turning heads with their amazing research.
And that is what this blog is all about - giving you what you need to be the most confident UXR you can be and to fall in love with user research again.
