We all know the feeling, you've done the research, the insights are solid, the impact should be obvious… but somehow, it gets buried. Slides get lost, decks go unread, and another “FYI” email disappears into the void. That’s where this story begins. What started as a simple written newsletter quickly grew into something much more dynamic, a living, breathing touchpoint between UX research and the rest of the company. Here’s how we moved from plain text to video podcast, and what we learned along the way.
Background & Motivation
It started with a pretty basic goal: get people to actually see the work we do in UX research. Not just see – get it, talk about it, and ideally, use it to make better product decisions. We had interesting insights piling up in Dovetail, Confluence, and people’s heads. But the impact? Meh. Not enough visibility, not enough engagement.
So I kicked off an internal newsletter. Quarterly, short, and digestible. The idea was to package up top research highlights and ship them out across the org. First version? Written only. Let’s just say it got the ball rolling.
Phase 1: The First Newsletter (Written)
The first edition leaned on simple formatting – a few insights, a bit of context, and a clean layout. We asked team members to submit studies via a survey and ran a light selection process to pick the most interesting and strategic ones. The rest were saved for future editions, and submitters got feedback either way.
The tone was clear: no fluff, no jargon, just stories that matter. We were careful to include things that were both surprising and actionable – things a designer or PM would genuinely want to know. It worked, to some extent. People opened it. Some replied. But it was still a passive experience.
Phase 2: Let’s Make It Move – The First Video Edition
Next quarter, we experimented. Instead of just a doc or an email, we made a video. It was called The Insight Lab – part UX recap, part mini-show. Think of it like a quarterly broadcast:
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A strong hook (“Ever wonder how tiny design changes—like a label instead of an icon—can drastically shift how users behave?”)
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Real numbers (e.g. 86% of users performed better with labeled conversation channels)
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And a format that made the insights feel alive
We tried to strike a balance: friendly, fast, and useful. Designers, PMs, and stakeholders could watch it over coffee. Or not – we added subtitles, a short description, and made sure the video could stand alone.
The video opened with full retention through the intro. At the 1:52 mark, 53% were still watching, and 37% held on at 1:54. It wrapped with 19% of viewers by the 4:10 mark. Pretty decent for a first go.
What We Learned (From the Numbers & the Vibes)
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Email performance: Sent on Thursday, April 24th at 12:40 PM US time. Half the views (23) with 20 unique viewers came in within 12 hours. But no spike in report reading was observed. So the video was engaging, but didn’t necessarily drive people deeper.
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Engagement insight: People appreciated the format, but still needed a stronger reason to click through to full reports.
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Informal feedback: Was positive – folks liked the format, the tone, and the fact that it didn’t feel like a lecture. We didn’t try to explain everything, just gave them the essence.
Reflections & What’s Next
We evolved from a one-way write-up to something more dynamic. The process is still iterative, but the goal remains: surface research in a way that’s accessible, memorable, and actually used. We’ll likely keep mixing formats – maybe shorter clips, maybe embedded polls. The key is staying relevant and respecting people’s time.