The User Research Strategist
Imagine you just wrapped up your latest research project.
You asked the right questions. You surfaced smart insights. You finally got clarity on what the team should actually be building.
And then…
The roadmap didn’t change.
Your findings got a polite thumbs-up.
And someone still launched the thing you warned them about because leadership liked it…
Welcome to user research.
This Substack exists so you can stop living in that loop.
What you get when you’re here:
Whether you’re free or paid, this is what you can expect:
Research advice that doesn’t sound like it was written by a chatbot with a LinkedIn addiction
Actual strategies to influence product decisions (not just “do more research” pep talks)
Tools, templates, and real‑talk examples from someone who’s done the job, screwed it up, fixed it, and made it work
Written by Nikki Anderson, user research consultant, podcaster, and founder of The User Research Strategist and Drop In Research.
EXPENSE IT 💰
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.
Free plan: a very good sampler
1 article every two months
1-2 podcast episodes a month
Smart, practical content that’s suspiciously good for something that costs nothing
Paid plan: the full research‑influence system
$12/month or $99/year
When you go paid, you get access to the whole brain + all the assets:
Full access to every article, podcast, and spicy hot take I’ve ever published here (everything behind the paywall)
A private research Slack community and access to me for questions that are too sensitive for LinkedIn
The Substack Hub, a Notion‑powered library with 40+ plug‑and‑play templates, scripts, checklists, and mini‑courses so you never start from a blank doc.
Seven mini‑courses on surveys, workshop facilitation, report writing, and more.
Eight modules of UXR business content + 21 ROI formulas to bring your research from tactical to strategic.
45+ recordings on impact, strategy, resumes, case studies, stakeholder management, and other “make or break” topics.
Exclusive access to the UXR tools bundle with deals and credits for top research tools so your membership often pays for itself.
Come celebrate your wins:
If you’re tired of yelling into the void, you’re in the right place.
Subscribe below. Start free. Upgrade when you’re ready to stop being the best-kept secret in the org.
Publishing schedule and holidays
Posting schedule:
All content goes out Tuesday’s at 9am UK time
For 2026, you can expect breaks in content:
March 11 - March 24
August 24 - 29
I appreciate your understanding and thank you for your ongoing support.
This schedule can be changed in case of unexpected events. Last updated December 21, 2025.
Support, billing, and sharing
Need help or have questions? Email me: nikki@userresearchacademy.com
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Usage guidelines: one subscription = one person. Occasional forwarding is fine; regular forwarding → please consider a gift or group subscription.
Refunds: If you’re not happy, I’m not happy. I offer a 30‑day, no‑questions‑asked refund. Email nikki@userresearchacademy.com.
Hi there - I’m Nikki 👋🏻
I once googled “how to write an insight that doesn’t suck” at midnight, bottle of wine in hand, and got served a Medium post from 2013 with zero examples. Deffo didn’t help me with the report I had to write in less than ten hours.
I’ve been the team of one, the voice in the void, the person whose research got skipped because it was “too long to read.”
Now? I run a user research consultancy, community, and content hub for 12,000+ UXRs. I’ve written 400+ articles, spoken at more conferences than I’ve actually enjoyed, and built the resources I wish someone had given me years ago.
This Substack is part strategy, part sanity saver.
Come to the dark strategic side.
