The User Research Strategist
Sharpen your strategy. Communicate your impact. Influence decisions.
You already know how to run a solid research project.
What’s harder is getting your work to change anything.
This newsletter exists to help mid-to-senior user researchers:
Translate insights into decisions
Align with product and design without losing their voice
Move from executors to strategic partners
Avoid getting stuck in reactive, repetitive work
Who this is for:
Mid-to-senior researchers handling stakeholder complexity
Solos or small-team UXRs balancing strategy and execution
People ready to stop winging it and start managing up, across, and forward
Researchers tired of “best practices” that don’t survive their team meetings
Written by Nikki Anderson, the user researcher, blogger, podcaster, and founder of the User Research Strategist.
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.
🙌 For free subscribers
You’ll get about 25% of the full experience — perfect if you want a taste before diving deeper.
Here’s what you’ll get:
One deep-dive article every two months
Packed with actionable advice, real-world case studies from my work, and strategies you can apply immediatelyTwo podcast episodes each month
Answering common UXR questions and hosting sharp, honest conversations with other experts
Free content helps you get clear, stay sharp, and think differently about how you practice.
🔒 Want the full experience? Go paid and get all my Substack content plus:
All-access content library
A live, searchable archive of 400+ templates, videos, books, articles, and podcasts; all searchable. Don’t waste another hour looking for something on Google. Search for something, find it in minutes, and use it.
Bi-weekly UXR Roundups
The most valuable, thought-provoking UXR links with commentary on how they actually apply to your job. Stay sharp, relevant, and connected without wasting hours scrolling.
Private community space + access to me.
Get quiet feedback from people at your level. Ask sensitive questions you can’t post on LinkedIn. Share draft plans. I respond every single day and to each comment/question. When the stakes are high, you won’t be thinking alone.
Quarterly Career Calls
Live sessions (recorded if you miss it) to help you recalibrate, adjust to shifting org goals, and make actual progress toward your next step. Use this time to stop drifting and start steering
Freebie Library
20+ plug-and-play tools you can use immediately. Planning templates, interview guides, stakeholder scripts, and more.
If you’re ready to stop feeling invisible this is your next move.
Join 12,000+ user researchers already subscribed and start building a career you’re proud of.
Subscribe below. Start free. Go deeper when you're ready.
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 monthly on Tuesday’s at 9am UK time
Podcasts go out bi-weekly on Thursday’s at 9am UK time
Link round-ups are sent out bi-weekly Thursday’s at 9am UK time
For 2025, you can expect breaks in content:
August 25th - 29th
December 22nd - January 5th
I appreciate your understanding and thank you for your ongoing support.
This schedule can be changed in case of unexpected events. Last updated March 25, 2025.
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My business philosophy is that if you, as a customer, are not happy, then I’m 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.
Hi there - I’m Nikki 👋🏻
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.
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.
I’d love to say, since becoming a user researcher, I haven’t 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).
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 “how to build a persona,” “what is an executive summary,” or “how to write insights that stakeholders will actually listen to and care about that will also get me promoted because all I do is work?” (The last one didn’t yield great results.)
Luckily something told me to keep on keeping on, and now people call me an “expert in the field” - someone once even called me a “legend.” I have written over 400 articles and a book 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 I’m pretty thrilled.
The point is, I don’t want you to experience the crippling self-doubt and impostor syndrome I did. I’ve 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.
