SMS UX copywriting
A quick overview:
As Engagement & Programming Manager at wellness-tech start-up Wishroute (an SMS engagement service with human coaching), I managed the end-to-end user experience for both the direct-to-consumer cohort and partnerships with wellness apps & subscription product companies. My work included:
- Creating 2-8 week programs of daily user texts and content
- Overseeing the editing process to create a finished product training
- Training the Wishroute coaches (called "guides") on how to effectively communicate customer brand voice and support (this included additional copy & content programming & resource creation)
- Making regular live updates and improvements to message copy based on engagement data
Below are snapshots of my SMS programming in action, with real examples of the interactive user support from the team interface
(Admin note: names and phone numbers are blacked out to protect privacy)
Wishroute SMS programs involved a mix of automated/programmed daily tips and inspiration (usually in the morning) ....
... and check-in texts (usually at night) to ask the user if they were able to complete their habit for the day
The challenge of my work was ensuring the mix of automation and live human coaching was seamless as one customer persona, even as a team of guides supported the same user each day. Each message had to align with principle to answer 2 important questions: "Does this sound human, or bot-like?" and "Does this support the user's goal?"
Habits ranged from healthy eating, exercise, self-care, meditation, weight-loss, routine-building and more
When a user responded to any automated message, a guide would text back to support (in this case, I'm the guide)
The stats: I designed 30-40 user programs (plus countless additional modified versions) ranging from 2-8 weeks to support Wishroute's combined 8,077 users over 4.5 years, some requiring added content creation (like landing pages and images). That's a lot of copy!
In this demo (created for marketing purposes) you can see the full flow of the daily user experience:
- The top text is an example of a pre-programmed/automated text with content. In this case, it's a deep-link to a meditation that would bring a user into their app
- The bottom text is a guide responding to the user
Both top and bottom texts are a result of my work - the programmed automated text and the customer content/brand voice training and resources that ensured the guide was able to support the user and represent the company in the best way
Behind-the-scenes: user experience program design
A full SMS program design started in this type of template
This snapshot is a program very early in the process as my team and I laid out a cadence of tips, inspiring messages and check-in texts to support the user over the week or month
Behind-the-scenes: drafting program support (guide resource materials)
Here's an example of a "content library" I created for guides to support a B2B customer's users - database of articles and blog posts for guides to send give users extra support in pursuit of their goals
Providing a content library required:
- Anticipating user challenges before program launch
- Curating content for those topics
- Drafting accompanying copy to help the guide introduce the content in the best way (guides were taught to modify the suggested message for optimal tone & conversational flow to accommodate unique user interactions)
Guide resources also included a customer one-pager, customer service, FAQS, SOPs for support, and enrichment materials like quizzes and workshops
