Making a Service Trading App #Relatable: A UX Writing Case Study

A sub-project within my 2nd client project as a UX Design student

To see the UX work I did for this design sprint, check out my UX case study here.

When it comes to designing any digital product, the story it tells is just as important as the design itself — some would even argue it can sometimes be more important. Words can guide you through that new app you just downloaded or a website you’re visiting for the first time. Words can make it seem more like a friend is talking to you and less like a robot. Words can take a design from “meh” to “oh damn” real quick — let me show you how.

“A landing page is as strong as its weakest CTA” — Me

First Things First

The Product

What is this “service trading app”? It’s called twoPLUGS and it’s an online platform that allows users to trade services locally amongst each other using an internal currency system — everything from dog walking to tutoring to gardening to haircutting. The company is a budding startup with goals to expand its existing user base throughout Canada and the US, eventually reaching a global market.

The name “twoPLUGS” comes from pop culture slang. According to Urban Dictionary, “The Plug is a term used to describe someone who is a resource for obtaining something valuable that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.” So a user selling their service to another user through the app would be considered “the plug” for that service.

The Project

My team and I carried out a 3-week design sprint in which we redesigned twoPLUGS’ existing iOS app to make it more user-friendly and intuitive, in addition to giving it a visual refresh. For a deeper dive into the UX work I did for this sprint, check out my UX case study here.

Throughout this 3-week sprint, I took it upon myself to write the copy and microcopy within the app to make it resonate with its users, guide them through the app, and portray twoPLUGS’ brand image.

My process was as follows: 1) Research 2) Branding 3) Write 4) Test, and 5) Iterate

Understanding the Users

The first step was user research. To understand our users, my team and I sent out surveys to the general public via Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and our own personal networks. We collected a total of 50 survey responses and interviewed 5 participants who said they have — at some point in time — used an online platform (similar to twoPLUGS) to trade services with other users. We found that 35 of the 42 participants who have used an online platform to trade services with other people were students in their early 20s, and the remainder were people in their late 20s or early 30s. So based on this, we identified our target users to essentially be millennials. We also asked our 5 interviewees about their daily lives, their hobbies, and their frustrations with the cybersphere and life in general, and we came up with an example of what a typical twoPLUGS user might be like (see below). This user persona would help guide me to establish twoPLUGS’ voice within the app we were redesigning.

User Persona

Defining the Brand

Before I could do any writing, I had to fully understand twoPLUGS’ goals and values so that I could pin down the image it should portray to resonate with its users. After sitting down with twoPLUGS’ founder/CEO, I had a pretty good idea of what twoPLUGS was all about and what it wanted to achieve. Keeping the target users in mind, I created a brand filter that starts with the brand’s motivation, moving down to its purpose, values, personality, and finally landing on the behaviour the brand should take on. Based on this brand filter, twoPLUGS’ brand image should be modern and trendy with a cool and friendly vibe.

Brand Filter

The Problems

To understand the problems with the copy in twoPLUGS’ existing iOS app, I conducted UX audits with 4 participants who I considered to be twoPLUGS’ target users. I asked participants to go through the onboarding process and just play around with the app so that I could identify any pain points. From these UX audits, I found that participants:

• Only understood the purpose of the app and how it works
• Didn’t understand why the app was called “twoPLUGS”
• Didn’t understand what the internal currency, “Eeds”, was nor how it worked (some thought it was a typo lol)
• Skipped the tooltips because they believed they didn’t need guidance in navigating a simple app, as they are tech-savvy enough to figure it out themselves

In addition, I noticed that the copy within the app didn’t quite embody its brand image. The copy was lacking the “cool” factor needed to make it relatable to its millennial target users. It also didn’t show any connection to the name of the app itself. Most importantly, it didn’t convey that there was any value or benefit of using twoPLUGS over its competitors.

twoPLUGS’ existing app had a very simple slogan that didn’t embody its target brand image and had no connection to the name of the app. There was no immediate explanation for what “Eeds” were and the word itself had no meaning (different casing of “Eeds” was used throughout the app making it more confusing). The tooltips were slightly redundant and over-explanatory.

The Solutions

Once I understood the issues with the copy in the existing app, I was able to come up with some ways to solve them.

Internal Currency

The name of twoPLUGS’ internal currency, “Eeds”, was confusing and had no connection to the name of the app. After some brainstorming, I came up with the name “VLT” (pronounced “volt”) to follow the whole plugs/electricity theme (twoPLUGS. VLTs. Get it?).

Onboarding

I wanted the copy in the onboarding screens to be enticing and relatable to twoPLUGS’ target users, so as to get them intrigued to use the app. The copy also had to clearly — but concisely — explain how the app works, how VLTs work, and the positive aspects of the app. The tone of the copy had to be light and friendly so as to emanate twoPLUGS’ brand image. Below is the 1st iteration of the copy I wrote (in mid-fidelity wireframes).

The slogan I came up with clearly and concisely explained the app, but it was missing that “cool” factor and didn’t draw a connection to the name of the app. My aim was to sprinkle some humour into the copy, but that made it a bit too wordy and took away from its clarity. The explanation for what “VLTs” were and how they worked was still slightly unclear, and the terms “digital currency” and “fictional currency” were a bit misleading.

I tested my 1st iteration on 8 participants to determine if users understood what the app’s purpose was, what its benefits were, and what VLTs were. All of the participants said that they understood the app’s purpose and benefits, but they were confused about what VLTs were. I knew I had to play around with the copy some more. I also had to fine-tune the voice that the copy was embodying to get it more on-brand. Below is the 2nd iteration of the copy I wrote (in high-fidelity wireframes).

The new slogan I came up with captured the plug/electricity theme, connecting it to the name of the app. It gave off a cool, millennial vibe in line with twoPLUGS’ brand image. The “Get Connected” button also captured the plug/electricity theme. I used a tone throughout the copy that was light and friendly, and verbiage that would be common and relatable amongst young millennials.

I reworked the explanation for “VLTs” to make it more clear and simple. I found the term “credits” to be the best to describe what VLTs were. To stay on the plug/electricity theme, I used phrases such as “we plug you with” and “earn VLTs in a flash”.

I re-tested my 2nd iteration on the same 8 participants and the response was significantly better than the 1st round of testing — all the participants said that they clearly understood what the app was all about, what its benefits were, and what VLTs were (how they work, how to spend them, how to earn them).

Plugs Plugs Plugs

I wanted to keep the plugs/electricity theme throughout the app, so as to make it cohesive by relating everything back to the name, “twoPLUGS”. In order to do this, I made some adjustments to the names of buttons and navigation bar items.

The term “Live Feed” in the existing app was confusing and not the best name for the home screen. I renamed it “PLUGS” to stay on the plug/electricity theme. I renamed the existing app’s “transactions” as “VLT” to indicate the digital wallet. The terms “plugs offered” and “plugs needed” indicate the services users are offering and the services other users need.

The existing app’s “let's negotiate” and “I want this” buttons were confusing because “let’s negotiate” means that the user wants the service. I made it clear and created one button with the microcopy “message this plug”, which was not only easy to understand but also had that “cool” factor making it more interesting.

Future Steps and Final Thoughts

Overall, I would say that the UX writing I did for this project made a significant impact on the usability and user experience of the redesigned iOS app. It successfully captured twoPLUGS’ fun and modern brand image, making it #relatable to its millennial user base. I believe that the copy and microcopy I wrote will resonate with twoPLUGS’ users and pleasantly guide them through the app, creating a positive user experience.

If given another 3 weeks, I would like to explore writing copy for possible empty states, error states, loading screens, and product-generated emails and text reminders. I would also like to do some more iterations of the microcopy throughout the app, as I feel there might still be some room for improvement.

As a final thought, I found this project to be both challenging and rewarding. It took several creative blocks, dozens of brainstorms, and lots and lots of coffee but it was definitely worth it.

If you thought this case study was neat, please give it a 👏! Check out more of my work at www.annaromanovskiy.com.