If you think about it, your app is a kind of Mini-Me for your business. (Not an Austin Powers fan? It just means a miniature you.) Your customers carry this miniature of your store or restaurant around in their pocket, and it talks to them. It talks to them when you send them a push notification. It talks to them when they open it to make a reservation. It talks to them when they use a digital coupon or loyalty card.

So it’s important to ask yourself, am I making the most of all these opportunities to talk?

When you add features to your app, take special notice of the spots where you can add text (examples follow). These are chances to speak to customers in your own voice—your business’s voice—in a way that makes them want to use the app and come back to your business again and again. In other words, a way that increases sales and loyalty.

So the question is, how do you get that voice? Here are the basic things to aim for:

• Make it your voice! Keep the language conversational. Imagine that your favorite customer came in and you’re talking to him or her. You’re unique, so be yourself. Here’s an example for a bakery’s About Us page:

Boring: We offer a wide assortment of cookies, cakes, and breads.
Personal: We live by the motto: “Life is short. Eat dessert first!” Our sweets and fresh breads are neighborhood favorites.

• Let customers know you care about them, and you understand them. After all, your app users are your loyal customers, and they should feel the love. Example for a fitness apparel coupon:

Boring: Get 25% off hoodies
Caring: Getting to the gym is hard, we know. Make it fun with 25% off our new hoodies!

• Make your food or merchandise sound irresistible. Accomplish this by using specific words that paint a picture, not general words that could be describing anything. Example for a nail salon Loyalty Card, offering the 10th pedicure free:

Boring: This pedicure includes a foot bath, massage, and toenail treatment.
Irresistible: Our pedicures start with a soothing soak in sea salts. Next you’ll enjoy a pumice scrub and heavenly massage with aromatic oils. All culminating with your choice of 120 polish colors.

Remember that all this is easier than you think! Why? Because you are the best person of all to talk about your business. And you know your customers. Believe me, you already know exactly what to say.

4 good examples of apps with text that sells

Now that you know how to get the voice that you want, here are some examples of how to put that knowledge to work. I’ve picked a few apps by Swiftic members who show some real personality, and I hope you’ll get some inspiration for your app.

1. Pit Stop Bottle Shop | About Us page

The Pit Stop Bottle Shop in Burien, WA, is a family-owned, friendly place to drink a home-brewed beer and watch a game. I like their app’s About Us page because they managed in a very short text to show their enthusiasm (you can tell it’s a fun place!) and to tell customers what’s special about what they offer.

You can do it on your About Us page, too. This is a great place to tell your business’s story: who you are, how you got started, what inspired you. That’s the beauty of a small business. If people feel like they know you, they enjoy coming back to your store or restaurant.

2. Gentlemen’s Barber| Loyalty Cards

The Gentlemen’s Barber is a barber shop in Rochester, NY, that offers men’s haircuts and hairstyling by professionally licensed NYS Barbers. I like their app’s Loyalty Card description because of all the specifics. For example, Michael uses his own name, making it very personal. And he even invented his own “currency,” the Barber Bucks.

Loyalty Cards are a great way to keep return customers coming back to your business. Remember to make the Loyalty Card’s offer sound special. Make them want it! Describe it with visual, sensory words that give customers the taste of your pizza or the scent of the incense in your spa.

3. Fleurty Ginger Boutique | Coupon

The Fleurty Ginger Boutique in West Monroe, LA, is a family-owned store and mobile truck that sells plus-size women’s clothing. I like their coupon because of the way the design and wording work together.

“Fifty+ and Feeling Fleurty” is just a few words, but it says so much! It tells its customers that this is a place where you’ll feel at home, where you’ll find things you like, where the people understand you. Who wouldn’t want to use a coupon like that?

4. Spa Café| Scheduling

The Spa Café in Tampa, FL, is a beauty salon with a wide range of services and a spa atmosphere. I like the text of their Scheduling feature because it is simple and to the point. This tells me that the proprietors know their customers. And that their customers are busy people who want to make appointments quickly, on the run, using their mobile app. Sometimes, when it comes to wording, less is more.

I hope that these examples have helped you see that the text you write into your app—even in tiny blurbs—can go a long way toward giving your app a voice and the personal touch. That’s your strength as a small business. Talk to your app users like the cherished customers that they are.

This is a good time to take a look at your app from your customers’ point of view, and maybe go into your Swiftic Console and spice up the text here and there. And if this post has whet your appetite to create your own app for your business, give it a try!

Reward your customers and your business.