About Kait Content & Writing

Wishroute

Co-creator; Head of Wellness Programming & User Engagement

Wishroute: Co-creator; Head of Wellness Programming & User Engagement

A founding idea ....

Wishroute was created to be a wellness accountability "buddy" that coached users via text to follow through with their health & fitness goals.

In 2018 I was coaching fulltime, writing health & fitness articles and dreaming of doing my work on bigger scale, when a twist of fate brought me together with someone with the same vision. 

Jess Lynch saw a hole in the market for helping users get through the sticky points of adopting healthy habits, and hatched up the idea for Wishroute as part of her MBA program at Babson College.  

Wishroute grew from the classroom to a small band of dedicated users, and in the first two years we focused on direct-to-consumer support while fostering partnerships with Boston-based gyms/studios.

The 2020 pandemic brought an opportunity to pivot, and the development of wellness programs for frontline healthcare workers marked a transition to a B2B focus to help wellness apps & subscription product companies engage users via text to increase free trial conversion, subscription retention and brand loyalty.

The transition to partnerships got Wishroute invited to the Techstars startup accelerator in late 2021, and we were named one of BostInno's "22 Startups to Watch in Boston in 2022."

.... and a successful exit

Wishroute was acquired in May 2023 by Suggestic AI as a coaching & engagement product that combined Wishroute’s unique methodology with the latest in Generative AI.

Wellness Programming & User Engagement

As a founding team member I contributed to a variety of projects to support product and business development, but my main work was to develop the wellness programs  (the text messages and content a user would receive) and manage the overall user experience. 

I managed the end-to-end user experience for the D2C flagship cohort and the B2B partnerships programs with wellness apps & subscription product companies. (co-branded and white-labeled).

My work included:

  • Creating 2-8 week programs of daily user texts and content (about 30-40 programs total)
  • Training the Wishroute coaches (called "guides") on how to effectively communicate customer brand voice and support users with partnerships product features
  • Creating additional resources and content for guides to send to users for additional wellness support or questions
  • Creating internal admin resources for brand voice
  • 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 (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 human coaching at scale:

Our live human coaching was combined automated texts, so much of my work was to ensure the experience remained authentic and seamless even as a team of different coaches supported the same user each day (sometimes as one branded persona).

We checked each text against these guiding questions: 

  • Does this message sound more human, or bot-like? 
  • Does this message actually support the goal of the user who is receiving it?
  • Will this message  fit within the context of the user's current conversation?

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!  

Example in action ➡️

This demo (created for marketing purposes) shows 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

    Example in action ➡️

    This exercise tip was created in January 2021 for a Wishroute co-branded "Frozen Fitness" challenge to motivate users to get moving during the winter

    Accompanying text message: "Morning! We know it can be tough to get outside for a workout when it's cold outside 🌬 Use these tips to warm up, get motivated, and prep your body for movement before you step outside"

      Example in action ➡️

      My role leading User Experience & Programming was not limited to active users: I also contributed to winback campaigns, lead generation, new business development, and media reach-out (see "Quoted" below). 

      This image was sent as part of a winback campaign for Wishroute users who did not convert to subscription after a free trial.

        Behind-the-scenes of Wishroute's UX 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 

        Team materials empowered Wishroute coaches (called "guides") to support users as one brand persona:

        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: 

        1. Anticipating user challenges before program launch
        2. Curating content for those topics 
        3. 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

        Content Marketing & Resources for user support

        Wishroute - A Health Coach’s 4 Simple Tips to Overcoming Food Tracking Road Blocks

        You’re likely here because you’re just getting started food tracking, or are getting back into it, and have some hesitations. You’ve come to the right place! I’ve been helping personal training clients and Wishrouters get over food tracking woes for years, and today I’ll give you some mindset tips to work through them so you can find success with your healthy eating goals.

        Keeping a food log has been recommended for years by wellness experts -- whether done in an app or on a pad of paper, it ca

        Wishroute - Wishroute Team Tip: Healthy Snacks on the Go

        Starting new eating habits is hard, so we want to help make your snacking decisions easy.


        It's nice when you have the time to prep snacks, but sometimes you won't, especially when you're on the go. If you're rushing out the door, it can make a huge difference to have something healthy, filling, and convenient to toss in your bag.

        ‍

        Try these three Wishroute-approved snacks:

        These come packed with 11g of protein and <1g of sugar (Use code WISH20 for 20% off!)

        This snack clocks in at just 1

        Wishroute - Team Spotlight - Meet Kait Taylor

        Hey Kait, when did you start with Wishroute?

        I started with Wishroute very early on - our CEO & Founder Jess likes to say I’ve been here since the beginning. I was working full-time as a personal trainer, health coach and yoga instructor back in 2018 when a funny coincidence turned into meeting Jess for coffee, where we chatted about how even with all the wellness products and apps out there, so many people still struggled to meet their health goals. Then Jess shared what she had been working o

        Wishroute - Top 5 Things the Most Successful Wishrouters Do

        The days when you aren’t able to follow through on your intention are days when you can have the biggest breakthroughs. Take them as opportunities to learn and grow, not put yourself down. That being said, we know unlearning self-deprecation is hard, and aren’t here to judge if you’re having a crummy day and aren’t feeling like a ray of sunshine. We’re all human just trying our best.

        Committing to a full-length workout, an afternoon of meal prep, or a full kitchen cleanout is freakin’ awesome,

        Quoted as co-founder

        Focus on that thing that challenges you and nail it down. Focus on healthy habits, one at a time, and make good things happen for yourself."

        Kait Taylor, Co-founder of Wishroute

        Wicked Local •

        Wishroute gives map to healthy lifestyle

        Hear that? It’s the sound of good intentions fluttering away on the late winter winds.

        This is the time of year when all those New Years resolutions about diet and exercise start to slip away, but two Marblehead High School grads have a plan to stop the slide and a challenge to keep you on track.

        “Try something radically different that will actually work in the long run,” said Jess Lynch, founder of Wishroute, a personal accoun
        Itemlive •

        For some, pandemic shutdown meant slim down

        One of the most frequent complaints during what has now become a 15-month COVID-19 shutdown is that people were lulled into sedentary lifestyles, rarely going out and even exercising more infrequently.

        Naturally, there’s a Yang to the Yin. With less activity came more pounds. All of a sudden, COVID-19 became “the COVID 19,” as in pounds. And for some it was even more than 19.

        Things may be loosening up in terms of the relaxation of social protocols and the lifting of mask mandates. But for man