tonik

Copywriting

2021

Context

Over my 4.5 years at tonik, I mainly worked as a product designer. But whenever there was a chance to flex my extra skills to help the company, I jumped at the opportunity. One of them was copywriting.

From 2021 to 2023, everything on the Internet about tonik was written (or at least edited) by yours truly. Here are my best pieces.

tonik logo. It’s written in a simple, geometric sans-serif font. It’s white, against blue background.
tonik logo. It’s written in a simple, geometric sans-serif font. It’s white, against blue background.

Homepage

Instead of writing an intriguing headline, our competitors would rather state the obvious. "We are a design agency"; "We build digital products" — yeah, no shit.

To stand out, I emphasized tonik's unique approach to working with clients in a "show, don't tell" fashion.

Headline: “Your search for a design partner ends here. Products, brands, (no-)code and other shenanigans.”

To build credibility, I pitched the best projects from our portfolio.

Headline: “We hate to brag, but … JK, brag is our thing.”
Four thumbnails of case studies. “Wildfires — California wildfires have got out of hand. And they’re only getting worse. Hopefully, this nonprofit can regain control with the system we designed.”, “Liefergrün — One-day shipping shouldn’t cost the Earth. And this startup found a way to do it. We designed their brand identity and customer experience.”, “Reach — Ever wished for a workout partner? Now that can be your favorite fitness influencer. We designed a mobile app to connect you two.”, “Segment — 25,000+ businesses use this platform to manage their customer data. With our design system, it works like magic. And it was acquired for $3.2 billion.”

Our skills are comprehensive. But for now, these top-level services are enough to grasp our know-how.

List of services. “Product Design — We design products that work (and look) like a charm, make profits and leave users smiling. If you’re just starting out, we’ll help you define, design and scale your MVP. And if you’re a mature company, 
we’ll supplement your existing team.”, “Development — We have a development team and also leverage no-code tools as much as possible. That’s usually enough to get an MVP with a design system out of the door. For the rest, we’ll add the necessary skills to the mix whenever needed.”, “Branding — Best brands are both pretty and smart. And that’s how we do ‘em. No matter if you just need the basics or a whole communication strategy, we’ve got you covered.”, “Web Design — Capture leads, grow your business — and make it look damn good too. Our conversion-oriented landing pages are both aesthetically pleasing and consistent with your brand.”

Culture

Encouraging people to join tonik was just as important as landing new clients. I showed what it's like to work here on a dedicated page that celebrates our culture.

Headline: “People first. Everything else can wait.” Body: “Sure, we build products and design brands. But it's people we genuinely love. And that includes you! Are you a designer? Great! Or maybe you need our know-how for a gig? Even better! Our job is to connect you two and let you do your thing — no middlemen involved. Unless you really-really want them (you don’t). The ground rules: do a kick-ass job, have a good time and be nice to each other. It's what this world needs.”

Company values get a bad rap for being too vague. To make them stick, I used casual language and everyday examples.

A list of company values. “Take care — It’s all love — we don’t hire assholes or work for them. Let’s keep things nice and thrive! #toniklove”, “Overdeliver — Think IKEA: you go for one thing, but end up with much more. Same here — except no time or money wasted.”, “Never settle — We're not the type that nags people for permission. We see a problem or get an amazing idea — we act.”, “Don’t lie, ever — Making up stuff is good for politics. We are more the crystal-clear types, not the ones playing hide-and-seek.”

We are FUN — and our memories together are here to prove it.

A list of past company events. “Winter holidays — It’s THE time to spoil people around (us included) with cool gadgets. Never say no to extra love (when it's consensual)!”, “Saving tigers — You don’t say 'later' when a local zoo needs money to rescue ill-treated tigers. You make limited prints that help them raise 5 figures.”, “Quarantine & tonik — We realized ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’ is an overly optimistic scenario and called up a backup for the team.”, “Awwwards conf — Flew all the way to Amsterdam to learn from the design crème de la crème and enjoy the, ahem, local brownies.”
A list of employees. “Damian Redecki — Mean whiskey sours”, “Karina Tarhoni — Binge-watching 80s horrors”, “Karol Dera — Mad FIFA tricks”, “Martyna Królikowska — Acing Sailor Moon Trivia”, “Szymon Michalczyk — Taste-testing MCD’s burgers”, “Wojtek Woźniak — Kashubian slang specialist”.
Caption: “Still scrolling? Woah, maybe we’re meant for each other!”

Always hiring

The job offers are easy to scan, but still with plenty of character.

Headline: “It’s the last time you need to update your resume (unless you wanna screw around with recruiters on LinkedIn)”
Headline: “Senior Product Designer”. Body: “We’re a well-knit digital design studio working with products, brands and (no-)code. Founders come to us because we help them define, build and scale their MVPs. That means we gotta think beyond eye-candy (though we love pretty gradients too). You’re free to do the job your way, but the team is there for you. Doesn’t matter if you’re just in a pickle or need a real talk about your career — there’s always folks happy to give you a hand. And hey, we’re not here to point the finger at what to do. If you see something we can improve or know how to reach our goals — do it and get your cred. The team is already asking about you. Don't make them wait, apply!”
A list of benefits. “Work from wherever — Flex your skills in our oh-so-cool Poznań office or wherever else you’re most comfortable. Home, café, Bali? The choice is yours!”, “Keep the balance — We’re not a cult and don’t expect to be the only life you have. After your 8h, do whatever you want. And if that REALLY is more work, we’ll pay you 2x your hourly rate for overtime.”, “Grow steadily — Each month you get dedicated 10h to focus on your personal goals. We also cover the full cost of conferences, books and courses you wanna check out.”, “Speak fluently — Trade up Duolingo for individual (and free!) English lessons provided by our friends at CoAction. You’ll also get a raise if you climb up to C1 level.”, “Stick together — Though most of the team works remotely, it doesn’t mean that we never socialize IRL. We go out every couple months and leave for a retreat and workation every year.”, “Recharge properly — Part of your job here is to rest properly, so you get paid time off for that very reason. Depending on your experience, it’s from 20 to 26 days off.”, “Get paid when sick — When you go 'achoo-achoo' or need a mental health break, your place is under a blanket. We literally pay you to stay there. And for the medical care.”, “Pimp your office — You get a full setup (MBP, external display, mouse, keyboard, headphones, desk, chair) from the get go, but if you need anything else to work better — just ask.”, “Get movin’ — If you wish for workshop buddies, join our #fitlovers group and complete for 
a grand prize. We’ll support your sport with a Multisport card and massage sessions (at our Poznań office).”
An FAQ list. “How flexible are the working hours? — You should plan a minimum (think around 2h) overlap with your team and clients to sync about the work. But the rest? Up to you!”, What qualifies as the ‘mental health break’? — It’s a half day off you can take whenever you’re not in the right headspace. It doesn’t count as sick leave nor vacation, and you’ll get paid the same as if you worked the full day.”, “When am I entitled to take 26 vacation days? — When you’ve got +10 years of work experience — and that includes your higher education. Check here to learn more.”, “Can I freelance besides working here? — If there’s no conflict of interest — do your thing! Though keep in mind that if you want more work, we pay 2x your hourly rate for overtime.”, “How do I get promoted? — We talk about pay raise twice a year. No need to prepare any negotiation tactics though — everyone’s compensation is calculated using the same formula.”, “If I work remotely, can I visit your office? — Of course! Even better, we cover your transport and accommodation cost. Folks from outside Poznań often come over for a few days around the time we plan a night-out.”

Though I created a template that all the job offers followed, sometimes I went a little extra to make a buzz around the posting. Like when we were looking for someone to take care of our social media.

A greentext story that explains the responsibilities of a social media manager.

Opinions are our own

I managed our blog, where I wrote (or just edited) fourteen articles about our way of doing things. They're casual, relevant, and don't take SEO too seriously.

A blog post titled “How we defined our values”.

To stay in touch with our readers, I sent a newsletter every time I posted.

A confirmation email for signing up for a newsletter. Headline: “Thanks for the sub”. Body: “Every two weeks — or, if we're extra busy, less often — you'll get the latest article from our blog. So get ready to go "huh, that's cool" or "they said WHAT?!" - as we're not holding back our hot takes. And, if that's cool with you, we'll also reach out when we do something so good, it's impossible not to brag. Sorry Not Sorry. But in the meantime, that's it for today. Cheers!”

Case studies

There are eleven case studies that tell the stories of our best work. I highlighted our strategy and let the pretty designs do the "wow".

A case study of Upshift. Body: “As population density increases and smog looms over the Bay Area, the car industry crawls for innovation. It desperately needs a breakthrough. While many await it, Upshift delivers it in a service you can use, today. At the end of the day, most cars are barely used. For the better part of their lifecycle, they sit empty and occupy parking spots, taking them from the people who actually need them. Yet the costs (both personal and environmental) of owning an automobile don’t add up. Upshift makes renting a car cheaper than a monthly garage space. They cover insurance, maintenance and roadside assistance. All you gotta do is choose between a Toyota Prius or an SUV, and it’s delivered to you with a tank full of gas.“
A case study of Wildfires. Body: “Remember how in 2020 the sky above San Francisco looked straight up Blade Runner 2049? That was because of the wildfires in California. And they’re only getting more severe. The state and federal agencies are accelerating fuel treatments. But planning them can take even a decade. We don’t have that much time — the forests will literally burn down before we act. Wildfires (the non-profit group, not the actual wildfires!) is here to regain control over the crisis. We teamed up with them to design a centralized system to manage projects, track timelines and analyze data.”
Two testimonials from designers working on a project. First reads: “We're design experts, not fortune-tellers. There's always a shadow of a doubt if people will like the product. User tests minimize the guesswork and save costs in the long run.”. Second reads: “How did it feel to launch Evergreen? Like standing at the top of the world, sipping whiskey with Don Draper. (Minus the sexist parts.)”

Measuring client satisfaction

To get feedback from our past clients, I gave up on a traditional NPS and went for something more human (and useful).

Headline: “We need your feedback, Monica”. Body: “And we need you to be brutally honest. Like Gordon Ramsay in Kitchen Nightmares type of honest. Why? Cause if you don’t tell us what’s not so good about our work, we don’t know how to improve. And we can’t grow. But if we’re kicking ass, bring that up too! It’s just 4 quick questions.”
Question: “How well did we manage the project? Was it clear what, when and how are things getting done?”. Five possible answers: “Woah, you call that management?!”, “It felt like I was managing YOU more.”, “No major fuck-ups, but nothing to make life easier either.”, “Things were clear, but I wouldn’t trust you to handle EVERYTHING.”, “Perfect! Only robots (and you) are THAT organized!”
Question: “We’re going out of business*. How do you feel? *Not like we’re planning to! That’s just a dark twisted fantasy.”. Five possible answers: “Maybe that’s for the better?”, “I wouldn’t notice that.”, “I understand. But I feel nothing.”, “That’s a pity, I’ll miss you!”, “Oh no! I’ll NEVER find anyone better than you!”.

Handbook

And for everything else you wanted to know about tonik, I (together with other managers) wrote and edited the company handbook.

A table of contents of the company handbook in Notion.
An article from the handbook about how we collaborate with our clients.

Credits

Shout-out to the people who also worked on this project.

Kuba Kędzia

Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy

Patryk Sobczak

Feedback

Feedback

Feedback

Maciej Żelaznowski

Branding

Branding

Branding

Jacek Janiczak

Branding

Branding

Branding

Damian Redecki

Web Design

Web Design

Web Design