1 Learn the concept
Every brand needs a unique way of communicating with its target audience. A brand voice is the personality that shows through in every word, from website copy to social replies. It should fit your audience and stay consistent. This lesson shows how to identify and create a voice, and write a short guide so everyone sounds like the same brand.
2 See it in action
- Choose three to four traits, such as friendly, expert and direct.
- Define what each trait means and what to avoid.
- Show examples of on-voice and off-voice writing.
- Keep the voice consistent across channels.
Worked example
Writing the same message in two tones
Message: the booking system will be down for two hours tonight.
Calm and clear (for customers): "Our booking system will be offline from 10 p.m. to midnight tonight while we update it. Bookings you have already made are safe."
Playful (for a social post): "Our booking system is taking a short nap tonight, 10 to midnight. Your bookings are tucked in and safe."
Check: both sound like the same brand, and the first one is right for anxious customers.
Takeaway: keep the voice, change the tone to fit the reader.
3 Study an example
Real-world case study
Mailchimp: a public guide to voice and tone
What they did. Mailchimp publishes its content style guide. It describes the brand's voice as that of an experienced and compassionate business partner: plainspoken, genuine and a translator of business jargon, with a sense of humor that is straight-faced, subtle and a touch eccentric. Tone shifts with the reader's situation, and the guide says it is always more important to be clear than entertaining.
What happened. Because voice and tone are written down with principles, anyone writing for the brand can follow the same guidance, and the document is public so partners and learners can study it.
What to take away. A voice guide does not script every sentence. It sets a personality and lets the tone adjust to the reader, with clarity ahead of cleverness.
4 Apply it and download
- Pick your voice traits.
- Write two on-voice sentences.
- Complete the brand voice worksheet.
Worksheet Brand voice worksheetOpen, print or save as PDF