“Your business needs a brand voice guide”
“Don’t sleep on that brand messaging guide”
“Make sure to define your brand’s tone of voice before starting your website”
“Your copy starts with your tone of voice guidelines”
If you’ve been building a business from scratch, you’ve probably heard all of this and a bag of chips about “on-brand” copy and messaging.
You have a rough idea of what a brand voice guide is, but you’re still not convinced you need one. After all, isn’t your brand voice just *your* voice? Is this just another thing marketers convince you to get so they can charge you more? Do you even need a brand voice guide if your business is a one person show?
TL;DR; If you’re serious about your business and about growing a loyal community who benefits from and appreciates your offers, a brand voice guide will save you tons of money in the long-run.
How?
Let’s get into it. But first, a quickie definition to clear up any doubts about what a brand voice is and isn’t.
What is a Brand Voice Guide?
A brand voice guide is a comprehensive document that provides a set of guidelines for how your brand sounds and feels. Every marketer and copywriter has their own version of this, but in general, a brand voice document includes:
- Brand archetype (from the archetype wheel)
- Tone of Voice Guidelines
- Brand Story
- Brand Basics (Mission, Vision, Elevator Pitch)
- Buyer Personas
- Taglines
- Differentiators (what sets your brand apart from your competitors)
- Values (what you stand for)
- Vocabulary
- Style Guidelines
Your brand is a character, and your brand voice guide is the character development process of your story. It’s where you decide how your brand shows up, and, most importantly, why.
Why do brands need a brand voice guide?
So. Many. Reasons. But here are the top three:
- It provides in-depth explanations and examples of how your brand communicates. This allows you to create a distinct identity and stand out from others in your industry.
- It ensures you stay consistent in your messaging so that every website page, email, and instagram post is unmistakably *you*, cultivating trust & familiarity with your ideal client.
- It helps you separate your capital-S-Self from your brand, establishing boundaries between you and your business.
What’s the difference between a brand voice guide and a brand messaging guide?
These two terms are often interchangeable in the digital marketing world. But brand messaging guides generally offer in-depth competitor analysis and more specific messaging examples than your average brand voice guide. For example, brand messaging guides usually include:
- Competitor analysis
- Client Persona
- Tagline variations
- Heading examples
- Blog post ideas
- Social media prompts/templates
This can be helpful for anyone who could benefit from seeing their brand voice in action. However, there is a lot of overlap, and many copywriters offer brand voice guides that include all these elements. So, make sure to review and confirm what’s included.
A quick note on “buyer personas”
AKA client avatars, or the made-up “client types” that are created to help you identify and target your ideal audience. Loads of copywriters swear by them, but I find them to be limiting.
Why? Because they take the multitude of humans who you serve and put them into boxes based on class-based categories.
Take this example of a potential copywriting client persona:
Selma
Age: 25-39 years
Education: Bachelor’s Degree & Certifications
Occupation: Somatic Practitioner
Income: $60,000 – $80,000
Needs: Aligned clients for their workshops
Motivations: To make enough money with their practice to quit their part-time waitressing job
Pain Points: Selma doesn’t feel confident about their social media content or website. They have a basic site and IG set up, but they’re not getting enough aligned inquired.
Persona’s Journey: Selma has been offering 1-on-1 somatic sessions and workshops for two years and is finally ready to get serious about it. They want to feel confident about their website and messaging when handing out business cards and flyers at workshops. They want to attract a feminist, anti-racist community that would eventually invest in 1-on-1 sessions. Most importantly, Selma needs to grow their network to fulfill their dream of someday opening a healing center.
(Template taken from this HubSpot article)
Some client personas will even include wild details like what Selma eats for breakfast, what they do on the weekend, and their car model. Sure, I get the intention. But why put so much energy into creating this stereotypical idea of a person when we can put that same energy into making sure our messaging is aligned with our values and the qualities we’d like to attract?
Instead of focusing on some made up person’s morning routine, why not focus on the shared values between your brand and ideal client? Why not focus on how your specialized skills and experience fill their needs in a way that others don’t? Why not just do YOU?
I say it’s much more energy and time efficient to approach our “client persona” the same way we approach our brand—as an archetype.
Figuring Out Your Client Archetype
- What’s the main struggle or desire your ideal client is experiencing?
- What’s the transformation they’re seeking?
- Which phase of their lives/businesses/careers are they in and how can you help them through it?
These questions will help you find the golden thread that connects all your ideal clients, regardless of their academic background or breakfast choices.
Now that you have a quick hack for saving time and energy on creating client personas, here’s how you can save money on marketing down the small business journey road.
5 Ways a Brand Messaging Guide Will Save You Money Long-Term
1. Your website copy will last you much longer.
If you’re at the phase of your business where you’re planning on investing thousands of dollars into your website, a brand voice guide ensures you won’t hate it in 6-12 months.
Developing a brand identity and messaging strategy rooted in values, energetics, and market research means that even if your offers change, your core copy still makes sense. Plus, if you ever need to add or tweak certain offers or sections of your website, you have the Gandalf-level word power of your brand voice guide to support you.
2. Onboarding new team members will take a fraction of the time.
The beauty of a brand voice guide is that it also acts as an onboarding guide for any new team members. This is crucial for any team member handling marketing or customer service. Instead of spending hours training and shadowing, you can provide them with your brand voice document to turn to when in doubt.
This also ensures that the tone and delivery of the person writing your emails don’t change, even if the person writing them has.
3. You’ll spend less time wondering what the heck to write for your newsletter and socials.
Aside from nailing your website copy, your brand voice document will help you overcome writer’s block. If you struggle to come up with content ideas, opt for a service that includes vocabulary, taglines, examples, and content prompts (all included in my Brand Voice Kit!).
If you ever feel like you’re fresh out of ideas for your marketing calendar, simply flip to the “vocabulary” or “content prompts” page for inspiration. You can also look at some of your favorite marketing content from peers and then challenge yourself to write it, but from the perspective of your brand archetype.
I.e.: “how would the Empress share this message about the importance of ecological skincare?”
With this insight, you’ll be less likely to cave and impulse-buy that alluring “get 1,000 followers with this social media roadmap” product, because you’ll have all the tools to create confidently at your fingertips.
4. You’ll be less likely to re-brand within the next few years.
The same way you wouldn’t build your capsule wardrobe based on what’s trending, you don’t develop a brand based on what’s cool now; you dig deep to discover a personal style that transcends time.
Creating a brand voice guide requires intention, introspection, thorough research, and collaboration with a professional. As copywriters, we help you unearth the foundation of your business and create the blueprint for how to share it with the world. As a result, the brand you build through a brand voice guide is based on much more than vibes and trends. And doing this intimate work on your business means it will grow with you for years to come.
5. You’ll be a lot less likely to burn out and potentially abandon your business.
As a small business owner, it’s easy to forget where work ends and personal life begins. Creating a cohesive voice and identity for your brand that is separate from yours is one of the best ways to create healthy work/life boundaries, ensuring your brand outlives the next few years. And of course, making sure that all your business investments don’t go to waste!
How do I know if I need a brand voice guide?
While I believe that brand voice guides can be an invaluable part of any venture, there is a time and a place for them. For instance, if you’ve been active in your business for 1-3 years, have refined your offers, invested in a basic website, and are ready to go all-in, you’re primed! Once you’ve spent some significant time interacting with your community (not just through selling, but through regular messaging & marketing), a brand voice document could be the north star that helps you hone everything in and build something that lasts.
However, if you just got the idea for your business a few months ago and you’ve only had one or two customers, you’re not quite there yet.
The best results come through when there’s a tangible track record of experience, testimonials, trial and error, etc. Because what you envisioned your business to be will evolve with every client interaction and month that you are in business. And your input is a huge part of the process.
The Brand Voice Framework for Creatives and Intentional Businesses
Understanding your brand’s foundational voice is the key to messaging that resonates and converts.
Through my Brand Voice Framework, we’ll identify your brand’s three core Tarot archetypes –AKA powerful character frameworks that naturally align with your business values and vision. These archetypes become your guide for consistent, authentic communication across all channels.
The Brand Voice Kit includes everything you need to communicate confidently:
- in-depth brand vibe questionnaire
- 60-minute onboarding call
- three brand archetypes with embodiment guidance
- tone of voice direction
- core values
- mission
- vision
- elevator pitch
- brand story
- style guide
- brand vocabulary,
- 3-page content bank (for your platform(s) of choice!)
Ready to develop a brand voice that feels natural and connects deeply with your audience? Learn more about the Brand Voice Kit here or fill out my inquiry form to get started!
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