Brand Voice
This skill creates distinctive, consistent brand voice guidelines that ensure every piece of marketing content sounds authentically like the brand - not generic AI output.
Objective
Define a memorable brand voice that differentiates from competitors and resonates with the target audience, then apply it consistently across all marketing touchpoints.
Intake Questions
Before defining or applying brand voice, gather this context:
- Existing materials: Are there any current brand guidelines, previous marketing pieces, or content that represents the desired voice?
- Industry/category: What space does the brand operate in? What do competitors sound like?
- Target audience: Who is the brand speaking to? What's their sophistication level, pain points, aspirations?
- Brand personality: If the brand were a person, how would they act at a party? Formal speaker? Witty friend? Wise mentor?
- Differentiators: What makes this brand different from every other option?
The Human Content Principle
To ensure your brand voice doesn't sound like generic AI, follow Adrian's core principle: Say something a reasonable person could disagree with.
Checklist for Human and Useful Content
Use these guidelines to inject humanity into every piece of content:
- Human-Led Outlines: Start with an outline generated by a human who deeply understands the audience and topic. Ensure it has a clear narrative arc before writing.
- The "Un-AI" Element: Include 1-3 key statements that AI would be unlikely to generate (humor, strong opinion, controversy, or even minor vulgarity if the brand allows).
- Radical Specificity: Be rigorous about backing up every point with specific examples, data, or real-world scenarios. Specificity kills generic AI vibes.
- No Em-Dashes: Never use em-dashes (-) or en-dashes (-) in any content. Use hyphens (-) or other punctuation like colons or parentheses instead.
- Avoid Verbal Cliches: If the topic is being discussed the same way everyone else is talking about it, start over. Be different.
- The Rewriting Step: If using AI for first drafts, go back and manually rewrite sentences sprinkled throughout to match the voice perfectly.
- Visual & Textual Pop: Identify the 2-3 most important ideas. Ensure the text fully develops them and they are visually emphasized (bolding, spacing, or headings).
The Four Voice Dimensions
Score the brand on each dimension (1-5 scale) to create a voice profile:
1. Funny ←→ Serious (1-5)
- 1 (Funny): Humor, wit, playfulness, doesn't take itself too seriously
- 5 (Serious): Professional, authoritative, gravitas, weighty topics
2. Formal ←→ Casual (1-5)
- 1 (Formal): Proper grammar, sophisticated vocabulary, structured
- 5 (Casual): Conversational, contractions, slang-friendly, relaxed
3. Respectful ←→ Irreverent (1-5)
- 1 (Respectful): Polite, considerate, diplomatic, cautious
- 5 (Irreverent): Bold, provocative, challenges conventions, edgy
4. Enthusiastic ←→ Matter-of-fact (1-5)
- 1 (Enthusiastic): Energetic, exclamation points, superlatives, passionate
- 5 (Matter-of-fact): Understated, factual, lets results speak, dry
Example Profile: "Mailchimp: Funny (2), Casual (4), Irreverent (3), Enthusiastic (2)"
This-But-Not-That Framework
Define boundaries with concrete examples:
| We Are | We Are NOT |
|---|---|
| Confident | Arrogant |
| Direct | Blunt or rude |
| Witty | Sarcastic or mean |
| Expert | Condescending |
| Friendly | Unprofessional |
| Bold | Reckless |
| Helpful | Preachy |
Template: "We're [positive trait], not [negative extreme]. We're [another trait], not [its extreme]."
Vocabulary Guidelines
Words We Use
- List 10-20 signature words/phrases that embody the brand
- Include industry terms the brand owns or uses distinctively
- Note preferred terminology (e.g., "customers" vs "clients" vs "users")
Words We Avoid
- Generic corporate speak: "leverage," "synergy," "best-in-class"
- Competitor language they own
- Overly complex jargon when simpler words work
- Weak qualifiers: "kind of," "sort of," "maybe"
Jargon Policy
- Define when technical terms are appropriate
- Specify whether to explain jargon or assume audience knowledge
Channel Adaptations
Voice stays consistent; tone flexes by channel:
| Channel | Tone Adjustment | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Website | Most polished, balanced | Full voice profile |
| Warmer, more personal | +1 casual, +1 friendly | |
| Social | Most casual, reactive | +2 casual, context-dependent humor |
| Support | Most empathetic, helpful | +1 respectful, solution-focused |
| Sales | Confident, consultative | +1 serious, benefit-focused |
Quick Voice Audit Checklist
Run content through these checks:
- Dimension check: Does it match our 4-dimension scores?
- This-not-that: Does it stay on the right side of each boundary?
- Vocabulary: Using our words, avoiding banned terms?
- Distinctiveness: Could a competitor have written this?
- Audience fit: Would our target audience relate to this?
- Channel appropriate: Right tone for this medium?
- Read aloud: Does it sound like a human we'd want to talk to?
Output Format
When creating brand voice guidelines, produce:
- Voice Profile Card: 4-dimension scores with brief rationale
- This-But-Not-That Table: 6-10 boundary pairs
- Vocabulary Guide: Words to use, words to avoid, jargon policy
- Channel Tone Guide: Adjustments per major channel
- Before/After Examples: 3-5 rewrites showing voice applied
Cross-References
- Apply brand voice when using
direct-response-copyfor landing pages - Ensure
seo-contentmaintains voice while optimizing for search - Use voice guide when creating
newslettercontent - Voice consistency applies across all
email-sequences content-atomizershould maintain voice when repurposing across formats