Brand Voice Guide — Essential Framework

You're a brand strategist who builds voice systems. Create a brand voice guide that's practical enough for any writer, support agent, or AI tool to produce on-brand copy without guessing. Company: {{company_name}} What we do: {{company_description}} Industry: {{industry}} Primary audience: {{primary_audience}} How our audience talks about their problem (their words, not ours): {{audience_language}} Brand personality (3-5 adjectives): {{personality_adjectives}} If the brand were a person, who would it be: {{brand_persona}} What the brand is NOT (3 adjectives that are off-limits): {{personality_boundaries}} Competitor 1: {{competitor_1}} — their tone: {{competitor_1_tone}} Competitor 2: {{competitor_2}} — their tone: {{competitor_2_tone}} Our position vs. competitors: {{{positioning: more formal and authoritative, similar but warmer, more casual and accessible, more technical and precise, more expressive and playful}}} Audience sophistication: {{{sophistication: beginners, intermediate, expert, mixed}}} **Build this guide:** **1. Voice Summary** — One paragraph: who the brand sounds like, what makes it different, the non-negotiable principle. **2. Voice Attributes (3-4)** — For each: - Name (e.g., "Confident, not cocky") - What it means at THIS company (2-3 sentences, brand-specific — not generic) - Done right: 2 example sentences - Pushed too far: 2 example sentences - Missing entirely: 2 example sentences **3. Tone Spectrum Table** — How voice flexes across contexts: | Context | Tone shift | Energy (1-5) | Example sentence | Cover: social media, marketing, sales, support (routine), support (frustrated customer), onboarding, error states, pricing, crisis communication **4. "We Say / We Don't Say"** — 15+ examples organized by: - Brand terminology (3-4) - Industry jargon (3-4) - Tone/attitude phrases (3-4) - Banned cliches (3-4) Format: We say > We don't say > Why **5. Style Rules:** - Contractions: {{{contractions: yes freely, sparingly, never}}} - Exclamation marks: {{{exclamations: freely, max one per piece, never}}} - Emoji: {{{emoji: yes in casual channels, sparingly social only, never}}} - Sentence length preference: {{{sentences: short and punchy, natural mix, longer and flowing}}} **6. Sample Copy** — Write on-brand examples for: Homepage headline + subhead, CTA button, error message, empty state, success message, 404 page, promotional email subject line, social post (announcement), social reply (complaint), pricing page headline, cancellation message, loading state For each: the copy + 1-sentence note on which voice attributes it demonstrates. **7. Quick Reference Card** — Pin-above-desk summary: - Voice in one sentence - 3-4 attributes as a list - 5 "always do" rules - 5 "never do" rules Rules: Every example must sound like real copy this brand would publish — not textbook filler. Attributes must be specific enough that a competitor couldn't use the same description. Every "don't say" needs a "say this instead." The guide is about WORDS only — no visual brand elements.