Tone of Voice Guidelines
Your tone of voice provides the pillars that you can build you brand on
As a business owner or marketing manager, you’ll have a clear idea of what your company stands for, what it has to offer, and who your customer is.
It’s my job to bring this to life through copy. You’d be amazed at the difference choosing one word over another or tweaking sentence structure can make to the way your content is read and the way your brand is perceived.
A tone of voice is designed to provide a framework for how you want your brand to sound. It should be distinctive, authentic, and full of character to help set you apart from your competitors and build a real connection with your customers.
It’s not a collection of stock phrases and restrictive rules. Instead, it should give you the tools and confidence you need to put your tone of voice into practice. A bespoke writing guide, crammed with top tips and ideas that can be used by your whole team for years to come.
Why do you need a tone of voice?
Customers buy from brands that speak to them. They want to know what you stand for, how you make them feel, and what your brand character says about them.
It’s not all about perfect grammar or following the academic rules that determine the right way to write. Of course, spelling mistakes and badly formed sentences aren’t what we’re after either. Instead, having a tone of voice can help you break free of the strict structure you were taught in school and let your brand’s personality shine through.
Having a robust tone of voice in place gives you the confidence you need to be playful as well as polished, to present your business in its best light, and help your customers recognise your content whether they’re visiting your website, scrolling past a post on Instagram, or stumble upon one of your blogs.
How it works
It all starts with a free 20 minute chat to help me understand where you’re at. Share your frustrations, ask any questions you might have, and outline what you’re looking to achieve with this project. It’ll also help me provide you with a tailored quote.
I’ll then go away to read and research. I’ll spend time getting to know your existing tone, the different voices competing in your industry, and the offline and online journey that your typical customer might follow when encountering your content or that of your competitors.
Next, we’ll have an hour-long brainstorm. We can meet up on Zoom or I can visit you in person if you’re based in the North West. My aim for the session is to get under the skin of your business. I’ll ask a lot of questions to get to grips with who your audience is, what you stand for, and how you want to sound.
I’ll then combine my research and our brainstorming session to craft your unique brand tone of voice. This will also includes examples of how you can put these new guidelines into practice, whether it’s in emails or website landing pages, so that you can easily implement them in the future.
Don’t worry; I won’t abandon you either! For the next month, I’ll be on hand to help you put your tone of voice into practice. You can email me any questions you have or we can jump on a quick call to talk through any trickier concerns that might crop up.