You've meticulously crafted your brand’s visual elements. You have a website built, have a logo designed, and even have some social media graphics created that you can start to pull from when you post.

But amidst all of that, have you stopped to consider what your brand sounds like? 

For entrepreneurs who are the face of our brands, defining a strong brand voice is not just an option; it’s essential. 

Your brand voice acts as a direct extension of your personality, beliefs, and values, setting the tone for all interactions and touch points you have with your clients. It’s the thing that makes your client feel connected to you through your content, and shapes their opinion of you – whether you are approachable and someone they’d like to work with, what working with you is like, and more. 

Your brand voice should be so distinct that even without the visual cues of logos and colors, you are recognizable by your written or spoken word alone. It’s a tall order no doubt, but completely achievable. But, if this is something you’ve tried to create in the past, you know that it can sometimes feel a little more theoretical than practical. Maybe you’ve found it hard to connect the dots between your brand values and your voice, or maybe you understand the idea of that but need some tactical tips to actually start implementing what you know? 

This guide aims to help you navigate the nuanced world of brand voice, from assessing your personality traits and values to implementing them in your communications with tactical tips you can start using today. 

Know Your Personality

The tone of your brand voice flows directly from your personality. It might be edgy, playful, nurturing, or formal. When you are in tune with your own personality, constructing your brand voice becomes an organic process. Two of my favorite tools to discover your voice in terms of branding are my Power Profile and Brand Archetypes assessments, which you can find more information on below:

Power Profile

Rooted in Color Psychology, the Power Profile is an in-depth assessment that helps you identify your brand personality through the power of color. It provides you with a roadmap to choosing the right words, colors, and general aesthetics for your brand, all based on who you are naturally. The Power Profile can also shine a light on your strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur, revealing how you affect your clients and community.

Brand Archetypes

Incorporating archetypes into your brand establishes immediate emotional resonance with your audience. After taking my free Brand Personality Quiz, you’ll get insights into how to weave your archetypes into every aspect of your brand, fostering trust and inspiring action.

Start With How You Naturally Speak 

Creating an authentic brand voice isn't about what you say, it's about how you say it. The language you use in your day-to-day conversations is full of expressions, terms, and tones that can make your brand irresistibly YOU. 

One of the most impactful (and organized) ways to incorporate our natural linguistic tendencies into our brand voice is to create a word bank that you or your marketing team can draw from when it’s time to create content for your business. 

To get started, keep a notebook or digital document accessible throughout your day. Every time you find yourself using a word or phrase that feels "very you," jot it down. 

These could be specific verbs that capture actions you frequently discuss, nouns that encapsulate your offerings, or adjectives that embody your brand attributes.

What to Include:

• Verbs: Action words you naturally use
• Nouns: The terms you use for your services or products
• Adjectives: Words you often use to describe things
• Adverbs: How you typically describe actions
• Metaphors and Similes: Creative ways you tend to explain concepts
• Expressions: Catchphrases or idioms that are a part of your regular vocabulary

This word bank acts as a reservoir of your natural language that you can dip into whenever you're creating content, ensuring that your brand voice remains consistent and authentic across platforms and materials. 

Make Your Marketing Message Stand Out

Your marketing message, often referred to as the "Elevator Pitch," is what you say when introducing yourself at networking events or when someone asks what you do. Your marketing message is less about you, and more about the transformation you can provide for your clients.

Marketing messages can greatly impact how a potential client perceives the value and uniqueness of a brand. To make your marketing message truly resonate, weave in your brand words to make sure your authentic brand voice shines through. 

Let’s take a look at two contrasting examples to further illustrate the point.

Example 1: "Hi, I'm Sue. I help people make money online. I offer a range of digital marketing services that can help you grow your business. Contact me if you need help with digital marketing."

Example 2: "Hello, I'm Emily, your Digital Alchemist. I empower creative entrepreneurs to turn their passion into profit through magical marketing strategies. If you're drowning in the 'Sea of Sameness,' I offer you a lifeboat of ingenious solutions to make your brand unforgettable. Let's embark on this quest together!"

Do you see the difference between the two examples? 

The first doesn’t touch on any specific problems, and doesn’t give any personality or anything that makes Sue stand out. However, the second example invites the reader into a quest, positioning Emily as the guide who can transform the mundane into something extraordinary. 

The use of metaphor and storytelling elements not only make the message memorable but also inject personality and emotion, creating a unique brand voice that is difficult to ignore.

⬇ PIN IT ⬇

Consider Your Emotional Impact & Lasting Impression

One of the most potent elements often overlooked in branding is emotional impact. Humans are driven by feelings… Period.  

Even in a digital age dominated by data and algorithms, the human element of emotion is what often drives us to click, share, engage, and most importantly – buy. Therefore, your brand voice needs to go even deeper than just what you say and how you say it; it's about how you make people feel.

If you want potential clients to engage with your brand, follow you on social media, and consider you as the go-to expert who can solve their problems, you need to do more than list your attributes and services. You have to paint a clear and tangible picture of how working with you will make them feel. 

Ask yourself, does your brand make people feel peaceful and calm? Or does it invoke a sense of rebellion and urge them to go against the grain?

Align your brand voice with the emotions you want your audience to experience. 

For instance, if your brand is about empowering small business owners, your tone could be motivating and your language charged with action-oriented words like "ignite," "drive," and "achieve." 

On the other hand, if your brand offers meditation courses, your tone might be calm and soothing, and your language filled with words like "peace," "harmony," and "balance."

Let’s take a look at two social media captions to help illustrate this point. 

Example 1: "Sign up for our productivity course today to get tips and strategies that help you manage your time better. Don't miss out!"

Example 2: "Are you tired of your dreams always being just that – dreams? Let's turn your 'one day' into 'day one.' Our productivity course isn't just a time management tutorial; it's a wake-up call to your potential. If you're ready to stop wishing and start doing, tap into the link below. Your future self will thank you."

Did you catch the difference between these two? Did one make you feel nothing and the other start to spark some inspiration? 

In the first example, the message is straightforward and to the point – they’re selling a productivity course. However, it lacks emotional resonance. It tells you what you'll get but doesn't ignite a feeling or align with a deeper brand message.

In the second example, the brand isn't just selling a productivity course; they're selling transformation and empowerment. The language used aims to stir emotion and resonate with the reader's deeper desires.

Your ability to make potential clients "feel something" is not just good branding; it's good business. Emotions act as a catalyst for action. If a potential client feels inspired, understood, or relieved after engaging with your brand, they are far more likely to take the next step, be it a like, a follow, or a purchase.

Listen to Your Ideal Clients 

This point is fairly simple – integrate the words your target audience uses. This makes your brand more relatable and increases your impact on potential clients.

Understanding your clients goes beyond knowing their pain points and needs; it's also about speaking their language. By integrating the words and phrases that resonate with your target audience, your brand becomes instantly more relatable and trustworthy. To get started, pay close attention to the language your ideal clients use.

Where to find your ideal clients’ language:

• Social media polls
• Social media captions
• Social media comments and conversations
• The way they communicate their aspirations
• The solutions they’re seeking
• Surveys
• Take notes during discovery calls or consultations
• Read reviews of other businesses

Once you have a list of terms and phrases that your target audience uses organized into a list or document, you can start to integrate these into your brand messaging. But don't just stuff these words into your content; make sure they fit naturally and authentically with your established brand voice. 

The aim is not to parrot your audience but to reflect a deep understanding of their needs and concerns.

By listening to your ideal clients and integrating their language into your messaging, you're effectively eliminating any friction caused by "corporate speak" or boring, jargon-y language that your audience doesn’t care to understand. 

This results in a brand voice that not only demonstrates an understanding of your audience but also speaks directly to their emotions, increasing your overall impact and relatability.

Ultimately, your brand voice is what sets you apart, captures your audience's attention, and engages them on a level that visual elements alone cannot achieve. It’s about resonating on a frequency that your target audience can't help but tune into.

If you're serious about crafting a compelling brand voice that not only initially resonates with your audience but also leaves a lasting emotional impact, you don't have to go it alone.

I’m here to support you in creating a purposeful, archetypal brand that makes money AND makes a difference. Explore how we can work together here.