brand-voice

What this skill does

# 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:

1. **Existing materials**: Are there any current brand guidelines, previous marketing pieces, or content that represents the desired voice?
2. **Industry/category**: What space does the brand operate in? What do competitors sound like?
3. **Target audience**: Who is the brand speaking to? What's their sophistication level, pain points, aspirations?
4. **Brand personality**: If the brand were a person, how would they act at a party? Formal speaker? Witty friend? Wise mentor?
5. **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:

1. **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.
2. **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).
3. **Radical Specificity**: Be rigorous about backing up every point with specific examples, data, or real-world scenarios. Specificity kills generic AI vibes.
4. **No Em-Dashes**: Never use em-dashes (-) or en-dashes (-) in any content. Use hyphens (-) or other punctuation like colons or parentheses instead.
5. **Avoid Verbal Cliches**: If the topic is being discussed the same way everyone else is talking about it, start over. Be different.
6. **The Rewriting Step**: If using AI for first drafts, go back and manually rewrite sentences sprinkled throughout to match the voice perfectly.
7. **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 |
| Email | 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:

1. **Voice Profile Card**: 4-dimension scores with brief rationale
2. **This-But-Not-That Table**: 6-10 boundary pairs
3. **Vocabulary Guide**: Words to use, words to avoid, jargon policy
4. **Channel Tone Guide**: Adjustments per major channel
5. **Before/After Examples**: 3-5 rewrites showing voice applied

## Cross-References

- Apply brand voice when using `direct-response-copy` for landing pages
- Ensure `seo-content` maintains voice while optimizing for search
- Use voice guide when creating `newsletter` content
- Voice consistency applies across all `email-sequences`
- `content-atomizer` should maintain voice when repurposing across formats