Building Your Brand Voice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Most organisations know their brand voice matters. Fewer have a practical way to define it, document it, and make it consistent across teams. The result is messaging that drifts, guidelines that collect dust, and communication that sounds like it comes from several different companies at once.

This guide walks through a practical process for building a brand voice that teams can actually use. If you want to understand what voice is and how it differs from tone before diving in, start with our article on brand voice examples. If you want to see how real brands express their voice in practice, see our tone in writing guide.

Defining brand voice

Brand voice refers to the consistent personality expressed through communication. It reflects how a brand speaks, what it prioritises, and the relationship it establishes with its audience. Voice appears in vocabulary, sentence rhythm, perspective, and emotional posture, creating familiarity across channels.

Voice answers questions such as:

• Do we sound like an expert, a collaborator, or a guide?
• Do we emphasise clarity, inspiration, or efficiency?
• Do we explain concepts or highlight outcomes?
• How close is our relationship with our audience?

Answering these questions establishes boundaries that guide everyday writing decisions. Rather than dictating exact phrasing, voice provides a framework that helps teams choose language aligned with identity.

For a fuller explanation of what voice is and how it differs from tone, see our article on brand voice examples.

Voice vs. tone

Voice and tone work together but serve different purposes. Voice is the stable identity behind communication. Tone is the situational attitude within a specific message. A brand with a warm, supportive voice might use an encouraging tone during onboarding and a reassuring tone during service issues, but the underlying personality stays the same throughout.

Understanding this distinction prevents a common mistake: organisations often attempt to define voice using tone descriptors, which produces inconsistent messaging because situational guidance cannot substitute for identity.

For a detailed comparison of voice and tone with examples, see our article on tone in writing.

Why building brand voice matters

Voice supports recognition, trust, and scalability. As organisations grow, more people contribute to communication across marketing, product, support, and operations. Without clear voice guidance, messaging fragments as individual writing styles emerge. A defined voice provides shared direction that allows communication to expand without losing identity.

Maintain consistency across teams

Clear voice guidance ensures that different departments communicate in ways that feel connected rather than isolated. Without it, marketing might sound conversational, product copy might feel technical, and support responses might feel procedural. Customers experience three different brands in a single session. With a defined voice, Mailchimp ensures that the same warm, supportive personality appears whether a user is reading an onboarding email, a help article, or an error message.

Reduce editing cycles

When expectations are documented, writers make stronger first drafts and reviewers focus on accuracy and strategy rather than stylistic correction. A voice guide does not restrict creativity; it reduces the time spent relitigating the same decisions. Brands with detailed voice documentation, like Mailchimp with its publicly available content style guide, report that writers can work more independently because the decisions are already made.

Improve customer experience continuity

Customers encounter brands across multiple touchpoints, and consistent voice helps each interaction feel like part of the same conversation. Apple maintains its minimalist, benefit-focused voice from its homepage to its packaging to its support documentation, which is why the brand feels coherent even across very different contexts.

Clarify positioning

Voice signals how a brand differs from competitors by reflecting values, priorities, and audience relationships through language choices. Patagonia's voice signals environmental conviction and authenticity in a way that product specifications alone never could. That positioning work happens at the language level, not just the campaign level.

Strengthen emotional connection

A recognisable personality helps audiences feel familiarity, which supports trust and long-term engagement. Nike's motivational voice does not describe products. It frames effort and identity in ways that make readers feel seen, and that emotional consistency is a large part of why the brand commands loyalty that extends well beyond any individual product.

Signs your brand voice is undefined

Many organisations assume they have a voice when they have tone patterns, visual identity, or a recognisable marketing style. Voice becomes visible when language patterns remain recognisable across contexts, not just within campaigns. When those patterns are absent, messaging often reflects individual preferences rather than shared direction.

Messaging varies significantly across departments

Marketing sounds conversational, product copy feels technical, and support responses feel procedural. Customers notice this even when they cannot articulate it. A user who reads a warm, friendly marketing email and then encounters a terse automated support response experiences a jarring inconsistency that erodes the relationship the marketing team worked to build.

Product language sounds different from marketing language

When interface text, help documentation, and promotional messaging use different vocabulary or levels of explanation, the overall experience feels fragmented. A brand that describes itself as simple and approachable in its marketing but uses dense technical language in its onboarding flow is sending contradictory signals about who it is.

Teams rely on individual writing styles

Without clear guidance, writers default to personal habits. This can produce strong individual content but weakens recognition at the brand level. When a team member leaves, their distinctive voice leaves with them, and there is nothing consistent to replace it.

Content feels generic or interchangeable

Messaging that could belong to any competitor often reflects the absence of defined voice patterns. If you could replace your brand name with a competitor's and the content would still make sense, the voice is not doing its job.

Voice guidelines consist only of adjectives

Describing a brand as friendly, bold, or innovative without examples leaves interpretation open. Three writers given the same three adjectives will produce three different styles. One interprets friendly as casual and uses contractions throughout. Another interprets it as warm and adds empathetic framing. A third interprets it as approachable and simplifies vocabulary. All three believe they are on brand. None of them sound the same.

Framework: the voice triangle

A useful way to understand how brand voice functions in practice is to view it as the interaction of three connected elements. The Voice Triangle provides a framework for organising voice work so teams can move from abstract description to consistent execution.

The framework connects voice decisions through three layers: identity, relationship, and patterns.

Identity defines personality

Identity captures how the brand generally sounds. This includes defining traits such as practical, optimistic, precise, or expressive. Identity reflects positioning, values, and differentiation. Without identity, voice guidance becomes descriptive rather than directional because writers lack a clear sense of who is speaking.

Relationship defines distance

Relationship clarifies how the brand interacts with its audience. It determines whether communication feels instructional, collaborative, advisory, or enabling. A brand positioned as an expert guiding learners will explain concepts differently than a platform enabling creators, even if both share similar personality traits.

Patterns define execution

Patterns translate identity and relationship into observable writing habits. These include sentence length, vocabulary choices, explanation structure, and framing. Without patterns, teams understand voice conceptually but struggle to reproduce it in practice.

The strength of the triangle lies in alignment. Identity alone describes personality but does not explain how to apply it. Relationship clarifies intent but does not determine phrasing. Patterns show execution but lack direction without the first two layers. When all three connect, voice decisions become predictable rather than subjective.

Example of alignment

Headspace has a clear identity built around calm, accessible mindfulness. Its relationship with users is that of a gentle guide helping learners build a new habit rather than an expert delivering instruction. Its writing patterns reflect both: short sentences, reassuring phrasing, second person address, and vocabulary that avoids clinical or technical language. The three layers work together, which is why the brand feels coherent across its app, its marketing, and its social media.

Example of misalignment

A productivity software brand defines its identity as bold and innovative but its relationship with users as expert authority. Its patterns, however, default to casual, conversational writing because the marketing team prefers that style. The result is messaging that sounds like a friendly peer but claims the authority of an expert, which creates subtle confusion about who the brand actually is. The mismatch between relationship positioning and execution patterns is where the inconsistency lives.

Using the voice triangle to diagnose gaps

If communication sounds inconsistent, the problem may not be sentence-level phrasing but unclear relationship positioning. If content feels generic, identity traits may be too broad. If guidelines exist but writing varies, execution patterns may be undocumented. When identity, relationship, and patterns align, voice becomes repeatable.

Exercise: the same message framework

This exercise helps teams test whether voice remains recognisable when the same message appears in different contexts. Customers encounter brands across multiple touchpoints, so consistency depends on how identity translates into varied formats rather than how a single sentence is written.

Start by defining your voice clearly: three to five identity traits, your primary audience relationship, and two or three core writing patterns.

Then take one core message and write it across four channels.

Core message: Start using the platform.

Voice: Practical, supportive, collaborative

Product UI: Start your first workspace. This version maintains simplicity while reinforcing outcome-focused language.

Email: You're ready to begin. Start using the platform and see how everything connects. This variation preserves the core message while adding supportive framing appropriate for email.

Marketing page: Start using the platform and bring your ideas into one place. Here, the invitation links action to broader benefit without overpromising.

Support message: When you're ready, you can start using the platform. We're here if you need help along the way. This version maintains voice while acknowledging potential hesitation.

After writing each version, review them side by side. Look for recurring vocabulary, sentence rhythm, relationship cues, and explanation style. Differences should reflect channel needs rather than identity shifts. If one version sounds like a different brand entirely, that is a signal that voice has not been defined clearly enough to guide execution.

For examples of how real brands handle this across channels, see our brand voice examples.

Steps to build your brand voice

Treat brand voice as a series of structured decisions rather than a single exercise. The following steps show how to move from broad personality ideas to repeatable writing patterns that teams can apply across channels.

Step 1: identify brand personality foundations

Voice begins with personality, but personality must connect to strategy rather than preference. Traits should reflect how the brand positions itself, what it promises customers, and how it wants to be perceived across interactions. Without this alignment, personality descriptors risk becoming stylistic choices that shift with trends instead of guiding consistent communication.

Instead of broad adjectives, define directional contrasts that help teams make practical decisions.

Formal vs. conversational

Goldman Sachs prioritises precision, structure, and authority. Its language is measured and avoids casual phrasing, reinforcing credibility and expertise. Mailchimp uses approachable language, contractions, and supportive phrasing that reduces intimidation around marketing tasks. Both choices are deliberate and aligned with positioning.

Reserved vs. expressive

Everlane's messaging remains restrained, focusing on transparency and product quality without emotional exaggeration. Glossier uses energetic language, community references, and emotional framing that emphasises identity and experience.

Technical vs. accessible

AWS documentation uses specialised terminology and detailed explanations designed for knowledgeable users. TurboTax translates complex tax concepts into step-by-step questions and plain language, positioning the product as a guide rather than an expert requiring prior knowledge.

Directive vs. collaborative

Apple's interface and product messaging provides clear instructions and confident guidance, reducing ambiguity. Notion frames its tools as flexible building blocks, inviting users to shape workflows rather than prescribing them.

Framing personality as a spectrum makes voice easier to apply because writers can evaluate choices rather than memorise rules. Limiting traits to three to five characteristics improves clarity. Too many traits create tension and make it difficult for teams to prioritise when writing.

Exercise: trait alignment

Write three statements:

1. We sound like ______ because ______
2. We avoid sounding like ______ because ______
3. Our audience expects communication that feels ______

This exercise clarifies boundaries rather than simply preferences. It forces teams to articulate reasoning, which helps ensure that personality decisions remain connected to audience needs and business goals rather than subjective taste.

Step 2: define audience relationship

Voice reflects how a brand relates to its audience, not just what it says. This relationship shapes explanation depth, vocabulary, perspective, and the level of authority expressed in communication.

Expert guiding learner

The brand explains concepts, provides structure, and builds confidence through clarity. HubSpot communicates as a teacher, offering educational content, frameworks, and step-by-step guidance. Headspace uses simple explanations and guided steps to help users learn mindfulness rather than assuming prior knowledge.

Partner collaborating with peer

Communication emphasises shared progress and mutual problem solving rather than instruction. Slack frames messaging around teamwork and workflow improvement, reinforcing the idea that the platform works with users rather than directing them. Peloton speaks as if training alongside users rather than directing them.

Platform enabling creators

Messaging focuses on possibility, flexibility, and tools that support individual expression. Shopify consistently focuses on the people using the platform rather than the platform itself, framing its tools as infrastructure that enables entrepreneurship. Canva highlights what users can design and share, positioning the platform as a tool that enables creativity rather than dictating outcomes.

Advisor supporting decision-makers

The brand provides insight, context, and recommendations that help audiences evaluate options. McKinsey positions itself as a strategic advisor, offering analysis and guidance designed to support leadership choices. REI communicates as an outdoor advisor, offering guidance and expertise that helps customers choose gear confidently.

Most brands combine elements of these models. A SaaS platform might primarily operate as a partner collaborating with peers but shift toward an expert guiding learner relationship when producing educational content. Identifying the primary relationship creates a baseline. Secondary relationships can inform tone shifts without disrupting identity.

Exercise: relationship mapping

Complete this sentence:

We speak to our audience as a ______ helping them ______.

This approach anchors voice decisions in your brand's purpose by connecting language choices to desired outcomes.

Step 3: translate traits into writing patterns

Voice becomes usable when personality traits translate into observable writing patterns. Without this step, traits remain descriptive rather than operational, leaving writers unsure how to apply them in real content.

Practical voice

Features shorter sentences and outcome-focused language. IKEA uses concise product descriptions and straightforward instructions that emphasise usability.

Exploratory voice

Features descriptive phrasing and open questions. Patagonia uses storytelling, environmental context, and reflective language that encourages readers to think beyond the product itself.

Authoritative voice

Features structured explanations and precise vocabulary. IBM presents information through structured sections, clear definitions, and terminology that signals expertise.

Template: trait translation

Use this template to connect each trait to a writing pattern and a sample phrase.

Trait:
Writing pattern:
Example phrase:
What to avoid:
Real-world example:
Real-world example phrases:

Example 1

Trait: Approachable Writing pattern: Conversational phrasing, contractions, direct reader address Example phrase: "Here's how to start." What to avoid: Formal or institutional language that creates distance Real-world example: Squarespace uses approachable language across onboarding and help content Real-world example phrases: "Start with a template and make it your own." / "Add a page to share your story." / "Customize your site in just a few clicks."

Example 2

Trait: Expert Writing pattern: Structured explanation, precise vocabulary, confident statements Example phrase: "This improves reliability by reducing processing time." What to avoid: Vague benefit language or casual phrasing that undermines authority Real-world example: Salesforce explains features through outcome-driven technical clarity Real-world example phrases: "Unify customer data across sales, service, and marketing." / "Automate workflows to improve efficiency and visibility." / "Deliver personalised experiences at scale."

Example 3

Trait: Optimistic Writing pattern: Forward framing, possibility language, emphasis on progress Example phrase: "What this makes possible." What to avoid: Problem-first framing or language that dwells on limitations Real-world example: Nike consistently frames messaging around potential and improvement Real-world example phrases: "Just Do It." / "Run fearlessly." / "Dream crazy."

Step 4: create example rewrites

Example rewrites provide one of the most effective ways to operationalise brand voice because they show how identity appears in real communication. While traits describe personality, rewrites demonstrate how that personality influences phrasing, emphasis, and reader relationship.

Start by identifying high-frequency messages that appear across channels. Product prompts, support responses, feature announcements, and pricing communication are good starting points. Since they occur repeatedly, they provide strong opportunities to reinforce recognisable language patterns.

Example 1: try the product

Practical, supportive voice: Start exploring what the product can do for you. Confident, outcome-focused voice: See what changes when everything works together. Exploratory voice: Take a look and discover new ways to work.

Example 2: contact support

Approachable voice: We're here if you need a hand. Expert voice: Contact support for assistance with configuration or troubleshooting. Collaborative voice: Let's solve this together. Reach out anytime.

Example 3: new feature released

Optimistic voice: A new way to move faster is here. Educational voice: This feature helps streamline your workflow by reducing manual steps. Minimalist voice: New feature. Less friction.

Example 4: pricing updated

Transparent voice: We updated pricing to support new improvements. Reassuring voice: Pricing has changed, but existing features remain available. Confident voice: New pricing reflects expanded capabilities.

Side-by-side comparisons reveal differences quickly and reduce interpretation gaps. They also help teams understand what should not change, reinforcing that voice shapes delivery rather than meaning. Over time, building a library of example rewrites creates a practical reference that supports onboarding, editing, and content scaling.

Step 5: establish vocabulary boundaries

Vocabulary signals identity more quickly than any other element of voice. Word choice communicates expertise, accessibility, confidence, and relationship distance within a few seconds. Without clear vocabulary guidance, brands often drift into inconsistent phrasing as different teams describe the same concepts in different ways.

Product terminology

Define how the brand names features, workflows, and outcomes. Notion consistently uses terms such as pages, blocks, and workspaces, reinforcing its flexible building-block voice rather than traditional document language. A practical SaaS brand may prefer "workflow" over "solution" because it signals usability rather than abstraction.

Emotional language

Document how expressive language should be and when it should appear. An optimistic voice may favour words such as progress, momentum, and possibility. Nike frequently uses forward-focused words like move, push, and rise, reinforcing its motivational identity. A luxury voice may avoid overt emotional language in favour of experiential words such as crafted, considered, and refined.

Technical explanation level

Vocabulary should reflect how much prior knowledge the brand assumes. An expert voice may use precise terms such as integration, automation, and infrastructure. TurboTax reframes complex tax terminology into guided questions, demonstrating how accessible vocabulary supports comprehension without sacrificing accuracy.

Words that conflict with positioning

Document words to avoid and preferred alternatives. A collaborative brand may avoid directive phrases like "must" and prefer "you can." Apple rarely uses technical superlatives like "most advanced" or "industry-leading" in consumer messaging, favouring concise benefit language that aligns with its minimalist voice.

General vocabulary guidance examples:

Preferred: "workflow" / Avoid: "solution" (sounds abstract and sales-oriented) Preferred: "connect" / Avoid: "integrate" (suggests technical complexity, reserve for technical documentation) Preferred: "progress" / Avoid: "success" (implies finality, can create pressure) Preferred: "update" / Avoid: "enhancement" (vague and promotional) Preferred: "help" / Avoid: "assist" (introduces institutional distance)

For more detailed examples of how specific brands define vocabulary, see our brand voice examples.

Step 6: document voice in a style guide

A brand voice style guide operationalises decisions so teams can apply them consistently. Without documentation, voice remains dependent on individual interpretation, which leads to drift as more people contribute to communication. A well-structured style guide translates personality into practical guidance that supports everyday writing across departments.

Voice summary

Provide three to five defining traits with short explanations describing how each trait appears in writing.

Example: Practical: prioritises clarity and outcomes Supportive: reinforces progress without pressure Confident: communicates value without exaggeration

Audience relationship statement

Describe how the brand speaks to readers and what role it plays in their experience.

Example: We speak to our audience as a partner helping them make confident choices.

Writing patterns

Document observable patterns that reinforce voice, including sentence length, use of contractions, level of detail, and whether language emphasises outcomes or features.

Examples: Favour short paragraphs Explain complex concepts through examples Use second person to maintain proximity

Vocabulary guidance

List preferred terminology, acceptable alternatives, and discouraged phrasing with notes explaining why certain words support positioning while others do not. See Step 5 for a detailed framework.

Before-and-after examples

Provide side-by-side comparisons showing how generic phrasing changes when rewritten in brand voice. These often become the most frequently consulted section of a style guide.

Example: Generic: Contact support for assistance. Brand voice: We're here to help when you need it.

Tone guidance

Explain how tone shifts across contexts while voice remains consistent. Include examples for onboarding, announcements, support, and sensitive communication.

Onboarding: encouraging, clear, supportive Example: Start your first project and see how everything connects. Reference: Headspace uses calm reassurance during onboarding, emphasising ease and progress.

Announcements: confident, optimistic, informative Example: A faster way to manage your work is here. Reference: Figma balances excitement with clarity by pairing benefit language with concise explanation.

Support communication: empathetic, solution-focused, calm Example: We know this interrupted your work. We're fixing it now. Reference: Stripe support communication emphasises clarity and resolution timeliness.

Sensitive communication: transparent, reassuring, direct Example: We updated pricing to support new improvements. Reference: Basecamp is widely cited for its transparent pricing communication, using plain language to explain cost and what is included.

Channel application

Outline how voice adapts across product interfaces, marketing content, documentation, and support communication.

Product copy: prioritises brevity Marketing: expands narrative framing Support: emphasises reassurance and clarity Documentation: neutral and precise

Documentation should emphasise examples over rules. Writers learn voice most effectively by seeing how language changes in practice rather than memorising definitions.

Step 7: train teams using real content

Voice becomes recognisable through repetition. Teams develop fluency not by memorising definitions but by applying guidance to everyday communication.

Start by identifying high-visibility materials that appear frequently across the customer journey.

Rewrite onboarding emails

Onboarding sets expectations for relationship and clarity. Rewriting welcome messages, setup instructions, and progress nudges helps teams practise supportive, encouraging, or practical phrasing.

Before: Create your first project. After: Start your first project and see how everything connects.

Update product UI copy

Interface text reveals voice at the most granular level. Labels, empty states, confirmations, and error messages should reflect the same identity expressed in marketing.

Before: Action completed. After: You're all set.

Review support macros

Support responses often expose voice gaps because they prioritise efficiency. Editing macros ensures empathy, clarity, and competence appear consistently even in high-volume communication.

Before: Your request has been received. After: We received your request and are reviewing it now.

Compare old vs. new messaging

Side-by-side comparison helps teams identify patterns rather than isolated improvements.

Before: Contact support if needed. After: We're here if you need help.

Training should be collaborative. When teams discuss why one version aligns with voice more effectively than another, they build shared judgment that becomes more valuable than any single guideline. A useful training prompt: "Which version sounds more like us, and why?" That conversation builds instinctive voice alignment faster than reviewing documentation alone.

Over time, maintaining a repository of rewritten examples creates an internal reference library that supports onboarding, editing, and quality assurance.

Step 8: audit and refine

Voice evolves alongside strategy, product development, audience expectations, and market positioning. Even well-documented voice guidance can drift as new teams contribute content, new channels emerge, or messaging priorities shift. Regular audits help organisations identify inconsistencies early.

Cross-channel consistency

Compare product copy, marketing content, support communication, and documentation to determine whether the same personality appears across contexts. A simple audit might pull one piece of content from each channel and ask: does this sound like the same brand?

Vocabulary shifts

Track whether preferred terminology remains consistent and whether discouraged language is reappearing. A practical audit example: search recent content for the words you decided to avoid. If they are reappearing frequently, the guidance may need to be reinforced through training rather than documentation alone.

Tone alignment

Evaluate whether tone variations still operate within voice boundaries. If urgent messaging is starting to sound directive in a brand that prioritises collaboration, that is a signal that the boundary between voice and tone has blurred.

Audience feedback

Customer questions, support interactions, and usability research often reveal where communication feels unclear, distant, or overly technical. These signals help refine explanation style and relationship positioning. If customers are frequently asking for clarification on something that should be self-explanatory, the voice may be signalling a different level of expertise than the content actually delivers.

Audits should combine qualitative review with simple metrics such as editing frequency, repeated terminology issues, or common support clarifications. Refinement maintains relevance without losing recognition. Updating examples, expanding vocabulary notes, and clarifying writing patterns allows voice to adapt while preserving the core identity that audiences already recognise.

When voice needs to change

Brand voice is designed for consistency, but it is not static. As companies grow, shift audiences, expand product lines, or reposition themselves, voice sometimes needs to evolve. This evolution can be subtle, such as simplifying language for broader accessibility, or significant, as seen when brands move from formal authority to conversational personality.

Voice changes often occur during moments of transformation: rebranding, entering new markets, responding to cultural shifts, or redefining customer relationships. In these situations, voice becomes a visible signal that the organisation itself has changed.

Gradual evolution vs. reinvention

For most brands, gradual evolution presents less risk because it preserves recognition while allowing communication to modernise. A brand might remain approachable but become more confident, or remain authoritative while becoming more conversational. This preserves recognition while enabling evolution.

Dramatic reinvention tends to work best when the existing voice no longer supports business goals, audience perception needs to change significantly, or leadership is prepared to commit fully to the new direction. Voice evolution is standard practice. Voice reinvention is a strategic reset.

Old Spice illustrates what successful reinvention looks like. The brand replaced traditional product-focused messaging with exaggerated humour and character-driven storytelling, transforming how audiences perceived an ordinary personal care product.

Former Old Spice voice: "Provides long-lasting freshness for all-day confidence." Characteristics: functional benefit language, straightforward masculine positioning, authority without personality.

New Old Spice voice: "Smell like you just conquered something impressive, even if it was just your morning." Characteristics: hyperbolic confidence, humour over specification, identity framing rather than product features.

The product promise is identical. What changes is the relationship with the audience. The former voice positioned the brand as a reliable product. The new voice positioned it as a character.

Old Spice succeeded because the voice shift aligned with a clear repositioning strategy and was executed consistently across every touchpoint, from advertising to packaging to social media, allowing audiences to recalibrate their expectations quickly. Many organisations attempt similar changes without aligning product experience, audience expectations, or internal processes, which makes the shift feel shallow rather than transformative.

Managing the transition

Organisations must evaluate legacy content, decide which elements of the original voice to retain, and introduce changes in ways that maintain recognition. This often requires phased implementation, clearer internal training, and more frequent audits to ensure that the new direction appears consistently without creating confusion for existing audiences.

The process for changing an existing voice follows many of the same steps as creating one, including defining personality traits, clarifying audience relationships, and producing example rewrites. The key difference lies in managing the transition from what existed before rather than starting from a blank slate.

Template: brand voice definition worksheet

Use this worksheet to define your voice and document how it appears in real communication. Each field includes guidance on what a strong answer looks like.

The Daily Press example:

Example rewrite:

Generic: "Our coffee is sourced from sustainable farms."

The Daily Press: "Every cup starts somewhere good. We work with farms we trust."

Worked example: The Daily Press

The following example takes a single fictional business through the full voice-building process. The Daily Press is an independent neighbourhood coffee shop. It has been open for three years, has a loyal local following, and is preparing to grow its catering business and social media presence. Its owner wants to make sure the brand sounds consistent as more people begin writing and speaking on its behalf.

Step 1: Personality foundations

The owner writes three trait alignment statements:

We sound like a knowledgeable neighbour because we want people to feel like they are being looked after by someone who actually cares, not served by a system.

We avoid sounding like a chain coffee brand because we do not want to feel generic, interchangeable, or driven by upselling.

Our audience expects communication that feels warm, genuine, and a little personal.

From this, four defining traits emerge: warm, unpretentious, quality-conscious, community-rooted.

Each trait is framed as a contrast to make it practical. Warm, not effusive. Unpretentious, not casual to the point of carelessness. Quality-conscious, not snobby. Community-rooted, not parochial.

Step 2: Audience relationship

The Daily Press speaks to its customers as a familiar face helping them find a moment of calm in a busy day.

This relationship sits between partner and advisor. The cafe is not instructing customers on how to drink coffee. It is not enabling them to create something. It is offering comfort, consistency, and a small daily ritual that makes the day feel more manageable.

This relationship shapes everything. It means the voice never lectures, never oversells, and never makes customers feel like they need to know more than they do. It also means the voice can be personal and direct because the relationship is genuinely close.

Step 3: Writing patterns

From the four traits and the audience relationship, three core writing patterns emerge.

Conversational and warm: short sentences, first or second person throughout, language that sounds like something a real person would say.

Grounded in specifics: mentioning the actual coffee, the actual neighbourhood, the actual people. Avoiding vague benefit language.

Leaves room to breathe: not every message needs to communicate everything. Short copy that trusts the reader.

Step 4: Example rewrites

The owner rewrites four common messages in The Daily Press voice.

Message: We're open today.

Generic: The Daily Press is open for business today. Brand voice: We're open. Come in.

Message: Try our new seasonal drink.

Generic: Introducing our new seasonal beverage, available for a limited time. Brand voice: Something new is on the board. Worth trying.

Message: We're closed for a private event.

Generic: The Daily Press will be closed on Saturday due to a private event. Brand voice: We're closed Saturday for a private gathering. Back Sunday, same as always.

Message: We have a new catering service.

Generic: The Daily Press now offers catering services for events and workplaces. Brand voice: We now do catering. Same coffee, same care, just somewhere different.

Each rewrite removes corporate language, reduces word count, and maintains the warm, direct, slightly understated quality that defines the voice.

Step 5: Vocabulary boundaries

The Daily Press documents three vocabulary categories.

Preferred: brew, cup, neighbours, come in, something good, worth it, same as always. Avoid: beverage, product, clientele, optimise, leverage, solutions.

Emotional language: warm but not sentimental. The voice acknowledges the small pleasures of a good cup of coffee without making them sound bigger than they are.

Technical level: the voice does not assume customers know coffee terminology. If a drink is described, the description is sensory and simple rather than technical. "Rich and a little smoky" rather than "high-extraction single origin with tasting notes of dark chocolate and cedar."

Step 6: Style guide summary

The Daily Press voice in one sentence: A familiar face that makes you feel at home.

Audience relationship: We speak to our customers as a familiar face helping them find a moment of calm in a busy day.

Writing patterns: Short sentences. First or second person. Warm but not effusive. Grounded in specifics.

Vocabulary: Preferred words include brew, neighbours, come in, worth it. Avoid corporate or technical language that makes coffee feel complicated.

Before and after: Generic: Our coffee is sourced from sustainable farms committed to ethical practices. Brand voice: Every cup starts somewhere good. We only work with farms we trust.

Tone guidance: Busy morning: brief, efficient, warm. "Next one's on us." Community moment: celebratory and personal. "Three years. Thanks for being part of it." Problem: calm and direct. "We got that wrong. Here's how we're fixing it."

Step 7: Training

The owner shares the style guide with two part-time staff members who manage social media. Rather than asking them to read the document and apply it, she runs a short exercise.

She gives each of them the same five messages in generic form and asks them to rewrite in The Daily Press voice without looking at the examples. Then they compare their rewrites with the guide examples and discuss where they diverged and why.

The discussion reveals that one staff member interpreted "unpretentious" as very casual and was using slang. The other was slightly more formal than the voice intended. The conversation clarifies the line between warm and casual, which no amount of documentation alone would have communicated.

Step 8: Audit

Three months later, the owner reviews ten recent social posts, five email newsletters, and the catering brochure side by side. She looks for three things: vocabulary consistency, relationship distance, and sentence rhythm.

She finds that the catering brochure, which was written by a freelancer, has drifted toward corporate language. Phrases like "bespoke catering solutions" and "tailored beverage experiences" have appeared. The social posts are consistent. The emails are mostly consistent but one has become noticeably longer and more formal than the rest.

She updates the brochure, adds two new before-and-after examples to the style guide based on what went wrong, and flags the vocabulary drift as a standing item for the next freelancer brief.

Putting your brand voice to work

Building a brand voice requires translating identity into patterns that teams can apply consistently. Voice provides the stable personality behind communication, while tone allows flexibility within that framework. Brands that define voice clearly reduce inconsistency, strengthen positioning, and create experiences that feel cohesive across channels.

A recognisable voice emerges through examples, documentation, and repetition. When teams understand how to apply personality to everyday writing, communication becomes distinctive rather than interchangeable. Over time, that recognition becomes one of the brand's most durable assets.

For practical examples of how real brands express their voice, see our brand voice examples. For a deeper understanding of tone and how it works within your voice framework, see our article on tone in writing.