How to Identify Your Brand's Voice

What catchphrases does your business have?

“How Y•O•U doin’?”

“Roo doo doot da doo!”

“Is that your final answer?”

“I’ll be back.”

“Ruh Ro!”

Admit it. You read each of those in the voice of the one who originally said it. I bet you could even picture the scene - or at least the person - of each one of those sayings. 

That’s the beauty of a catchphrase. It instantly triggers emotions from the reader/listener. It says a lot without saying a lot. 

There’s trust and comfort in the familiar. 

Write real. Write you.

Maintaining a consistent voice within your business is foundational to building trust within your community. This includes all marketing efforts and even extends to how your business talks and interacts with clients in real life. 

If a client follows your business on social media and gets some formal business vibes, but then comes into your brick and mortar store only to find a bunch of crunchy, outdoorsy retail clerks, he’s going to be thrown off.

This could cause him to hesitate or even walk away completely. He thought he was getting one thing from your business, when in fact, you offered something much different than what he thought. Or at the very least, your environment wasn’t what he’d expected. 

I compared this to a heavily photoshopped picture. It’s not gonna be good if the picture sets up the viewer for disappointment when it comes to the real thing.

Establishing a consistent voice in your business’ writing

Guess what? You can get your brand’s voice working for your business right from the start. We talked a few posts ago about how sometimes it can be hard to brand your business, so don’t get too hung up on that and let it hold you back.

But your voice? This one is likely already established for you. You might just need a little help identifying it.

Your business’ voice is mostly and usually going to be your own voice. (Assuming you’re the head/owner/leader of your business...but that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?)

The slight trick is making sure your voice jibes with your ideal clients’ voice. 

There’s a good chance when you’re talking with your ideal client, you naturally sound similar. But you want to make sure your business’ brand always writes and speaks in a way that lines up with how your ideal client talks (ie. what they want to hear). 

The best way to figure this out is to write it down. Real life, pencil-paper style. 

Collecting catchphrases

This exercise might extend over the course of days or even weeks. If you’re really dedicated, you’ll ask people closest to you for some input.

Print it out, pin it up in the office or another high-traffic area in your work and/or home space. 

The goal of this is to collect words and phrases that you + your business uses frequently. What kind of language do you use?

Additionally, you’re gonna want to do the same for your ideal client. This matters. 

Your brand’s voice is optimized when you marry your business’ voice with your ideal client’s voice. 

Questions to help get the wheels turning

• Do you ever make up words?

• Use formal or rough-around-the-edges language?

• Talk to a certain age group?

• Are you down-to-earth or polished and educated-sounding?

• Quote movies all the time?

• Reference books or other media?

• Are you focused and organized in your approach or do you go off on tons of rabbit trails?...squirrel!

• Do you use “swears” or are you more family-friendly?

• What words do you use when you’re excited? Pumped? Stoked? Awesome? Rad? Amazing?

• Do you prefer to embellish with lots of details and adjectives or get straight to the point?

• Beat around the bush or cut to the chase?

• Do you speak with clients like they’re your best friend chatting over coffee?

• Maybe you’re going for more of a mentor/mentee relationship?

• Are you a fast talker or slow and careful?

• How do you address readers?

  • Friend,

  • Hey guys!

  • Hi there!

  • Yo!

  • By name

• Are you:

  • Empathetic?

  • Energetic?

  • Gentle and patient? 

  • Loud and boisterous?

  • Friendly?

  • Down-to-earth?

  • Scatter-brained?

As you think through these questions, write down words and phrases you say in real life (I learned that’s what IRL means…) that prove your answers. 

How to use this Catchphrase Guide

This collection of catchphrases (for your business and your Ideal Client) will be used in your writing for your business. 

Having this Catchphrase Guide (and paired with last post’s Target Client Exercise) visible to you and/or your business’ writer will help anchor your voice in a way that ensures no matter who is writing or what is being written, your voice will remain consistent and trustworthy. 

Of course, you don’t want to overuse these catchphrases or words, but you do want to use them when it makes a ton of sense. And frequently enough that your audience hears you through your writing. 

It’s important to leave you with one last important reminder:

Read your business’ writing and marketing material out loud before publishing. 

Especially in the beginning, this will help you make sure you’re writing how you talk. 

Are you fumbling over the words as you read them aloud? Then change them.

Find yourself sounding too stiff? Check to see if you’re using contractions...I know this isn’t how your high school English teacher taught you, but for most marketing writing, you want to write like you talk...and that’s with contractions. 

In fact, let go of all the anxiety that came with high school writing class. Those rules have their place. But marketing writing is more about writing like you talk. And let’s face it, most of us don’t talk using the grammatically-correct language of our high school English class.

With time and practice, even copy + content writing can become quick, easy, and...dare I say it...fun!