First, the number of soccer fans that replied to my email last week?
I see you.
I love ya.

Now, on to the show…

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Remember when you voted a couple of weeks ago on what I should write about?
And I delivered an in-depth email on how to write really good hero sections for your website?

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Welp, the runner-up in that vote was: “​Different ways to build your brand's voice—from words to emojis to sentence structures”

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It only lost by three measly votes, so I can’t NOT write about it.

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Here ya go.

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Different ways to build your brand's voice—from words to emojis to sentence structures

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What is a brand voice?

Your brand’s voice is how you sound out in the marketplace.

A lot of folks get voice and tone confused, so a quick explanation is due.

• Voice: Whatever room I walk into, I’m always Anna.
• Tone: Depending on the room I walk into, a different side of Anna shows up. Friends? Family? Business?

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But no matter what, folks know I’m Anna. (hopefully)

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For a brand, the brand voice is a consistent way of writing/speaking that customers can easily recognize.

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If you want the best, easy-to-grasp real-life example of brand voice, just look at the different breweries’ beer labels in the store next time you go. (and maybe try a new local brew while you’re at it!)

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Some are absolutely zany with lots of silly words.

Some are short, simple, and to the point.

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Stouts tend to have a more brooding, introspective, “gather around a campfire” tone of voice.

IPAs a more celebratory, “hang out with friends” tone.

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But across the different beers of their brand, their voice stays consistent.

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How to determine what your brand voice should be

Research.

A lot of really good research.

This is a whole other email in itself.

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Spice up your voice with words

If you take one look at my website, you’ll know I use bird puns with reckless abandon in my voice.

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I recently completed a copy intensive for a world-renowned movement and pole dance instructor.

In her voice, I used a lot of tactile and movement-forward words.

The goal was to inspire readers of the website to start moving while they were exploring her site.

Words I used:

• Smear
• Twist
• Wriggle
• Wiggle
• Writhe
• Swirly
• Squishy
• Spongy
• Oozy

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A ton of brands have specific speaking styles as I do, or specific types of words like my client, to help drop people into their brand’s experience.

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Go Try It Out Mini Section

What specific words do you use all the time without thinking about it? Write them down.

What specific style do you use?
Are you humorous, serious, technical…notice it and write it down.

Then keep it consistent.

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Spice up your voice with emojis (and maybe some cursing?)

Sometimes you need to break the ‘rules.’

Rules like:

🙅You can’t curse on your website, damnit!

🙅Emojis are for social media only

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If you’re smart about it and have done your research, you’re allowed to break whatever rule you want.​
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One client of mine is a coach and she is DECIDEDLY curse-y.

It’s just how she talks.

When we were working on her brand voice, it was important that curse words were present to help qualify clients that wouldn’t be offended by her cursing.

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We put it right up in the header: “Become Boundaried AF”

And then (my most favorite part) when we were editing the FAQ section, she paused and asked “Can this be Frequently Uttered Questions?”
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And the FUQ section was born.

Go Try It Out Mini Section

Does using emojis or a light smattering of cursing make sense for you and your target audience?

Make the choice intentionally.

Then keep it consistent.

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Spice up your voice with sentence structure

So maybe a specific style of words, curses, or emojis isn’t your thing.

But you still want to have a voice that is a bit more interesting than plain old sentences.

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Time to play with structure!

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maybe everything you write is in lowercase. a lot of personality-driven copy uses this technique to sound a bit more casual and approachable.

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You probably have noticed my use of parenthesis in my emails.

I use parenthetical asides to add a spice of humor to my copy. (like this, but now I feel pressure to be funny and it’s…just not happening)

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Those parentheses are not only my space to have a bit more fun, but also a visual cue for the reader that if they wanna have a little chuckle, they can read it.

If they don’t, they can skip and feel assured that they aren’t missing anything critical.

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Another obvious way to play with sentence structure is with text transforms.

• You don’t have to use bold to put an emphasis on a word.
• You can italicize it.
• You can underline it.
• Heck, you can use a strikethrough.

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Those transform tools are your best friend to spice up your brand voice.
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Go Try It Out Mini Section

Next time you write something for your website (in draft mode) play with text transform.

Or throw a parenthetical aside in.

See how it feels to play with sentence structure.

Do your due diligence with research to make sure your audience will respond.

Then keep it consistent.

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The key lesson here: be consistent

Notice how every single idea ended with “then keep it consistent?”

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Yeah, that’s the most important part of a brand voice.

If you use italics one week and emojis the next and weird sound words like SLAP and KAPOW the next, your audience

• isn’t going to easily recognize your brand
• will get tired and confused
• could lose trust in your company (yeah, trust breaks that easily, folks)

Whatever you decide, keep it consistent.

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That’s all folks!

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk on brand voice structure ideas!

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If you’re super sad I didn’t get to the last option I put forward during voting—brand messaging and why you should give a cluck—you’re in luck.

I wrote a big, long, magnum opus blog about it.

​Read it here.​

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Cheers,

Anna (they/them)

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What I'm reading​
​The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman​

The most on-brand book I have ever read. Please clap. Also birds are fascinating????