Brand voice guides built from data, not hunches

Banish the burn and bewilderment from defining and applying your voice.

When you have this level of depth, validity, and detail in your voice guide, achieving consistency across every channel will no longer be a chore.

And only then will writing copy that really cuts through to your intended audience be far easier to achieve. There's a vast difference between copy written from a sound strategic core vs. words you're guessing might work—and people notice that difference.

Think of the verbal and the visual together like the power couple of content marketing—as a united front, no-one else can replicate the 'je ne sais quoi' they exude.

Polish & Punch voice guidelines equip you with precise parameters, strategy, and a distinct brand lingo built from verified data. A voice that’s measured and mapped this way leaves little room for you (or other writers) to veer off-brand.

That’s a hearty YES to:

Far less time drafting, reviewing, and endless editing
Amplified brand building in every written piece on any channel
Visual and verbal identities working equally to position your brand (as they should)
Gaining a recognisable edge and more chances of snagging dream customers
Money saved in production, and made because of bigger brand appeal

Without this kind of definition in a voice guide, all you do is purge words that lack strategic backbone and fail to position your brand.

Which costs you brain burn, time churn, and missed chances to sell.

Ouch.

Need a salve?

I can help.

Let's meet, shall we? 👏🏼

Book a discovery call

Why brand voice matters, and where most guidelines fall short.

A definitive voice guide explains the freedoms and limitations for how you speak to your audience—without restricting anyone’s creative flair. That means confident, efficient writers, less editing time (and cost!), and consistent copy that’s always on-brand.

Explaining freedoms and limitations is far more than “cultured, but not snobbish” or “vibrant, but not giddy”. You might have a few “this, but not that” descriptors, but which trait do you lead with, and why?

If I were presented with this level of detail before starting a copywriting project, I’d be asking for additional time in the scope to ask that question and others, like:

~ Which words characterise ‘cultured’ or ‘snobbish’ in reference to your brand?

~ Do you have examples of existing copy that epitomises each of these parameters?

And then…

~ Why and how do these examples of copy epitomise each of the given parameters?

~ From which standpoint do you want to motivate your audience? (for example, reassure or encourage?)

Also, I’d need to refer to brand elements such as:

Archetype
Personality
Promise
Value proposition
Origin story
Philosophy
Vision
Mission
Values

In particular, the brand personality would need more detail than “approachable and down to earth” while also being “measured and perceptive”. My version of these would likely be quite different to another person writing from this specification.

See how the lack of depth and nuance leaves too much room for mixed interpretation? As your copywriter, I’d need to allow extra time in your scope to be sure I can nail your brief.

If you have others writing copy for your business:

Time spent going back and forth on reviewing and editing just to get your copy sounding spot-on is enough to send you barmy (and your bottom line a bit bare).

Then there’s how it looks—when and what to format, which heading styles to use, emoji guidelines—all of these and many, many more are the essentials to a truly effective voice guide.

If, when your writers use the voice guidelines you’ve documented, the copy ends up sounding iffy, or not expressing your brand personality, or worse—so far from your brand it makes you wince—it doesn’t mean your existing guidelines are wrong.

Just that they’re mostly built on a hunch and not measured, analysed, and built on real data.

That costs you dearly in many ways.

When you have a clear, complete voice guide that really takes the guesswork out of writing for your brand, you (and your other writers) will be whipping out on-brand, bombshell content time and time again—faster than you ever imagined.

Talented teams and clever people I work with

James Thompson, Creative Director | MJA Studio

"There just aren’t a lot of copywriters around that make me nervous"

~ Jay Crisp Crow, Copywriter + Copy Mentor | Crisp Copy

“There just aren’t a lot of copywriters around that make me nervous. Sarah does. I always teach that copywriters are made, not born, but I think Sarah blows apart my theory with her seemingly innate ability to pick up copywriting skills and blend them seamlessly with her natural understanding of how to develop a brand’s voice."

She’s quick, she’s so deliciously wonderful to collaborate with, and she manages to work in both a big picture way – keeping the overall vision of the brand in mind – while paying intense attention to every itty bitty detail."

FAQ

The short (unpopular) answer is “it depends”—but hear me out.

I assume you’re here because you want professionally written copy, which to me indicates you have a business and brand you care about.

When a writer truly grasps the soul of a brand, what flows through in the copy has the capacity to sell to the people you most want to deal with AND alter the dynamics and culture of the business. It can be that powerful. If you don’t have a voice guide, we can talk about the elements you’ll need for that kind of shift to occur.

If you simply want to strengthen your existing copy without restructuring or too much concern for voice, then YES! I can, and I’ll need to see your copy first so we can agree on what needs to be done.

As much as I’d like to set clear costs for the guides, most businesses need a tailored quote because they've defined varying degrees of their brand elements. A 'light touch' guide starts at AUD $2000 as a starting point.

Or, you might like to consider a Voicefinder session. It's a great introduction to finding your brand voice, giving you enough detail to be useful in its early evolutionary stages.

For a standard 5-page site incorporating on-page SEO, it takes up to 4 weeks including our kick-off session, research, writing, and two revisions. It also depends on how far ahead I'm booked, so you might need to allow a couple of weeks' lead time for commencement.

For larger sites, it depends on:

How many pages you want written
Whether you’re investing in keywords and SEO
Whether I’m conducting ‘voice-of-the-customer’ (VOC) research with your clients
If some voice and tone work is needed prior

Only if you’re a business with heart, a mission, and a desire to do business with people who fuel your fire.

People want to deal with brands that feel right for them, and having a voice and personality that your ideal customers relate to is the key to letting them know you’re the ones to hire.

How you express your voice and personality will influence the kinds of people you serve, your workplace culture, and ultimately your ability to flourish.

Brand voice refers to all the components needed to create a holistic, consistent communication plan. It’s an extension of your personality, values, the language you use, your purpose, messaging, and your particular take on things (among other elements depending on how much detail you want your voice to have).

Tone of voice is in the ‘how’ you say things, your attitude, how it differs from channel to channel or situation, whether your cadence is slow or fast, how you might adapt your tone for different messaging, and to which audience.

There’s a lot more to both that you won’t find on a Google search (or ChatGPT), and if you’d like me to expand more on brand voice in general, schedule a 15-minute discovery call with me, I'm always happy to help or point you in the right direction.

Structural edits

Involves analysing and reworking your copy's overall flow and placement so it’s impactful and relevant to your audience.

Line edits

Ensures consistency in voice and tone while reviewing sentence structure and readability. I’ll cut any surplus waffle and add muscle where it’s due. 💪🏼

Copy edits

Includes tidying any punctuation, grammar, spelling, and formatting oversights to a polished and publishable standard.

*Any combination of these may be required and proofreading is included in all.

Voice archetypes give a brand’s voice subliminal reference to common or typical human qualities. The psychology of archetypes is steeped in age-old mythological history, and they anchor your voice in a way that the audiences you want to engage will connect with. This occurs as a subconscious inkling or feeling of familiarity, and if that feeling resonates, they’ll more likely trust you and be open to what you have to offer.

In a Voicefinder session, your primary archetype becomes apparent, and after the session, I continue with some analysis to clarify it further. An overview is included in your post-session summary.

Absolutely. I’ll ask to see your existing brand work first, and, whether you've defined these elements or not, we’ll talk about them in the session. All the parts overlap and influence your voice—tones, archetypes, personality, values.

As you go through the process you’ll be hit with insights and realisations that only build upon what’s already there. The additional nuances that arise during the process can be delightfully surprising.