Your brand voice is the thing that makes your writing sound like you. Not your logo. Not your colours. The words you choose, the way you put them together, and the feeling people get when they read them.
Most small businesses do not have a voice. They have a vibe. And that vibe changes depending on who wrote the social post that day, what mood they were in, and whether they looked at a competitor’s Instagram for inspiration first.
These four exercises take 10 minutes each. Do them in one sitting and you will have a voice card that keeps every piece of writing consistent, from your website to your emails to your Instagram captions.
Exercise 1: The 3-Word We Are / 3-Word We Are Not Test
Write down three words that describe how your brand sounds. Then write three words that describe how it does not sound. Be specific. Not “professional” (every business claims that). Think about what makes you different.
Example:
We are: direct, warm, slightly cheeky.
We are not: corporate, formal, edgy.
The “not” words matter more than the “are” words. They are the guardrails that stop your voice from drifting into territory that does not feel like you. If you are ever unsure whether a sentence sounds right, check it against your “not” list first.
Exercise 2: The Before and After Rewrite
Pick three sentences from your website, your last email, or your social captions. Sentences that feel generic or flat. Now rewrite each one in your brand voice using your 3-word “are” list as a guide.
Before: “We offer a wide range of high-quality products at competitive prices.”
After: “Everything we make is designed to last longer than the trend it replaced. And it costs less than you think.”
Before: “Our team is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service.”
After: “Email us at midnight. We write back before your morning coffee gets cold.”
Before: “Sign up for our newsletter to stay updated.”
After: “One email a week. No fluff. Just the stuff that actually helps you sell more.”
The before sentences could belong to any business. The after sentences can only belong to yours. That is the difference a defined voice makes.
Exercise 3: The Tone Spectrum
Brand voice is not one tone. It is a range. You sound different in an apology email than you do in a launch announcement, but you still sound like you.
Draw a line for each of these dimensions and mark where your brand falls:
- Formal ←→ Casual (Do you say “we regret to inform you” or “we messed up”?)
- Serious ←→ Playful (Do you make jokes or keep it straight?)
- Reserved ←→ Expressive (Do you hold back or go all in?)
- Expert ←→ Peer (Do you talk down or talk alongside?)
Most small businesses fall somewhere in the middle of each spectrum, but your position on it is what makes your voice distinctive. A brand that is casual, playful, expressive, and a peer sounds very different from one that is casual, serious, reserved, and an expert.
Write down your four positions. These are your tone defaults. When you need to shift tone for a specific situation, shift along the spectrum, not away from it.
Exercise 4: The “Would We Say This?” Filter
This one takes 5 minutes and pays off forever. Write down 10 phrases you would never say out loud to a customer in person. These are your anti-phrases. They are the sentences that feel right in a marketing context but wrong in a real conversation.
Common anti-phrases for brands that want to sound human:
- “We are passionate about delivering excellence”
- “Leverage our innovative solutions”
- “Seamless integration”
- “Cutting-edge technology”
- “Best-in-class service”
Now write 5 phrases you would say to a friend if you were explaining what your business does. These are your voice anchors. They are the sentences that naturally fall out of your mouth when you are not trying to sound professional.
Voice anchors example:
- “We make candles that smell like actual places, not perfume counters”
- “You should not have to guess what something costs”
- “We ship within 24 hours because waiting sucks”
Every time you write something, run it through this filter: “Would I say this to a customer standing in front of me?” If the answer is no, rewrite it.
Put It Together: Your Voice Card
You now have:
- Three “are” words and three “not” words
- Three before-and-after rewrites that show your voice in action
- Your position on four tone spectrums
- 10 anti-phrases and 5 voice anchors
Put all of this on one page. That is your voice card. Share it with anyone who writes for your business: you, your social media manager, your email writer, your website copywriter.
When someone asks “how do we sound?”, you hand them this card instead of saying “you know, like, professional but friendly.” The card does the work. The writing follows.
The Voice Card Is a Living Document
Your voice will evolve. Add new voice anchors when you write a sentence that perfectly captures how you sound. Add new anti-phrases when you catch yourself writing something that feels off.
Review it every quarter. Not to change it dramatically, but to make sure it still reflects who you are. A business that launched last year sounds different from one that has been running for three. The card should keep up.
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