Creating content is not just about what you say, but how you say it and whether it’s through your website, social media, or email, having a consistent and recognisable tone of voice is essential. So, what are the elements needed to develop a strong brand tone of voice, that any part of the business can emulate, and what does a good copywriter need to do to embody it?

The five essentials to developing a strong tone of voice

1. Audience

The starting place for any form of communication is understanding who your audience is and choosing the right language to reach them.

2. Value

Your genuine brand values, the embodiment of who your business is and what it stands for, are what customers attach themselves to. Your tone of voice needs to reflect these. Are you casual and fun or practical and realistic?

65% of consumers say a brand’s tone of voice is what helps them emotionally connect to a brand.*

3. Core Message

The brand core message – the one thing you want your audience to remember – is what identifies it. Once you know what this main message is, you will have a clear picture of what language to use to illustrate it.

4. Pitch

Tone of voice is so much about pitch, meaning your positioning or point of view. Keep in mind how you want the brand to come across strategically and follow the ‘show not tell’ rule.

5. Start writing

Avoid fixating on principles or guidelines and start writing - thinking about the places that your audience will see the words first and the most, such as your homepage or welcome email. Thinking about what three words you would use to best describe your business and using those adjectives to guide you is a good place to start.

How to make sure your tone of voice is consistent across the business

Once you’ve cracked the tone and the words are working in all the main places your audience will see them, then you can explain the thinking and put it all in a set of guidelines. Most importantly, a practical set. Here’s what we are doing, here’s why we are doing it and here’s how, including examples of it written in practice.

Key things to think about for guidelines are:

Syntax: how you structure your sentences.

Grammar: the right form of verbs and adjectives.

Vocabulary: what words you will or won’t allow?

Punctuation: use of exclamation marks etc.

What does a good copywriter need to do to embody a brand’s tone of voice?

To be able to write on the behalf of a business, a good copywriter will, not only apply the Tone-Of-Voice guidelines, but also fully immerse themselves in the brand and its target audience. Getting behind the scenes of the brand and the industry using existing collateral and research is just what our Copywriters do at ActionRocket. Get in touch for more details.