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How to Create Your Brand Voice for Content Marketing (+ Templates)
Neelam D
May 13, 2025
Most businesses sound exactly the same.
Boring. Forgettable. Bland.
Want proof? Visit 10 different company websites in your industry. You'll struggle to tell them apart.
I've spent years helping brands find their authentic voices – and I've noticed something:
Companies with distinct brand voices don't just stand out – they connect. They convert. They build loyalty that lasts.
But creating that voice isn't about writing prettier words or following trendy formulas.
It's about building a strategic framework that:
Captures who you genuinely are
Speaks directly to your ideal customers
Sets you apart from competitors
Scales across all your content
In this guide, you'll get more than vague advice. I'm giving you the exact templates and frameworks I've developed for businesses.
Ready to discover your authentic brand voice?
Table of Contents
Understanding Brand Voice Fundamentals
The difference between forgettable content and memorable messaging starts with understanding what brand voice actually is – and most businesses get this fundamentally wrong.
What Brand Voice Actually Is (and Isn't)
Brand voice isn't just your writing style or tone. It's the consistent personality expressed through all your communications.
BRAND VOICE DEFINED:
The distinctive character, attitude, and values of your brand expressed consistently through words, messaging style, and communication patterns across all touchpoints.
Many confuse voice with tone. They're related but different:
Voice: Remains constant (who your brand is)
Tone: Adapts to context (how you express that identity in different situations)
Think of your brand as a person:
Voice = Personality (consistent)
Tone = Mood (changes with context)
Nike always maintains its bold, empowering voice. But the tone shifts between motivational for athletic content, educational for product features, or supportive for community initiatives.
What brand voice isn't:
Copying competitors
Random writing styles
Following passing trends
A veneer that doesn't match your actual business
A strong brand voice directly impacts customer trust, conversions, retention, and team alignment.
When your voice is consistent, customers know what to expect from you, and that builds confidence in your brand.
Why Most Businesses Fail at Finding Their Authentic Voice
Most companies approach brand voice backward – they start with how they want to sound instead of who they actually are.
The result? Generic content that sounds like everyone else.
THE BRAND VOICE FAILURE CYCLE:
1. Copy competitor approaches
2. Use industry jargon and buzzwords
3. Sound indistinguishable from everyone else
4. Wonder why content isn't connecting
5. Double down on the same approach
6. Repeat...
Three common mistakes I see regularly:
1. Skipping the foundation work: Companies jump straight to writing guidelines without understanding their values, mission, and audience needs.
2. Too many voice attributes: Trying to be everything: professional yet casual, authoritative yet friendly, innovative yet traditional. This creates a muddled, confusing voice.
3. Disconnection from customer language: Creating a voice that sounds good to you but doesn't resonate with how your customers actually speak.
A revealing exercise: Ask different team members to describe your brand's personality in three words. The inconsistency of responses often reveals the lack of clarity.
Moving beyond these fundamentals, you need practical tools to discover your unique voice.
The next section provides templates you can use immediately.
Discovering Your Unique Brand Voice
Finding your authentic voice requires structured discovery – not guesswork. These practical templates give you a systematic approach.
The Brand Voice Audit Template
Before creating something new, understand what you're currently communicating.
BRAND VOICE AUDIT TEMPLATE
1. CONTENT COLLECTION (Gather 3 examples from each):
□ Website pages
□ Blog posts
□ Social media posts
□ Marketing emails
□ Sales materials
□ Customer service responses
2. ANALYSIS QUESTIONS (Answer for each content piece):
□ What 3-5 adjectives would describe this content?
□ Does this align with how we want to be perceived?
□ How does this compare to competitor content?
□ What emotional response does this create?
□ What patterns emerge across content types?
3. CONSISTENCY ASSESSMENT:
Rate consistency across channels (1-10):
□ Website to social media: ___
□ Marketing to customer service: ___
□ Sales materials to product content: ___
4. VOICE STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES:
□ Top 3 strengths in current voice:
1. _______________
2. _______________
3. _______________
□ Top 3 weaknesses in current voice:
1. _______________
2. _______________
3. _______________
When working with clients, I often find disconnects between different communication channels. A typical example is formal website copy paired with casual social media posts. This inconsistency confuses customers about who you really are.
Once you've audited your current voice, the next step is defining your brand personality.
Brand Personality Assessment Framework
Your brand voice stems directly from your brand personality. This framework helps you define it clearly.
Here’s the brand personality assessment template you can use right now:
BRAND PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT
SECTION 1: CORE VALUES EXTRACTION
List your company's 3-5 core values and explain how each should sound in communication:
Value: _________________
Voice implication: _________________
Value: _________________
Voice implication: _________________
Value: _________________
Voice implication: _________________
SECTION 2: CHARACTER ARCHETYPE
Which archetype best represents your brand? (Select primary and secondary)
□ The Sage (Thoughtful, knowledgeable)
□ The Explorer (Adventurous, pioneering)
□ The Creator (Innovative, imaginative)
□ The Hero (Bold, courageous)
□ The Caregiver (Supportive, nurturing)
□ The Ruler (Authoritative, structured)
□ The Jester (Playful, light-hearted)
□ The Regular Person (Relatable, authentic)
SECTION 3: RELATIONSHIP DEFINITION
If your brand were a person, it would be your customer's:
□ Trusted advisor
□ Supportive coach
□ Peer/friend
□ Teacher/mentor
□ Inspired innovator
□ Reliable partner
□ Other: _________________
What would this relationship sound like in conversation?
_________________
SECTION 4: COMPETITOR DIFFERENTIATION
List 3 competitors and how your voice should differ:
Competitor 1: _________________
Voice difference: _________________
Competitor 2: _________________
Voice difference: _________________
Competitor 3: _________________
Voice difference: _________________
The archetypes section is particularly powerful.
For example, a SaaS company might identify primarily as "The Sage" (knowledgeable, thoughtful) with "The Regular Person" as their secondary archetype (relatable, authentic).
This combination creates a voice that's expert but approachable – not condescending or overly technical.
The personality assessment provides the foundation, but you still need to translate it into practical voice elements your team can implement.
That's what we'll tackle next.
Translating Brand Personality into Tangible Voice Elements
Now comes the crucial step most brands miss – turning abstract personality traits into concrete voice elements writers can actually use.
The Voice Characteristic Matrix Template
This matrix transforms your personality insights into practical guidance:
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