Brand voice guide built from how you already write
When three people write your posts, emails and website, your brand ends up sounding like three companies. This prompt has your todo.is agent read your best existing content, spot what makes it work, and turn that into a practical brand voice guide with traits, real before-and-after examples and rules for each channel.
The prompt
- Create a brand voice guide for [BRAND NAME], a [WHAT YOU SELL] for [WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE]. Read our best existing writing: [LINKS OR ATTACHED FILES], and our website [WEBSITE URL]. Tell me what you notice that already works. Then write the guide: a one-paragraph voice summary, 3 or 4 voice traits written as "this, not that" (e.g. confident, not cocky) with an example of each, a word list of words we use and words we avoid, grammar and style rules (contractions, emojis, exclamation marks, capitalization), how the tone shifts by channel ([CHANNELS]), and 5 before-and-after rewrites of generic lines in our voice. Brands we want to sound like or not like: [REFERENCE BRANDS OR "NONE"]. Deliver it as a PDF the whole team can use, about 4 to 6 pages.
What to change
- [BRAND NAME]: e.g. "Kettle & Co".
- [WHAT YOU SELL]: e.g. "loose-leaf tea subscription".
- [WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE]: e.g. "tea lovers who want to try new teas without guessing".
- [LINKS OR ATTACHED FILES]: Your best emails, posts or product pages. Attach Word or PDF files, or paste links.
- [WEBSITE URL]: Your agent reads your main pages.
- [CHANNELS]: e.g. "website, email, Instagram, customer support".
- [REFERENCE BRANDS OR "NONE"]: e.g. "warm like Mailchimp, not as jokey as Innocent". Optional.
Example result
- What already works
- • Your best emails tell a short story about where a tea comes from before you sell it
- • Your product pages use taste words people understand, like "toasty" and "honey-like"
- • Weakest spots: support replies sound like a different, more formal company
- Voice summary
- Kettle & Co sounds like a friend who knows a lot about tea and never makes you feel silly for asking. We are curious, warm and specific. We talk about taste and moments, not about "premium quality".
- Voice traits
- • Knowledgeable, not snobby. Yes: "This one tastes like toast and honey." No: "Notes of malted cereal with a mellow finish."
- • Warm, not gushing. Yes: "We think you will like this one." No: "OMG you are going to LOVE this!!!"
- • Specific, not vague. Yes: "Picked in April in Darjeeling." No: "Sourced from the finest gardens."
- • Calm, not pushy. Yes: "Box ships Friday. Swap any tea until Wednesday." No: "Hurry, don’t miss out!"
- Word list
- • We use: brew, cup, steep, toasty, bright, smooth, garden, picked, swap
- • We avoid: premium, luxury, artisanal, curated, elevate, indulge, hurry
- Style rules
- • Contractions are fine ("you’ll", "we’re")
- • Sentence case for headings
- • One exclamation mark per email at most
- • Emojis only on Instagram, at most one per caption
- Tone by channel
- • Website: clear and calm, short paragraphs
- • Email: a bit more personal, signed by a real person
- • Instagram: playful, short, more questions
- • Support: warm and direct, solve first, then apologize once
- Before and after
- 1. "Indulge in our premium curated selection." → "Five teas we could not stop drinking this month."
- 2. "Your order has been dispatched." → "Your tea is on its way. It should arrive Thursday."
- 3. "We apologize for any inconvenience." → "Sorry about that. Here is what we have done to fix it."
- 4. "Elevate your mornings." → "A better first cup, every morning."
- 5. "Limited stock, act fast!" → "We only got 40 tins of this one."
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt, fill in your brand details and attach or link your best writing.
- Send it in todo.is. It works best with 5 to 10 real samples: emails, posts, product pages.
- Your agent studies the samples and delivers a 4 to 6 page brand voice guide as a PDF.
- Share the PDF with your team, and tell your agent "remember our brand voice" so every future draft follows it.
Tips for a better result
- Build the guide from your best real content, not from adjectives you wish were true.
- Before-and-after rewrites teach more than trait lists. Ask for more examples from your own support replies or ads.
- Include a "words we avoid" list. It is the fastest way to stop generic marketing language.
- Paste the guide into a new freelancer’s brief, or ask your agent to check any draft against it before it goes out.
brand voice guide: FAQ
- What is a brand voice guide? A brand voice guide is a short document that explains how your brand sounds in writing: its personality traits, words to use and avoid, style rules and examples. It helps everyone who writes for you sound consistent.
- What is the difference between brand voice and tone? Voice is your consistent personality. Tone is how that voice adjusts to the moment, like more playful on Instagram and more careful in a support reply.
- How long should a brand voice guide be? A practical guide is usually 2 to 10 pages. Shorter guides with good examples get used more than long ones.
- Can todo.is use my brand voice in future content? Yes. Your agent remembers your preferences, so after you share the guide it can write posts, emails and pages in that voice.
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