Streamlining Your Comms Part 1: Defining Your Tone of Voice

Context

As a web developer, I've been astounded by how much time content creation consumes. When content support is required on a project, it quickly becomes the most time-consuming task.

One of the key reasons it is so time consuming, is branding. If you’re trying to cultivate a premium positioning, you can’t just throw around words like ‘affordable’ or ‘cost effective’. As the old saying goes, if you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to nobody (or something along those lines). The formal tools marketing uses to ensure we're using consistent grammar and verbiage are Tone of Voice (TOV) Guidelines.

However, in the pre-AI era, TOV guidelines were largely ignored by anyone outside the marketing and PR bubble. In my experience, most other departments don't take TOV guidelines too seriously, as they’re remarkably difficult and impractical to follow. If something needs to be drafted, it usually just gets drafted in the way it gets drafted: before being shipped off to marketing to align it with the TOV and signoff.

AI has changed all of that.

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Enter the AI/ML Era

The use cases for having robust TOV guidelines have grown one-hundred-fold since the emergence of machine learning tools such as GPTs. Now, in a fraction of the time and cost, you can generate consistent, engaging and personalised copy with less errors and eliminate unnecessary QA checkpoints.

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Some Key Use Cases for a Tone of Voice GPT (TOV GPT)

1. Cut Content Creation time & Budget by over 95%. A TOV GPT can rapidly generate blogs, social media posts, email campaigns, and more, maintaining quality while reducing time and labour costs.‍
2. Automate Content QA entirely (see video below). With a GPT, anyone in your team can instantly vet the quality of content with a high degree of confidence in its alignment to your branding.‍
3. Boost Personalisation and Customer Engagement. A TOV GPT can help you rapidly generate personalised marketing messages, emails, and product recommendations, increasing customer engagement and driving sales.‍
4. Streamline Sales Outreach. A TOV GPT can streamline or entirely automate personalised sales emails, follow-up messages, and initial contacts, freeing up sales staff to focus on closing deals.‍
5. Rapidly streamline customer Support. A TOV GPT can be leveraged to automate responses to common customer questions, handle complaints, and process returns, significantly reducing the need for a large support staff.‍
6. Error Reduction and Consistency in Messaging. A TOV GPT ensures that all external communications adhere to your tone and guidelines, reducing errors and maintaining consistency.

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Over the next two articles, I’ll guide you through the steps of building a TOV GPT for your business.

1. In this article, we'll define your tone of voice guidelines.
2. In the next article will cover the steps to train your GPT.

Some Examples of What We'll be Building

1. A Content Audit / Quality Assurance (QA) Tool

Use Case: If you've drafted content for a particular reason, need to quickly check if it's aligned with your branding, and if not, quickly update it so that it is.

2. A Content Generation/Refinement Tool

Instantly generate content - aligned to your tone of voice - for any use case.

This is a Guide, Not an Article. Here's How to Use It.

1. Clone the Free TOV Template: I’ve created a clonable draft on Google Docs you can save and use here. I’ve intentionally left it blank / bare bones so that you can later customise it to your own branding. Don’t worry about that for now though, today, let’s just focus on the copy.
2. Using the same template, I've created TOV guidelines for a completely fictional, made up business called Trailthreads Socks Co (TSC): a premium outdoor adventure sock company. Open TSC's TOV Guidelines up here and use these as a reference to populate your own TOV guidelines.
3. If you get stuck, or you need more info, come back to this article.

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Hot Tips To Save You Time

1. ‍Use ChatGPT to help rapidly populate your guidelines. A helpful mental model is that ChatGPT’s output gets you 80% of the way there instantly. Just be sure you’re carrying out Quality Assurance (QA) and manually reviewing everything before we start training your GPT model, or it may come back to bite you later on.
2. Moving forward, view your TOV Guidelines as a living document and invite your team to contribute to it (i.e. via Google Sheets / MS Sharepoint) on an ongoing basis. While you may be able to poopulate a LOT of guidelines today, please be aware that they'll likely never be truly ‘finished’.

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Assumptions

1. You don’t already have TOV guidelines.
   1. If you do, you may be able to just jump ahead to the next article.
   2. It might be worth just washing your guidelines against the fields/criteria laid out in the base template, and making sure you have populated sufficient EXAMPLES of good/bad copy as per section 8.
   3. Examples are arguably the most important training data you have to properly train your GPT.
2. You pay for ChatGPT Plus (US$20/month).
   1. You’ll need this for Part 2 when we start building the GPT.
   2. If you don’t, just subscribe now. Bite the bullet. I promise you, the amount of time, energy and friction it is about to save you will be such that you’ll never think twice again about it.

1. Define your Audience Segment Profiles

Let’s kick things off by defining the key audiences you’re trying to reach. This clarity helps you tailor your communications effectively, ensuring they resonate and engage your audience.

✅ How To Define Your Audience Segment Profiles

Here’s a straightforward template to help create your audience profile: {Persona Name}

• Demographic: Age, sex, location, education level, occupation, income level
• Psychographic: Interests, values, attitudes, lifestyle choices, behaviour
• Additional Elements: Media consumption habits, preferred communication channels, challenges and pain points

🧦 Example: Weekend Warrior Paula

• Demographic: Age 30-45, female, urban resident, university educated, professional (e.g., finance, tech), earns a mid to high income
• Psychographic: Values efficiency and professionalism, keen on sustainability, aims for career advancement and personal development, enjoys a busy yet organised lifestyle
• Additional Elements: Often on social media and professional networks, prefers email and online communications for business, seeks balance between work and personal life

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Note: Again, this is a basic template. If you haven’t already defined your key audience segments, get cracking. There are a tonne of fantastic resources available online to help you get started with this. I particularly like the templates below from Growmodo.

2. Summarise Your Brand Values and Mission Statement

Incorporating your brand values and mission statement into your TOV guidelines ensures that all comms will reflect your core principles and overarching business goals.

✅ How to Leverage Your Mission Statement and Values

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2.1 Transcribe Your Brand Values and Mission Statement

‍First, clearly define your mission statement and core values in your TOV guidelines. These should represent what you stand for and your main objectives.

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2.2 Link Values to Voice

‍Describe with examples how each value can translate to content. For instance, a value like ‘transparency’ might translate to to a direct and straightforward communication style and frequent reporting of performance metrics.

🧦 Example: Trailthreads Socks Co.

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Brand Values and Mission:

• ‍Mission Statement:"To inspire and equip outdoor enthusiasts with eco-friendly socks that support adventures and promote environmental stewardship."‍
• Brand Values:
  • Sustainability
  • Adventure
  • Community
  • Quality
  • Innovation

Application in Tone of Voice:

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3. Define your Personality

Brand personality traits are distinct from the core values listed in part 2. Think of these as the ‘human characteristics’ of your brand, much like a person's character traits.

Your personality is crucial because it helps people connect with your brand on an emotional level. It impacts how consumers see your brand and shapes their loyalty towards you.

✅ How To Define Your Personality

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3.1 Refresh Key Context

‍First, refresh your brands core values as defined in part 2. You will also want to think about your key target segments, and the types of characters they are likely to gravitate towards / venerate (i.e. In the case of Trailthreads Socks Co, this might be Bear Grylls).

3.2 Determine Traits:

Then, brainstorm and select roughly five core character traits that (i) reflect your core values and are likely to (ii) resonate with your target audience.

🧦 Example: Trailthreads Socks Co.

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Personality Name: The Eco Explorer

Personality Traits:

• Adventurous: Our brand embodies the spirit of adventure, appealing to those who love exploring new territories and activities.
• Reliable: Known for dependable products that withstand diverse environmental conditions, our brand builds trust with outdoor enthusiasts
• Inspirational: We motivate others to appreciate and engage with the natural world in a respectful and sustainable way.
• Social Extrovert: We thrive on fostering connections and energising social interactions, appealing to those who enjoy vibrant community engagement.

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4. Define Your Voice

Consider two doctors - Doctor Hay and Doctor Bee. Both have nearly identical personality traits: careful, knowledgable and trustworthy. However:

• Doctor Hay’s Voice uses a formal, detailed, and authoritative tone. "Your test results indicate a need for further examination. Please schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience."
• Doctor Bee’s Voice adopts a friendly, conversational, and reassuring tone. "Hey John! I’ve gone over your tests, and just to be safe, I think we should take a closer look. Let’s tee up a time to go over everything together."

Brand voice is the consistent way your brand communicates its personality to the audience through words, tone, and style. It makes your brand stand out through unique language and rhythm in both writing and speaking.

✅ How to Define Your Voice

1. Review Brand Personality and Audience: As before, keep your brand's personality traits and your key target audience’s preferences, expectations, and language at the forefront of this exercise.
2. Brainstorm Voice Attributes: Establish specific characteristics for your voice that reflect your brand’s personality. For example, a youthful and energetic brand might adopt a vibrant, upbeat, and informal voice.
   1. HOT TIP: Feed several articles you've already published into ChatGPT and ask it to "extract a list of 30 descriptors you might use to describe the voice of the author".
3. Define Top Voice Attributes: Choose the top five attributes for your voice. For each attribute, provide examples of how it might appear in your communications.

🧦 Example: Trailthreads Socks Co.

1. Engaging and Dynamic:

• We use an engaging and dynamic tone, especially when talking about adventures and new products. This tone energises our communication, appealing to our adventurous customer base.
• Example: "Gear up with our latest range of trail-ready socks! Designed to take you from hidden groves to mountain peaks, they’re your perfect adventure partners."

2. Supportive and Educational:

• Reflecting our commitment to sustainability, our tone is not only informative but also supportive, guiding customers on how to make eco-friendly choices.
• Example: "Every pair you purchase helps us support reforestation efforts. Learn more about how your choices make a difference!"

3. Trustworthy and Reliable:

• With a focus on reliability, our tone is straightforward and confident, reassuring customers about the quality and durability of our products.
• Example: "Built to last, our socks are tested in the toughest terrains to ensure they’ve got your back, no matter where your feet take you."

4. Inspirational and Uplifting:

• We strive to inspire our community with stories of adventure and environmental stewardship, using a tone that’s both aspirational and grounded.
• Example: "Join us in making a real impact. Together, we can tread lightly on our planet while exploring its vast wonders."

5. Community-Oriented and Inclusive:

• Our tone is friendly and inclusive, emphasising the creation of a community of like-minded enthusiasts who share a passion for the outdoors and sustainability.
• Example: "Be part of our Trailthreads Tribe. Connect, share, and be inspired as we journey towards a more sustainable future together."

💡 Useful ‘Sliders’ to help you brainstorm your brand voice

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5. Start Defining Your Writing Style Guidelines

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Writing style guidelines are essential for ensuring your brand communicates consistently and effectively across all written materials. These guidelines cover grammar, punctuation, syntax, and formatting, helping to maintain your brand's distinctive voice and ensuring your content is recognisable and trusted by your audience.

Pro Tip 1: Maintain these guidelines as a living document that you can update and refine over time.

Pro Tip 2: Use AI tools like ChatGPT/Gemini/Groq to quickly populate and adjust these guidelines; otherwise, the process can be extensively time-consuming.

Pro Tip 3: Get yourself a copy of William Strunk's 'The Elements of Style'. It's a timeless introduction to this world.

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✅ How To Define Your Writing Style Guidelines

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5.1 Choose Grammar and Punctuation Rules:

‍Set specific rules for grammar and punctuation, such as whether to use Oxford commas, how to handle capitalisation, and more.

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5.2 Determine Syntax Preferences:

‍Establish your preferred sentence structure. You might opt for short, simple sentences to enhance clarity and improve readability, especially since shorter sentences generally perform better in search rankings and are easier for a broader audience to understand.

• Recommendation: Aim for sentences under 20 words, as they are typically more readable and favorably indexed by search engines.
• Recommendation: Ensure your content reaches a Flesch-Kincaid readability score of around 8 or 9, suitable for readers aged 13 to 15 years.

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5.3 Decide on Voice Activeness/Passiveness:

Specify whether to primarily use active voice (e.g., ‘Trailthreads creates eco friendly socks’) or passive voice (e.g., Eco-friendly socks are created by Trailthreads).

Recommendation: An ‘active voice’ is generally preferred for clarity and dynamism by readers and by extension, search engines.

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5.4 Specify Formatting Standards:

Define clear standards for headings, bullet points, paragraph spacing, and other formatting elements to ensure all documents and online content appear uniform.

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5.5 Address Language and Spelling Conventions:

Determine the specific spelling conventions to use, such as American, British, or Australian English, to ensure consistency in spelling throughout all your communications.

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🧦 Example: Trailthreads Socks Co.

1. Grammar and Punctuation:
   1. Use Oxford commas for clarity in lists
   2. Capitalise all major words in titles
   3. Employ semicolons sparingly for compound sentences
2. Syntax:
   1. Favor short and direct sentences to enhance readability and engagement.
   2. Break down complex information into bulleted lists when appropriate.
   3. Copy should all achieve a Flesch-Kincaid readability score of 8 and no higher
3. Voice:
   1. Always use active voice to create a more engaging and lively text, avoiding passive constructions unless necessary for formal or technical reasons.
4. Formatting:
   1. Use consistent heading styles in all marketing materials (H1 for titles, H2 for main headings, H3 for subheadings).
   2. Maintain a single-line spacing in paragraphs with one-inch margins for documents.
5. Language and Spelling:
   1. Adhere to Australian English spelling conventions (e.g., "colour" not "color," "realise" not "realise") to reflect the brand's Australian roots and audience. Equally, use Australian words (i.e. 'biscuit' instead of 'cookie')

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6. Drafting your Vocabulary Guidelines

Vocabulary guidelines define the specific words and phrases your brand chooses to use or avoid in communications. This includes industry-specific terminology, colloquialisms, slang, and jargon, ensuring consistency, enhancing brand identity, and maintaining clarity and appropriateness in all communications.

✅ How To Define Your Writing Style Guidelines

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Preparation: Channel Your Key Segment Profiles and Brand Values:

‍As before, begin by refreshing your understanding of your target audience's preferences and your brand's core values. This will guide the selection of appropriate language.

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6.1 List Preferred Terms and Keywords:

• Create a list of words and phrases that resonate with your target customers and should be used consistently to reinforce your brand’s identity. This might include positive descriptors, technical terms, or phrases that echo your brand’s ethos. (i.e. affordable, luxury)
• Recommendation: Include keywords that you aim to rank for in search engines as part of your list, integrating SEO strategically into your brand communications.
• Describe why this term/keyword is preferred so that your team can align/review as needed.

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6.2 Specify Terms and Keywords to Avoid:

• Identify words and phrases that don’t align with your brand’s image or could be misinterpreted, outdated, or offensive.  (i.e. cheap, exclusive)
• Avoid overly complex jargon that could alienate your audience.
• Describe why each term/keyword should be avoided so that your team can align/review as needed.

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6.3 Provide Context and Usage Examples:

For both preferred and avoided terms, offer examples showing how to correctly use or avoid these terms in actual communications. This step helps clarify your guidelines and ensures they are applied correctly across all brand messaging.

🧦 Example: Trailthreads Socks Co.

Preferred Terms:

• Eco-friendly: Emphasises our commitment to sustainability.
• Durable: Highlights the quality and longevity of our socks.
• Adventure-ready: Aligns with our focus on outdoor activities.
• Comfort-fit: Describes our product’s design and user experience.

Terms to Avoid:

• Cheap: May imply low quality, which contradicts our emphasis on durability.
• Synthetic: Could connote non-environmental friendliness, which conflicts with our eco-friendly values.
• Gear: Too generic; we prefer more specific terms like "apparel" or "socks" that directly relate to our product.

Usage Example:

• Do Use: "Check out our latest line of adventure-ready, eco-friendly socks designed for durability and a comfort-fit."
• Don't Use: "Buy our cheap gear that’s perfect for your next trip!"

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8. Communication Medium/Channel Guidelines

Communication channels are the various mediums through which your brand communicates with its audience, such as social media, email, blogs, or formal reports. It's crucial to adapt the tone and style of your brand's voice to fit the norms and expectations of each specific platform while maintaining your brand's core identity.

✅ How to define communication channel guidelines

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7.1 Identify Key Channels

List all the main communication platforms your brand uses. This could include social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, email newsletters, corporate blogs, and formal documentation.

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7.2 Define Platform Norms & How to adapt voice accordingly

• Research and understand the typical communication styles and audience expectations for each channel. Social media might allow for more casual and engaging content, while formal reports would require a more structured and professional tone.
• Adjust Tone Appropriately: Outline how your brand's tone should shift to suit each channel. Specify any necessary changes in language, formality, and engagement strategies to ensure consistency with your brand personality.
• Some suggested fields to consider: Tone, Content Style, Engagement Strategy, Visuals, Audience Expectations.

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7.3 Provide Specific Examples

Offer clear examples of how tone adjustments should look for each channel. This guidance will assist content creators in applying these adjustments effectively in their communications.

🧦 Example: Trailthreads Socks Co.

1. Social Media (Instagram, Twitter):
   1. Tone: Casual and friendly
   2. Content: Engaging, visual, with frequent calls to action. Use of emojis to lighten the tone and direct questions to encourage interaction.
   3. Example: "Who’s ready for a weekend adventure? 🌲🥾 Show us where you’re taking your Trailthreads this weekend! #AdventureReady"
2. Email Newsletters:
   1. Tone: Informative yet personable
   2. Content: Updates on new products, sustainability initiatives, and exclusive offers. Clear and concise language with a personal touch to foster customer loyalty.
   3. Example: "Hi there, adventure seekers! We’re excited to share our latest eco-friendly socks, crafted to keep your feet comfy on any trail. Grab yours with a special 20% off just for our subscribers."
3. Formal Reports (Annual Reports, Sustainability Reports):
   1. Tone: Professional and authoritative
   2. Content: Detailed and data-driven, focusing on achievements and future goals with a formal structure.
   3. Example: "In the past year, Trailthreads Socks Co. successfully reduced its carbon footprint by 15%, reaffirming our commitment to sustainability. Our goals for the coming year include..."

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8. Build a list of Examples (Dos and Dont’s)

Providing practical illustrations is crucial in demonstrating how your brand's voice should be consistently applied across all communications. This section involves giving clear examples of what to do and what to avoid, making it one of the most effective ways to align your communication efforts with your brand voice.

✅ How to Create Your Examples

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8.1 Select Scenarios

Identify common communication scenarios that are relevant to your brand, such as customer service responses, social media posts, or marketing emails.

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8.2 Draft Examples for Each Scenario

1. Do Examples:Create examples that embody your brand’s voice, showcasing how to effectively communicate in line with your tone.
2. Don't Examples:Provide examples that illustrate common errors or tones that deviate from your desired brand voice, which should be avoided.
3. Explain the Differences:Detail why each 'do' example successfully represents your brand voice and why each 'don't' example falls short.

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💡 Sample ‘Scenarios’ to consider:

1. Customer Support Inquiry: Answering general questions about products or services.
2. Complaint Resolution: Addressing customer complaints or negative feedback.
3. Product Announcements: Launching new products or services.
4. Order Confirmations: Communicating post-purchase details to customers.
5. Shipping Updates: Updating customers on order status, including delays.
6. Request for Reviews or Feedback: Seeking customer feedback post-purchase.
7. Handling Returns or Refunds: Assisting customers with returns or refunds.
8. Sales Promotions and Discounts: Announcing promotions or discounts.
9. Holiday or Seasonal Messages: Sending themed messages during special times.
10. Guidance or Educational Content: Providing how-to's or educational insights related to products.
11. Social Media Interactions: Engaging with followers on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.
    • Twitter Post: Engaging followers, sharing brand messages, or responding to trends.
    • LinkedIn Post: Posting professional insights, updates, or industry news.
12. Crisis Communication: Managing communication during crises affecting customers or business.
13. Invitations to Events or Webinars: Inviting participation in events or webinars.
14. Thank You Messages: Showing appreciation to customers, partners, or stakeholders.
15. Re-engagement Campaigns: Reaching out to inactive customers.

🧦 Example: Trailthreads Socks Co.

Scenario: Responding to a customer complaint about a delayed shipment.

• Dos & Dont’s
  • Do: "We're really sorry to hear about your wait, Jane! We understand how important it is to have your gear when you need it. We're looking into this right away and will keep you updated on the progress. Thanks for your patience!"
  • Don't: "Your package is delayed. We are checking on it."
• Explanation:
  • Do: The response is empathetic, personal, and assures the customer that action is being taken, reflecting Trailthreads' reliable and community-focused tone.
  • Don't: This response is too brief, lacks empathy, and fails to communicate ongoing support or provide reassurance, missing the mark on Trailthreads' commitment to customer care and community.

With your tone of voice defined, you’re on the right track. Next up, we’ll explore how to train your GPT.

See you in Part 2!