Brand Voice & Tone Guide Template

Brand voice is one of those concepts that sounds abstract until you read two pieces of content from the same company that feel completely different — one confident and punchy, the other stiff and corporate. That inconsistency isn't just a style problem; it erodes trust. When a brand sounds different across its channels, buyers sense something is off even if they can't name it.

A brand voice guide solves this by making explicit choices that are usually left to individual writers' instincts. This template walks you through defining your voice, creating practical guidelines, and documenting enough examples that any writer — staff, freelance, or AI-assisted — can produce on-brand content.

What Brand Voice Is (And What It Isn't)

Brand voice is the consistent personality your brand expresses across all written communication. It doesn't change based on the audience or context — your voice is your voice.

Brand tone is how that voice adapts to different situations. A person with an honest, direct personality speaks differently when consoling a friend vs. celebrating a win — but they're still recognizably themselves. Same with your brand.

Your voice guide should define both: the stable personality (voice) and how it shifts across contexts (tone).

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Part 1: Voice Foundations

Before defining how you write, define who you are as a brand personality.

The Brand Personality Exercise

If your brand were a person, how would you describe them? Circle or check all that apply, then narrow to your top 5.

Intellectual qualities:

• Analytical — driven by data, precise
• Curious — always asking why, exploring ideas
• Expert — deep domain knowledge, authoritative
• Strategic — sees the big picture, connects dots
• Creative — unconventional thinker, makes unexpected connections

Social qualities:

• Warm — empathetic, genuinely caring
• Encouraging — supportive, cheerleader energy
• Direct — says what they mean without fluff
• Candid — honest even when uncomfortable
• Collaborative — partnership orientation, "we're in this together"

Energy qualities:

• Calm — measured, reassuring, never reactive
• Enthusiastic — genuinely excited about the work
• Dry — understated humor, subtle wit
• Bold — confident, provocative, willing to take positions
• Approachable — accessible, never intimidating

Your top 5 brand personality traits:

1. ---

2. ---

3. ---

4. ---

5. ---

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Brand Voice Positioning: The Two-Axis Model

For each dimension below, mark where your brand falls on the spectrum. This creates a voice fingerprint.

Formal ←————————————→ Casual

Our brand is at: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10

Notes: _______________________________________________

Serious ←————————————→ Playful

Our brand is at: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10

Notes: _______________________________________________

Conservative ←————————→ Bold/Provocative

Our brand is at: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10

Notes: _______________________________________________

Technical ←————————————→ Accessible

Our brand is at: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10

Notes: _______________________________________________

Reserved ←————————→ Enthusiastic

Our brand is at: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10

Notes: _______________________________________________

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Part 2: The Voice Guide (Four Dimensions)

For each of your core voice traits, write:

1. What it means for your brand
2. What it looks like in practice
3. Examples: on-brand vs. off-brand

Use this format for each trait:

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Voice Trait 1: [TRAIT NAME]

What this means for us:

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In practice, this means we:

• ---

• ---

• ---

✅ On-brand example:

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❌ Off-brand example:

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The difference: _______________________________________________

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Voice Trait 2: [TRAIT NAME]

What this means for us:

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In practice, this means we:

• ---

• ---

• ---

✅ On-brand example:

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❌ Off-brand example:

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The difference: _______________________________________________

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(Repeat for traits 3, 4, 5)

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Part 3: The "We Are / We Are Not" Framework

The most useful voice frameworks include explicit contrasts — not just what you are, but what you're not. This prevents drift toward the safe, generic middle.

Complete this table for your brand:

We are...	We are not...
Direct	Blunt or harsh
Confident	Arrogant
Friendly	Casual to the point of being unprofessional
Expert	Jargon-heavy or exclusionary
Honest	Negative or cynical
Playful	Silly or unserious
Empathetic	Patronizing
Bold	Sensationalist
Simple	Dumbed-down

Add your brand's specific rows above. This table becomes one of the most-referenced sections of your voice guide.

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Part 4: Tone Adaptations by Context

Your voice stays consistent; your tone adapts. Define how your voice expresses itself differently in these contexts:

Tone for Educational Content (Blog Posts, Guides, Documentation)

Tone descriptor: _______________________________________________ (e.g., "Teacher-mode: clear, patient, uses examples generously")

Specific guidelines:

• Sentence length: short / medium / long / mixed
• Use of jargon: avoid / define when used / assume familiarity
• Perspective: second person ("you") / first person plural ("we") / third person
• Examples: use frequently / use sparingly / always include
• Humor: appropriate / inappropriate / use sparingly

Example opening sentence ✅:

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Example opening sentence ❌:

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Tone for Marketing Copy (Landing Pages, Ads, Email CTAs)

Tone descriptor: _______________________________________________ (e.g., "Confident and specific — name the outcome, skip the preamble")

Specific guidelines:

• Sentence length: short / punchy / fragments acceptable
• Headlines: outcome-focused / question-based / bold claim
• CTA language: action verbs to use: ___ / avoid: ___
• Superlatives: use freely / avoid unless substantiated / never

Example headline ✅:

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Example headline ❌:

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Tone for Social Media

Tone descriptor: _______________________________________________ (e.g., "The same person, slightly more relaxed — can joke, can share opinions, can be informal")

LinkedIn:

• Formality level: more formal / same as blog / more casual
• Appropriate topics: _______________________________________________
• Appropriate humor: _______________________________________________
• Emojis: yes / no / occasionally

Twitter/X:

• Tweet style: _______________________________________________
• Threads: yes / no / occasionally
• Engagement style: _______________________________________________

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Tone for Customer Support and Error Messages

Tone descriptor: _______________________________________________ (e.g., "Calm, human, never defensive — the product failed them, acknowledge it first")

Specific guidelines:

• When something goes wrong, we say: _______________________________________________
• We never say: _______________________________________________
• Empathy before explanation: always / when relevant
• Apologize: yes, specifically / no, instead fix-forward
• Escalation language: _______________________________________________

Error message example ✅:

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Error message example ❌:

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Tone for Internal Communication (Job Listings, Team Documents)

Tone descriptor: _______________________________________________

Job listing voice guidelines:

• ---

• ---

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Part 5: Grammar, Mechanics, and Style Choices

These are the small decisions that create consistency. Choose once, then apply everywhere.

Spelling and Capitalization

• Product name formatting: _______________________________________________ (e.g., "Averi" always capitalized, never "AVERI" or "averi")
• Feature names: capitalize / lowercase (e.g., "Brand Core" or "brand core"?)
• Titles and headers: Title Case / Sentence case
• Oxford comma: yes / no

Numbers and Data

• Spell out numbers under: 10 / 11 / other: ___
• Percentages: 15% / 15 percent
• Large numbers: $1M / $1,000,000 / $1 million
• Statistics: always cite source / cite when available / no citation required

Punctuation Preferences

• Em dashes: use liberally / sparingly / avoid (Decide between: "Our platform — built for startups — does X" vs. "Our platform, built for startups, does X")
• Exclamation points: appropriate in social / avoid everywhere / use very sparingly
• Ellipses: for effect / avoid
• Bold: for key terms / for CTAs / use sparingly

Words We Use / Words We Don't

Use these words:

• ---

• ---

• ---

Avoid these words (and preferred alternatives):

Avoid	Use instead
"Utilize"	"Use"
"Leverage"	"Use" or be specific
"Synergy"	Be specific about what you mean
"Solutions"	Name the specific thing
"Best-in-class"	Specific differentiator
"Revolutionary"	Specific claim or avoid
"Seamless"	Describe what's actually easy

(Add your brand-specific avoid/replace pairs)

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Part 6: The Voice Test

Before publishing any piece of content, writers should run it through these questions:

1. The stranger test: If you stripped our logo off this content, could a reader identify it as ours? If not, it's not on-brand yet.

2. The person test: Does this sound like a human being wrote it, or like a company trying to sound like a human being? If the latter, revise.

3. The trait check: Does this piece reflect our 5 voice traits? Read it against each one.

4. The "we're not" check: Does it avoid the things in our "we are not" column? (Specifically: does it avoid [your brand's most common off-brand tendencies]?)

5. The context check: Is the tone appropriate for this specific channel and situation?

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Part 7: Sample Content (Building the Reference Library)

The most practical section of a voice guide is examples. Collect real approved content that exemplifies your brand voice perfectly.

Headline Examples (On-Brand)

1. ---

2. ---

3. ---

4. ---

5. ---

Paragraph Examples (On-Brand)

Example 1 — Educational content opening:

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Example 2 — Product description:

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Example 3 — Email subject line + preview text:

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Example 4 — Social post:

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Before/After Rewrites

Show the same idea written off-brand and then on-brand. This is invaluable for onboarding writers.

Topic: _______________________________________________

Before (off-brand):

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After (on-brand):

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What changed: _______________________________________________

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Further Reading

• craft your brand positioning
• building a memorable brand with AI without losing the human touch
• why your brand voice might sound like everyone else's (and how to fix it)
• Averi's Strategy Map to align your brand voice with every content initiative

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a brand voice guide be?

Long enough to be useful, short enough to actually be read. 8-15 pages covers most brand voice needs. Anything over 20 pages becomes shelfware. The most-used sections are the "we are/we are not" table, the avoid/replace word list, and the before/after examples. These three sections should be on every writer's desk.

Who should create the brand voice guide?

Ideally a cross-functional group: the founder or CEO (who knows the brand's soul), a content/marketing lead (who will apply the guide daily), and a customer success person (who knows how customers actually describe the product). Avoid creating it in isolation — the more perspectives, the more useful and accurate the guide.

How do you maintain voice consistency with multiple writers or AI tools?

Include the voice guide in every writing brief. When using AI tools like Averi, load your brand voice parameters into your Brand Core settings so every piece of AI-generated content reflects your voice from the start. For human writers, quarterly voice calibration sessions (reviewing recent content against the guide together) prevent drift.

How often should the voice guide be updated?

Review it annually, update it when the brand undergoes significant positioning changes (new target market, rebrand, acquisition). Voice guides don't need frequent updates — the traits should be stable. What changes more often are the example content pieces, which should be refreshed with recent approved content quarterly.

What's the most common brand voice mistake startups make?

Writing to sound professional rather than to sound authentic. Early-stage startups often adopt corporate-sounding language because they think it signals legitimacy. It doesn't — it signals they're trying to sound bigger than they are. Buyers respond to honesty and specificity. The startups with the strongest voices (Slack, Basecamp, Notion, Linear) all sound like people, not press releases.