Insights / Branding
How to Write a Brand Voice Guide Your Whole Team Can Use
A brand voice guide keeps your website, ads, emails and team sounding like one company. A one-page format with examples, not adjectives.
By Nicole Irmo · November 14, 2026 · 3 min read
A brand voice guide describes how your company sounds in writing and speech, with enough examples that anyone on the team, or any AI tool, can write in that voice. The useful ones fit on one or two pages and show more than they tell: real before-and-after sentences beat a list of adjectives.
What to include
- Three voice traits, each with what it means and what it does not mean. "Confident, not arrogant."
- Words and phrases you use, and ones you never use.
- How the voice flexes by channel: website, social, email, proposals, support.
- Before-and-after examples for each trait.
- Grammar and style choices: contractions, numbers, capitalization, punctuation.
| Trait | We sound like | We do not sound like |
|---|---|---|
| Plain-spoken | We will call you back within the hour. | We leverage best-in-class responsiveness. |
| Warm | Thanks for trusting us with your kitchen. | Your project has been received. |
| Confident | This is the right fix, and here is why. | We might possibly suggest an option. |
| A little playful | Your gutters called. They miss you. | LOL gutters, am I right? |
Find the voice, do not invent it
Read your best customer reviews, your top salesperson’s emails and the way the founder explains the business. The voice is usually already there. The guide writes it down so it survives growth and turnover.
Make it usable
- Keep it short enough to read in five minutes.
- Put it where people write: shared drives, templates and AI prompt libraries.
- Review new team members’ first pieces against it.
- Update it when the business changes, not when someone gets bored.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between brand voice and tone?
Voice is constant: who you are. Tone changes with the situation, such as warmer in support and more direct in sales.
Can AI write in our brand voice?
It can get close when the voice guide and good examples are in the prompt. A person should still edit.
Voice guides are part of every branding engagement we run.
