Everybody Writes, 2nd Edition

47What's Brand Voice?

“Back up,” you're thinking. “What's ‘brand voice'? And what's ‘tone of voice'? That thing I studied in Humanities?”

Yes. And also no. In literature, the voice expresses a narrator's or an author's attitude and point of view through their word choice, style, and more.

In business, tone of voice is how we speak to one another. It's how our writing or copy sounds in a reader's head.

And it's a powerful signal, especially in a world of content overload.

Let's say that you walk into my Wormwood Shoppe. I welcome you in: Good day to you there, fine buyer of goods!

Immediately you'll start to form an opinion about who I am—my likability, character, trustworthiness.

You'll take in my body language. The expression on my face. My clothes. The way I speak and its cadence: Am I rushed or perturbed? Warm or friendly? You'll hear not just what I said … but how I said it.

You'll take in all that … without really thinking about it.

Now let's say that you don't visit a physical store. Instead, you fill your potion prescription online, at something like YourWormwoodShoppe.com. How will you assess my character and trustworthiness then?

Through the design, yes. Through the usability. But also through the voice I use in my text and other content.

Tone of voice is how your marketing channels and assets “talk” to a customer online.

It's how we shape the relationship across all our marketing and communications—website, blogs posts, emails, scripts, social channels, press releases, ...