How to write brand voice guidelines

Most of this guide is our view from writing for small businesses. The voice and tone distinction is quoted from the Mailchimp Content Style Guide, and the tone dimensions come from Nielsen Norman Group's article on the four dimensions of tone of voice, both checked on 13 November 2026.

Voice and tone

Voice is the personality that stays the same everywhere. Tone is how that voice adjusts to the moment and to the reader's mood. Mailchimp's style guide puts it simply: "You have the same voice all the time, but your tone changes." A plumber can sound friendly and direct on the home page and in a reply to an angry review, but the reply will be calmer and more careful.

Nielsen Norman Group describes four tone dimensions, each a spectrum: formal vs. casual, serious vs. funny, respectful vs. irreverent and matter-of-fact vs. enthusiastic. Marking where your business sits on each line is a quick way to start. Most service businesses we work with land on the casual-but-not-slangy, serious, respectful and matter-of-fact side.

Voice guidelines cover words. Logos, colours and fonts belong in your visual brand files; our guide to brand assets for websites covers those.

Three or four traits, with do and don't

Pick three or four traits that describe how you want to sound. More than four is hard to remember and starts to contradict itself. A trait only helps if it comes with an example of getting it right and getting it wrong. These are made-up examples for an imaginary heating company:

• Plain. Do: "We'll fix it, or tell you straight away if it's not worth fixing." Don't: "We deliver end-to-end heating solutions."
• Warm. Do: "No heating in January is miserable. We'll get someone out today." Don't: "Your request has been logged."
• Confident, not boastful. Do: "Our engineers are licensed and insured." Don't: "The best engineers in the country."
• Specific. Do: "We reply within one working day." Don't: "Fast, friendly service."

Every claim in a "do" example has to be true for your business. If you cannot back up a reply time or a qualification, do not write it into the guidelines, because people will copy those lines.

Humour is optional. Mailchimp's guide, written for a brand that does use humour, still warns that "forced humor can be worse than none at all". If jokes do not come naturally to the people who will write for you, leave humour out of the traits.

A word list

A short word list stops the same thing being called three names on three pages. Keep it to two columns:

• We say: the names of your services exactly as customers search for them, your business name written one way (with or without "Ltd", one capital pattern), "book a visit" or whatever your one call to action is.
• We don't say: internal jargon, vague claims ("world-class", "solutions", "leading"), and words that could upset a customer in a bad moment ("simply", "just", "obviously").

Add words to the list when you notice a mix-up, for example "quote" vs "estimate", which can mean different things to customers.

Examples by channel

The same voice, adjusted per channel. Again made-up examples for the heating company:

• Website. Clear and scannable, the voice at its most neutral. "Boiler repairs in Northtown. Call before 11am for a same-day visit." Our website copywriting basics guide covers headings, plain language and calls to action.
• Email. A little more personal; one main message per email. "Hi Jo, your boiler service is due next month. Pick a time that suits you here."
• Social media. The most relaxed tone, still the same personality. "Radiator cold at the top? That's usually trapped air. Here's how to bleed it in five minutes."
• Replies to reviews. Calm, thankful, no arguing in public. To a happy customer: "Thanks, Priya, glad the house is warm again." To an unhappy one: "Sorry we were late on Tuesday, Mark. That's not the service we aim for. I've sent you an email to put it right." Our guide to Google Business Profile reviews covers asking for and replying to reviews.

Your About us page is often where the voice shows most, because it describes the people behind the business. Write it after the guidelines, not before.

A one-page template

Copy this into a document and fill in each line. One page is enough; nobody reads a 40-page brand book before writing a social post. To put voice next to your logo, colour and type rules, see our brand style guide template.

• Who we are, in one sentence: what you do, for whom, where.
• Who we write for: the main customer and what they usually need when they contact you.
• Our voice in three or four traits: each with one "do" line and one "don't" line.
• Where we sit on the four tone dimensions: formal or casual, serious or funny, respectful or irreverent, matter-of-fact or enthusiastic.
• How tone changes: one line each for website, email, social media, review replies and complaints.
• Word list: we say / we don't say.
• House style: business name spelling, dates, phone number format, "we" or "I".
• Who signs off new copy: one name.

Attach the guidelines to every creative brief you send to a designer, writer or agency, so new work starts from the same page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between brand voice and tone?

Voice is your business's consistent personality in writing. Tone is how that voice adapts to the channel and to how the reader feels at that moment.

How long should brand voice guidelines be?

For a small business, one or two pages. Short guidelines get used; long ones get skipped.

Do small businesses need brand voice guidelines?

They help as soon as more than one person writes for the business, or when you hire a freelancer or agency. Without them, the site, emails and social posts tend to sound like different companies.

Can AI tools follow our brand voice guidelines?

You can paste the one-page template into a writing tool as instructions. Check every draft against the word list and your facts before it goes out, since the tool cannot know what is true about your business.

Want help putting your voice into a website or marketing? See our services.