female entrepreneurs, young fathers, or recent
college graduates looking for a job) and answer the
following questions:
What does he or she read?
What does he or she do on the weekend?
Who are his or her friends?
Where does he or she work?
What does he or she find funny?
What does he or she find offensive?
What bores him or her?
What does he or she need to know about your
brand?
2. LIGHTNING ROUND
Six words that describe my brand are _______
,_______ ,_______ , _______ ,_______ , and _______.
I want people to feel _______ after they come into
contact with my brand.
The very first thing I want people to do after they
have contact with my brand is _______ .
I want my brand to remind people of _______.
I would never say _______.
If my brand were a song, it would be _______.
If my brand were a magazine it would be _______.
I dislike brand voices that sound like _______.
Remember... you are your brand, so your brand
will be your voice, or at the very least a specific
version of your voice. The tone can be slightly formal, extremely casual, a little dirty, or maybe a bit
sarcastic. You want your brand voice to be natural
and consistent to who you are, right now. If a reader were to meet you after reading your blog, would
they recognize you?
3. GATHER INSPIRATION
Quick - what’s your favorite brand newsletter? The
one you open right away, no matter how busy you
are. How do you feel when you read it? How does
the brand make you feel special? What is unique
about their phrasing and images? How are they
different from their competitors? Search for brands
with strong messages, even if they are in different
industries than yours. Here’s a few to start:
Domino’s Twitter
Vogue Magazine’s Instagram
Burt’s Bees Instagram
The Home Depot’s Facebook page
Although the brands above are in hugely different
industries, each has a particular voice: Domino’s
voice is that of a hungry millennial, Vogue’s voice is
of your stylish aunt, Burt’s Bees voice is the girl
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