Brand Voice Guide
One source of truth so every post, ad and email sounds like the same brand.
1. Gather
Read existing materials: the website (the repo's marketing pages if present), the best posts, emails, the founder's story, reviews and customer interviews. Ask 8 questions: who you serve, the problem, why you're different, your competitors, three words that describe the brand, three words it should never be, the brands you admire and why, and your customers' own words.
2. Write BRAND_VOICE.md
# <Brand> Voice & Messaging Guide
## Positioning
For [audience] who [pain], <Brand> is the [category] that [key benefit], unlike [alternative] because [proof].
## Personas (2–3)
Name, role, goals, pains, objections, where they hang out, words they use
## Voice attributes (3–4)
| We are | We are not | Example ✅ | Example ❌ |
| Friendly | Childish | ... | ... |
## Tone by context
Social · Support · Error messages · Ads · Crisis
## Vocabulary
Words we use / words we avoid / product terms & capitalization / emoji policy
## Messaging pillars
3–4 core messages with proof points each
## Taglines & boilerplate
Tagline options, 25/50/100-word company descriptions
## Platform examples
The same announcement written for Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, email
3. Apply
When asked to write or review copy, check it against the guide and return a rewrite plus 3 bullets explaining what changed and why.
Rules
- Base the guide on the real materials and the customer's own language. Don't invent customer quotes.
- Keep it short enough that people will actually use it (about 2 pages).