How to Create Brand Voice Guidelines That People Actually Follow | BrandScout

Why 90% of Brand Voice Documents Fail

Every agency creates them. Every client approves them. Almost nobody uses them. Brand voice guidelines fail because they're aspirational instead of practical. "We're innovative, authentic, and customer-focused" describes every company and helps no writer make a single concrete decision.

Effective brand voice guidelines answer one question: "Would my brand say it this way, or that way?" If your document can't resolve that in under 10 seconds, it's decoration.

The Four-Dimensional Voice Model

Dimension 1: Formality

Where do you sit on the scale from legal brief to text message?

• 1 (Very Formal): "We are pleased to announce the availability of our new service offering."
• 5 (Neutral): "Our new service is now available."
• 10 (Very Casual): "It's here! The thing you've been asking for. Go try it."

Pick a number. Not a range—a number. Mailchimp is a 7. IBM is a 2. Wendy's Twitter is a 9.

Dimension 2: Enthusiasm

• Low (Understated): "This feature saves time." — Stripe, Basecamp
• Medium (Confident): "This feature will transform your workflow." — HubSpot, Shopify
• High (Emphatic): "This feature is an absolute GAME-CHANGER! 🚀" — Most DTC brands

Dimension 3: Complexity

Use the Flesch-Kincaid grade level as a concrete metric:

• Grade 6-8: Consumer brands, mass market
• Grade 9-12: Professional services, B2B
• Grade 13+: Technical, academic, specialized

Most successful brands target grade 7-8 regardless of audience sophistication.

Dimension 4: Personality

Limited to exactly 3, each with a "this, not that" clarification:

• "Witty, not snarky" — we use humor, but never at anyone's expense
• "Direct, not blunt" — we get to the point, but we're not harsh
• "Expert, not academic" — we know our stuff, but we explain it simply

Building the Do/Don't Reference

Email Subject Lines

• ✅ Do: "Your March report is ready (3 wins inside)"
• ❌ Don't: "Monthly Performance Analytics Report — March 2026"
• ❌ Don't: "OMG you NEED to see these results!! 🔥🔥"

Error Messages

• ✅ Do: "That page doesn't exist. Try searching or head back to the homepage."
• ❌ Don't: "Error 404: The requested resource could not be located."
• ❌ Don't: "Oopsie! Looks like this page went on vacation! 🏖️"

Voice Across Channels

Your voice stays consistent but your tone shifts by context:

• Website copy: "Meeting a potential client" tone—polished, professional, warm
• Blog posts: "Giving a conference talk" tone—informative, engaging, expert
• Social media: "Talking to a colleague" tone—relaxed, quick, personality-forward
• Customer support: "Helping a friend" tone—empathetic, clear, solution-focused

This matters even for physical and digital touchpoints. If you're a restaurant, your digital menu voice should match your website and in-store signage.

Making It Work for AI Content

With 62% of businesses now using AI for content (Semrush, 2025), your voice guidelines need to work as AI prompts. Translate your four dimensions into a system prompt:

"Write as [Brand Name]. Formality: 7/10. Enthusiasm: medium. Reading level: grade 8. Personality: witty not snarky, direct not blunt, expert not academic. Never use exclamation marks in headlines. Use 'you' more than 'we.'"

Understanding how search engines evaluate content quality—including voice consistency—is something a thorough content and SEO audit can help quantify.

The Word Bank

Words We Use

Your brand's preferred vocabulary. "Build" instead of "construct." "Help" instead of "facilitate." "Smart" instead of "intelligent."

Words We Avoid

Industry jargon, corporate speak: "Synergy," "leverage" (as a verb), "cutting-edge," "best-in-class." Every banned word should have a preferred alternative.

Words We Own

Proprietary terms and coined phrases. Salesforce has "Trailblazers." HubSpot has "Inbound." What's your equivalent?

Measuring Voice Consistency

1. Pull 10 random pieces of content from different channels
2. Have 3 team members independently score each on your four dimensions
3. Calculate the standard deviation—high deviation means inconsistency
4. Identify which channels deviate most
5. Update guidelines based on findings

One-Page Quick Reference

Create a one-page version that answers:

• If our brand were a person, they'd be: [specific archetype]
• We sound like: [specific existing brand closest to ours]
• We never sound like: [specific brand furthest from ours]
• In one sentence: [your voice in a single sentence]

Tape this to the wall. Make it the first thing any new writer sees. Create voice guidelines that answer real questions, and people will actually use them.