“Make it professional, friendly, innovative and human.”
That instruction gives an AI four adjectives and the emotional burden of an entire brand strategy.
A better voice guide shows what your business sounds like when it is being useful. Examples beat a long list of personality traits.
Collect the sentences you would actually say
Choose five pieces of approved writing: an email explaining a delay, a service description, a useful social post, a proposal introduction and a reply to a common objection.
Remove customer details. Explain what works in each example. Perhaps the sentences are direct, the humour is dry and the recommendation is specific.
Then include two examples you dislike. Explain the problem, not just “this feels AI.” Too much throat-clearing? Unsupported certainty? A conclusion that repeats the introduction while wearing a different hat?
Write rules an editor can apply
Try these starting rules:
• Name the audience and problem before describing the solution.
• Prefer concrete nouns and verbs to promotional adjectives.
• Do not invent customer stories, credentials or results.
• Use humour sparingly, never at a customer’s expense.
• If a claim needs evidence, mark it for checking.
• End with a next step that fits the article.
These are suggested editorial rules, not a magic prompt. Adjust them to your audience.
Give the model the uncomfortable details
Good copy often depends on what you cannot promise. Include exclusions, common misunderstandings and situations where your service is not a fit.
A fractional CTO service, for example, should not imply full-time availability unless that is genuinely part of the agreement. Honest limits make the writing more credible and the sales conversation easier.
For a draft, ask the model to show which statements came from your supplied material and which are proposed wording. This makes review less like detective work.
Edit for substance before style
First check whether the draft answers the question. Then check facts, structure and tone—in that order.
A human-sounding paragraph can still say nothing. Read it aloud and ask, “What can the reader do differently after this?”
Google’s guidance warns against generating pages at scale without adding value. Your voice guide should improve usefulness, not merely disguise a production method. Google Search Central
Keep a small library of final approved examples and update it when your positioning changes. The best brand voice system is a living editing reference, not a PDF that goes into a drawer to pursue a quiet retirement.
