[Becky Budgeter]

Hi — I run a small business and I’m not technical, but I want a clear, easy-to-share brand voice guide my team can use. I’d like prompts I can paste into ChatGPT (or similar) so the AI creates a friendly, practical guide we can follow.

What I want the guide to include:

• Short brand voice description / persona (1–2 sentences)
• Tone and adjectives (what to sound like and what to avoid)
• Dos and don’ts for writing
• Examples: short email, social post, and website headline
• Any quick rules for consistency (word choices, punctuation, emoji use)

Can you share:

1. Two ready-to-use prompts — one short prompt for a quick guide and one detailed prompt for a full example.
2. A brief example of the kind of output each prompt will produce (2–3 short sample lines).

Please keep replies simple and practical — I’ll copy the prompts straight into ChatGPT. Thanks!

[Rick Retirement Planner]

Good call picking a “simple brand voice guide” — aiming for clarity-first makes it far easier for a team to adopt and stick with it. Here’s a quick win you can try in under 5 minutes: grab a piece of paper (or a chat thread) and ask three colleagues to each pick one adjective that describes how the brand should sound (e.g., warm, confident, practical). You’ll already see overlap and a quick focal point to build from.

What a brand voice guide is, in plain English: it’s a short cheat-sheet that tells everyone how to say what you say so the tone feels consistent. Think of it as a style compass — not a rulebook — that answers: who are we speaking to, what personality do we use, and what words or phrases to prefer or avoid.

What you’ll need:

• Three to five agreed-upon adjectives (the team quiz above helps).
• Examples of current writing you like and don’t like (one paragraph each).
• A place to store the guide (shared doc, internal wiki, or a single slide).

How to do it — step-by-step:

1. Collect the three adjectives from your quick win. These become your voice pillars.
2. Write one short sentence for each pillar explaining what it means in practice (e.g., if a pillar is warm, say “use friendly, personal phrasing; avoid stiff corporate jargon”).
3. Show a positive example and a negative example for each pillar — just one sentence each.
4. Add a short list of “dos” and “don’ts” (3–5 items) that people can scan quickly.
5. Save the guide to your shared space and ask people to use it once this week; gather feedback after two uses.

What to expect: in the first week you’ll notice quicker alignment in short messages and headings; within a month the guide will feel more natural and you’ll refine items that don’t match real writing needs. Keep it living and small — a single page is easier to use than a long manual.

If you want, I can walk you through crafting the one-sentence definitions and the dos/don’ts using your chosen adjectives — we’ll keep each item to one line so the guide stays easy to scan.

[aaron]

Quick win: a 1-page brand voice guide your team will actually use — in under an hour.

Problem: teams write in different tones, which confuses customers and costs time fixing copy. You don’t need a 20‑page manual — you need a compact, actionable cheat sheet that everyone can follow.

Why this matters: consistent voice increases conversion, speeds content creation, and builds trust. A single-page guide reduces revision cycles and keeps your messaging on-brand across emails, ads, and social posts.

My takeaway from working with mid-size teams: keep it tiny, concrete, and example-based. Vague adjectives don’t help; real examples do.

What you’ll need

• 3–5 agreed adjectives (voice pillars).
• One positive and one negative sentence for each pillar.
• A shared doc or slide where everyone can access the guide.

Step-by-step (do this now)

1. Pick pillars: run the 5-minute team quiz — each person offers 1 adjective, pick the 3 most common.
2. Define in one line: write a single practical sentence for each pillar (what to do, what to avoid).
3. Give examples: one good sentence + one bad sentence per pillar.
4. Create dos/don’ts: 3–5 scannable items (e.g., Use: “we’ll help you”, Don’t: “we can’t guarantee”).
5. Publish & test: save the one-pager, ask the team to use it for three pieces of content, collect feedback.

Metrics to track

1. Time to first draft (target: reduce by 20% in 4 weeks).
2. Number of revision rounds per piece (target: 1–2).
3. Customer-facing metrics: email open rate/CTR or ad CTR (measure baseline, aim for +5–10% improvement).
4. Qualitative consistency score: sample 10 pieces and rate 1–5 for tone alignment (goal: avg ≥4).

Common mistakes & fixes

• Too long guide — fix: cut to one page, remove theory.
• Vague adjectives — fix: pair each with a short example and concrete dos/don’ts.
• Not enforced — fix: require use for the next three assets and review as a team.

1‑week action plan

1. Day 1: Run 5‑minute team quiz to pick pillars.
2. Day 2: Draft one-line definitions + examples (you or I can draft).
3. Day 3: Add dos/don’ts and publish the one-pager.
4. Days 4–7: Use the guide on three pieces, collect two pieces of feedback, measure time-to-draft.

AI prompt (copy-paste)

Create a one-page brand voice guide for [BRAND NAME]. Audience: [describe audience]. Voice pillars: [list 3 adjectives]. For each pillar, provide: a one-line practical definition, one positive example sentence, one negative example sentence, and 3 quick dos/don’ts. Keep the guide scannable and suitable for internal use.

Expect clearer messaging within a week and measurable time savings within a month. Want me to draft the one-pager from your chosen adjectives — I’ll deliver a ready-to-share doc.

Your move.

Aaron

[Jeff Bullas]

Nice and practical — love the one‑page focus and the quick team quiz. That quick win (5‑minute quiz → 3 pillars) is exactly the kind of do-first move that gets momentum.

Here’s a compact follow-up you can use right away: a short checklist, a step‑by‑step to create the page, a ready example, common mistakes and fixes, plus two copy‑paste AI prompts you can use to draft the guide in seconds.

What you’ll need

• 3 chosen voice pillars (from your team quiz).
• One good + one bad sentence per pillar.
• 3–5 quick dos & don’ts.
• A shared doc or slide to publish the one‑pager.

Step‑by‑step (do this now)

1. Open a blank doc titled: “[BRAND NAME] — 1‑page Voice Guide.”
2. Top line: Audience + brand promise (one short sentence).
3. List each pillar (e.g., Warm • Confident • Practical). Under each: one practical definition, one positive sentence, one negative sentence, and 3 dos/don’ts.
4. Add a one‑line use case: “When writing emails use X; for social posts use Y.”
5. Share with team, ask for two revisions, then use on three pieces this week.

Example (ready to copy into your doc)

• Audience: Busy small business owners who want simple marketing wins.
• Promise: Practical, proven advice you can use today.
• Warm — speak like a helpful colleague. Good: “I’ll walk you through this step.” Bad: “It is imperative you complete the following tasks.” Dos: Use first‑person, use contractions, use names. Don’ts: Avoid jargon, avoid stiff forms.
• Confident — state clear outcomes without arrogance. Good: “This approach increases leads by X.” Bad: “This method may or may not help.” Dos: Use active verbs, cite results. Don’ts: Hedging language, endless qualifiers.
• Practical — short, actionable next steps. Good: “Start with step 1: schedule 30 minutes.” Bad: “Consider possibly trying to think about doing X.” Dos: Give one clear next step, use bullets. Don’ts: Long paragraphs, vague suggestions.

Common mistakes & fixes

• Too long: Cut to essentials — headline, pillars, examples, dos/don’ts.
• Vague pillars: Add a positive and negative example for each.
• No follow‑through: Require use on next three assets and review results.

AI prompts (copy‑paste)

Create a one‑page brand voice guide for [BRAND NAME]. Audience: [describe audience]. Voice pillars: [list 3 adjectives]. For each pillar, provide: one practical definition, one positive example sentence, one negative example sentence, and 3 quick dos/don’ts. Keep it scannable and ready for internal use.

Rewrite the following paragraph in the brand voice of [BRAND NAME] (pillars: warm, confident, practical). Original: “[PASTE YOUR PARAGRAPH HERE]”. Provide the revised sentence plus a 10‑word headline option.

1‑week action plan

1. Day 1: Run 5‑minute quiz and pick pillars.
2. Day 2: Draft the one‑pager using the example above.
3. Day 3: Publish and require use for three assets.
4. Days 4–7: Collect two pieces of feedback and tweak.

Start small, measure one tiny win (faster drafts or fewer edits), and iterate. Want me to draft the one‑pager from your pillars now? I’ll give you a ready‑to‑share doc in one pass.

All the best,

Jeff

[Rick Retirement Planner]

Nice practical checklist — that 5‑minute quiz and one‑page focus is exactly the clarity-first move teams need. I like how you turned the theory into a tiny, actionable workflow; that makes adoption much easier.

One concept in plain English: a “voice pillar” is simply a short label (like Warm, Confident, Practical) plus a one‑line explanation of what that label means when someone writes. Think of pillars as a small set of guardrails — they don’t tell writers every word to use, they keep writing headed in the same direction so customers always get a familiar feeling.

What you’ll need:

• 3 chosen voice pillars from your quick quiz.
• One good and one bad sentence per pillar.
• 3–5 dos and don’ts (scannable bullets).
• A shared doc, slide, or internal wiki page to publish the one‑pager.

How to do it — step‑by‑step:

1. Draft the header: one sentence for Audience + one for Brand Promise (keep both under 12 words).
2. For each pillar: write a one‑line practical definition, add one positive and one negative example sentence, then list 3 quick dos and 3 don’ts.
3. Add a one‑line usage note: e.g., “Emails: friendly and 2–3 short paragraphs; Social: punchy headline + single tip.”
4. Share the draft with the team, ask for two small edits (not rewrites), then require use on the next three assets.
5. Run a 10‑minute review after those assets and lock the guide for weekly tweaks only — clarity builds confidence, so resist long rewrites.

What to expect and how to measure progress:

1. Week 1: faster first drafts — aim to cut time‑to‑first‑draft by ~20%.
2. Week 2–4: fewer tone edits; track revision rounds per piece and aim for 1–2 rounds.
3. Month 1: clearer customer messaging; do a quick blind sample of 10 pieces and score tone alignment using the simple rubric below.

Quick review rubric (use for the blind sample):

1. Score each piece 1–5 for each pillar (1 = off brand, 5 = spot on).
2. Average the scores across pillars; target an average ≥4 within a month.
3. Use the lowest‑scoring examples as teaching moments — update one dos/don’t if a pattern appears.

If you want, I can draft the one‑pager from your chosen pillars and example sentences — I’ll keep each item to one line so the guide stays easy to scan and use.

[Jeff Bullas]

Spot on defining voice pillars as guardrails — that simple mental model makes rollout faster. Let’s turn it into action with a tight set of AI prompts you can copy, paste, and have a one‑page guide your team will actually use.

What you’ll need (10 minutes to gather)

• 3–5 short samples of your current writing (emails, web copy, social).
• Your audience in one sentence and your brand promise in one sentence.
• Your 3 pillars (or a rough guess if you haven’t picked them yet).
• One shared doc or slide to paste the results.

Step‑by‑step (30–45 minutes end‑to‑end)

1. Extract your natural voice from real samples.
2. Draft the 1‑page guide (pillars, examples, dos/don’ts).
3. Create a “say this, not that” micro‑dictionary.
4. Add a channel cheat sheet (email, social, website).
5. Generate a Golden Paragraph and 5 headlines as reference.
6. Set up a quick QA scorecard to keep everyone aligned.

High‑value prompts you can copy‑paste

• 1) Voice Extractor (from your real writing)Paste this with 3–5 short samples.

  Analyze the brand voice in the following writing samples. Output a one‑page summary with: top 3–4 voice pillars (one‑line definitions), 3 dos and 3 don’ts per pillar, 5 signature phrases we naturally use, 5 words/phrases to avoid, target reading level, and one good + one bad example sentence per pillar. Keep it scannable. Samples: [PASTE 3–5 SHORT SAMPLES]

• 2) One‑Page Voice Guide Builder

  Create a one‑page brand voice guide for [BRAND NAME]. Audience: [AUDIENCE IN ONE SENTENCE]. Promise: [BRAND PROMISE IN ONE SENTENCE]. Voice pillars: [LIST 3 PILLARS]. For each pillar, include: a one‑line practical definition, one positive example sentence, one negative example sentence, and 3 dos/3 don’ts. End with a 2‑line usage note: “Email: …” “Social: …” Keep it concise and ready to paste into a team doc.

• 3) “Say This, Not That” Micro‑Dictionary

  Based on the guide below, build a 12‑item “Say this, not that” list. Each item: a preferred phrase, a replace/avoid phrase, and a one‑line reason. Prioritize customer‑friendly language and clarity. Guide: [PASTE YOUR VOICE GUIDE]

• 4) Channel Cheat Sheet (email, social, web)

  Using our brand voice (pillars: [PILLARS]), create a channel cheat sheet with 3 bullets per channel: Email (length, tone, CTA style), Social (hook format, hashtags stance, cadence), Website (headlines, scannability, trust signals). Include one example snippet per channel in our voice.

• 5) Golden Paragraph + Headlines

  Write one Golden Paragraph (80–120 words) that perfectly captures [BRAND NAME] voice (pillars: [PILLARS]). Then provide 5 on‑brand headlines (max 10 words each). Note 3 signature phrases that appear naturally in the paragraph.

• 6) Rewrite to Voice (daily use)

  Rewrite the following text in the brand voice of [BRAND NAME] (pillars: [PILLARS]). Keep meaning intact. Provide two versions: baseline and slightly more energetic. Text: [PASTE TEXT]

• 7) Voice QA Scorecard

  Score the following draft against our 3 pillars on a 1–5 scale. For each pillar, give: score, one sentence why, and one edit that would lift the score by one point. End with a revised version of the draft that implements your own edits. Draft: [PASTE DRAFT]

Insider trick: the “Golden 12” and the “Tone Slider”

• Golden 12: Ask the AI to list 12 signature phrases your brand uses and 5 banned phrases. Paste both at the top of your guide. This acts like a quick memory for new writers.
• Tone Slider: When you need variations (calm, urgent, celebratory), add: “Tone slider: 0=calm, 5=balanced, 10=urgent. Produce versions at 3 and 6.” It keeps voice consistent while adjusting intensity.

What to expect

• Day 1: a usable one‑pager and micro‑dictionary your team can adopt.
• Week 1: faster first drafts and fewer off‑brand phrases.
• Week 2–4: tighter headlines and more consistent CTAs across channels.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

• Too many pillars (5+). Fix: cap at 3–4; merge overlap.
• Vague adjectives without examples. Fix: include one good and one bad sentence per pillar.
• Letting AI invent your voice from scratch. Fix: feed 3–5 real samples first (Prompt 1).
• Reading level mismatch. Fix: specify target grade (e.g., “aim for Grade 7–8”).
• No upkeep. Fix: add one new “Say this, not that” item after each campaign.

Example skeleton to paste into your doc

• Audience: [e.g., Busy managers who want clear, fast guidance]
• Promise: [e.g., Practical, proven steps you can use today]
• Warm — speak like a helpful colleague. Good: “Here’s the next step.” Bad: “It is imperative that…” Dos: first‑person, contractions, plain English. Don’ts: jargon, passive voice, long intros.
• Confident — clear outcomes, no bluster. Good: “This cuts setup time by 20%.” Bad: “Might possibly help.” Dos: active verbs, specifics. Don’ts: hedging, vague claims.
• Practical — give the next move. Good: “Start with step 1:…” Bad: “Consider perhaps exploring…” Dos: bullets, one CTA. Don’ts: walls of text, filler.
• Usage: Email: 2–3 short paragraphs + 1 CTA. Social: punchy hook + single tip. Web: scannable H1/H2, short paragraphs, proof point.

30‑minute action plan

1. Minutes 0–5: Collect 3–5 samples + write your audience and promise.
2. Minutes 5–15: Run Prompts 1 and 2; paste results into your one‑pager.
3. Minutes 15–25: Run Prompts 3 and 4; add micro‑dictionary and channel notes.
4. Minutes 25–30: Generate the Golden Paragraph (Prompt 5) and share the doc.

Closing thought

Keep the guide small, example‑first, and living. Use the QA scorecard weekly, add one “Say this, not that” item after each project, and your team’s voice will align quickly without slowing anyone down.

[Author]

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