At Prosper, we work with businesses with radically different voices. We need to be able to write ultra-formal legal whitepapers, conversational and engaging tweets, and informational but goofy blog posts for our different clients — all in the same day! Being able to embody the voice of the brand for which you’re writing is essential to creating great content. But how do you get started? Here are some tips.
Do your research.
The best way to start acclimating yourself with the voice of the brand for which you’re writing is to start reading content that has already been written by others either at your organization or with other brands you admire. Browse websites and other marketing materials and pay attention to the words you see and the tone in which those words is delivered: do they tend to use specific words over and over? Is there a sentence or paragraph structure they like to use? Do they, in their professional writing, ever end a sentence with 🙂 or LOL? It may be awkward at first as you adjust to this new style, but keep with it — it gets easier.
Watch for specific vocabulary.
A doctor and a teen magazine will have wildly different ways to describe heart problems: what’s cardiac arrest for one is a simple </3 for the other. Note vocabulary specific to your brand voice and market, then research it. Even if you’re not an expert, you have to convince readers you are. The simplest way to do this is through understanding and adding specific vocabulary to your writing.
Know your audience.
While specific vocabulary is necessary for your writing, it’s essential to do this keeping your audience in mind. If you’re writing for a law firm blog, it can be tempting to write website copy full of legalese — but if you’re trying to reach an audience outside the law world, this will confuse them and dilute your message. Moreover, be aware of what your audience needs. It’s an old sales trick to try and get a target to admit their pain points, and marketing should rely on the same principle. Your writing should be sympathetic to your audience’s needs, and should suggest how you can help solve their problems.
Don’t go overboard.
Remember when you were in elementary school and you discovered a thesaurus? All of a sudden, your writing turned into detestable chirography burdensome to discern and whose essence was poppycock. Just like in those days, trying too hard may come across as false at best and ridiculous at worst. If you’re having difficulty, remember: simplicity is best. Keep your sentences short and writing clear. Don’t abuse semicolons, and know where apostrophes are appropriate and where they’re not. And as our CEO Lindsay always reminds us, the word “that” is useless, don’t let it creep into your sentences.
Let us know: what are your tips for understanding and writing in a new brand voice?
