Why have tone of voice guidelines?
Having tone of voice guidelines is a good idea if you generate a lot of written marketing material. They help ensure a consistent voice, no matter how much you write, or how many people are writing for your business.
Moreover, taking the time to document your writing style helps you think about what you can achieve with words, and how you are perceived by your customers and other stakeholders.
Tone of voice guidelines from On Point Copywriting
If you do not already have tone of voice guidelines, we’ll usually recommend preparing some as the first stage of all but the briefest of writing projects. In a discovery meeting with On Point, we will lead a discussion that explores the background to your business.
We’ll draw out your USPs, and gauge the balance you wish to achieve on a number of metrics like humour and seriousness, detail and brevity. We’ll also cover any particular words or phrases that are preferred or to be avoided, such as whether you have clients or customers.
When we have all the information we need, we will reflect on the meeting and then write up your tone of voice guidelines. We’ll deliver them to you in a professionally formatted document which you can retain as a reference within your business.
Taking the time to document your writing style helps you think about what you can achieve with words, and how you are perceived by your customers and other stakeholders.
This means that not only will us at On Point Copywriting write in exactly the style you wish to achieve. But that also you, others in your business and any other agencies that you work with will all have a ready reference point from which to emulate the style consistently.
Other planning services which complement tone of voice guidelines
During our discovery meeting we may also collect the information we need to produce buyer personas and a content calendar for you, depending on the nature of your project.