“How do I sound like me” could be a weird question. How could you NOT sound like you?
The answer is… complicated.
Most of us were taught to write without considering our selves. We were taught to keep it professional. We thought we needed to sound smart to impress. We lost pieces of our true voices along the way.
A lot of us struggle with writing about ourselves because we struggle with self-worth. It’s very hard to externalize what we can’t internalize. It feels like we’re asking the reader for a favor when we talk about our service.
If you’re a solo service provider, you are the show. You’re the one who provides the service, answers the questions, and shows up on calls. You need to represent yourself and your self on the website. You need to sound like you, in a business context.
Let’s talk about how to do that.
What the heck is brand voice?
It’s your personality coming out in your writing. It’s your vibe. It’s what you want your reader to perceive as your vibe.
Let’s say I wanted you to come to my monthly website copy workshop. I could say:
- Hang out with us and chat about a brand voice you’ll love. (Casual! Inviting!)
- At this workshop, you’ll learn about creating and implementing brand voice. (More formal)
- Stand out from the loser competition. Your business needs to speak up. (Weirdly aggressive)
They’re all saying the same thing, but in a different voice.
Here’s what I often say about brand voice: “Don’t be more clever than you are in your tagline, on your website, or in your brand messaging." I had a client years ago that wanted to put some tech bro type of platitude on his homepage, and I looked at him and said “uh, you don’t talk like that.” He wanted to be seen as someone different. He wanted to copy someone else’s style in order to be more “marketable.” He was a kind, compassionate, and interesting human, yet he felt like he needed to sound like someone else. The thing is, if what is on your website does not match the way you talk, people will be turned off by that. If you work with people one-on-one, and find yourself saying things on repeat, then say that. If you talk in pop culture analogies and swear like a sailor when you’re talking to a client, then do that. Don’t be afraid to be you. Being like other people is soooo 2025. In 2026, people want to know you’re a real human, and the way to do that is to be open, vulnerable and to use a brand voice that matches the way you show up in person or on a call.
Need to get some words out of your brain? Hang out with my pal and brand-knower Bridget at Write Shit Mondays.
Why do I need to worry about brand voice?
Don’t be worried! But if you’re a solo service provider, your reader wants to know what it’s like to work with you. Your brand voice reflects that.
A consistent brand voice helps people understand who you are and what you do, across the internet. Being super sassy on Instagram and extremely serious on your website creates cognitive dissonance. Your readers won’t like it, and they might not even know why.
Having a bland voice that sounds like everyone else is a liability in 2026. There are literally fake people out there. Be yourself.
That being said—focus first on being clear. Brand voice is the cherry on top.
Okay, so how do we create a brand voice?
If you’re like a lot of small business owners, putting yourself out there can be scary. You might think you need to project a more “professional” version of you that’s more mainstream, corporate, boring, or exciting.
A lot of people worry about being too much. I personally worry about being not enough. But we’re all doing great work out here, and that’s what counts. Okay? You can be funny but don’t hide behind jokes. We need to see you!
Start with your values, your customers, and your story
What matters to you? What impact do you want to have? What do you want your readers to feel? What differentiates you from similar service providers?
For me, I want to show that I’m laid-back, but creative and thoughtful. Therefore, my brand voice is relaxed and dips into humor, but always supportive. I don’t talk about how you’re “doing it wrong.” I don’t push hard on pain points or make people feel like they’re not capable of writing.
What role are you playing?
Your voice will depend a lot on the relationship you’re trying to form with the reader.
(This is based on/inspired by Abbey Woodcock’s work on 9 voice types.)
As a solo service provider, you might be coming from one of these perspectives:
- You might explain confusing concepts to the reader and help them decide on next steps.
- You might be more of a parent figure who’s guiding the reader on making the best decision.
- You might be (this is a popular one) more of a buddy who’s along for the ride.
- You might be a loftier figure who’s handing out big truths with a side order of wisdom.
All of these people will speak differently to their audience.
Play the “three words” game
(If my brand voice were more formal, I’d say “the three adjectives exercise.”)
I used Lisa Furze’s list as an example, though google gives you lots of options.
Choose ten(ish) words from the list. I’d sayyyy for me, I want to be seen as:
Caring
Cheerful
Clear-headed
Curious
Generous
Good-natured
Helpful
Optimistic
Relaxed
Reliable
Understanding
Warm
Do I want to be seen as dynamic and disciplined too? Sure! But we’re prioritizing here.
Then I can cut it to 3 things that I really want to communicate.
Helpful
Reliable
Understanding
My goal is for all this to come across in my writing. Specifically, this means I should use positive language and speak plainly. I need to be careful about using too much jargon. I’ll use shorter sentences. Talk directly to the reader in a friendly, conversational way. Like, hey pal! You’re the best!
You don't need fancy "brand voice guidelines"
I’d recommend putting some thoughts in writing. It doesn’t have to be fancy. No need to spend time googling a template. It can be as simple as:
My mission:
My role in helping clients:
My perspective is unique because:
My brand is:
My brand voice is:
As a copywriter, if I needed to write in your brand voice, I’d do this:
This is copywriter stuff. The details, for my detail-oriented friends.
- Talk to you. What’s important to you?
- I’ll look at the writing that your readers respond to most. Then I’ll look at the writing that you say feels most like “you.”
- Look at the vocabulary you currently use. We don’t want to over-use certain words, but we do want to speak your reader’s language. I want to go deep in your industry for a week or two.
- Analyze the sentence length and types you use. Do you like longer sentences? One-line LinkedIn-type posts? How complex are they? What punctuation do you usually use?
- Analyze the tone. Is it what you wanted to convey? What’s most successful at showing your vibe?
- Pick out the parts where you light up. Usually, when I’m doing a discovery call, y’all just get on a roll at some point and start talking about what you love in your business. I’m looking at that language and getting out my highlighter.
Please do not do this stuff:
Freak out about it.
Nope. We’re not spending our one precious and wild life worrying about BRAND VOICE of all things. When in doubt, we speak clearly and plainly.
Use jokes our audience doesn’t get.
Humor is tricky, especially if your readers aren’t native speakers of your language. “I don’t get it” is not the response we’re looking for.
(I used to say on my website that I wasn’t for you if your brand voice was the voice of a zombie, because that’s too scary. It seemed like a straightforward, obvious joke to me. Another copywriter audited my page live on a call like “whaaaat is this supposed to mean,” and it was PRETTY EMBARRASSING. Please tell me if that’s a good dry joke. I love being validated.)
Copy-and-paste ChatGPT
I don’t care if you have the best prompt ever created. I don’t care if you use Claude. Put your human spin on it.
Try to sound like everyone else
This is an absolute liability in 2026. We need you to be you. You are great.
Get lost in the sauce.
Know your customer. Write for them. Be clear about who you are and what you do.
If you don’t remember anything else, just remember this….
The point of your website copy is to connect with others. Your first job is to communicate who you are and what you do, as clearly as possible. If brand voice is beyond you, forget about it for now or hire someone to help you!
Don’t muddy up your message just to add some personality.
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