There is so much potential in the written word.
There is so much power in effective copy and language.
The written word evokes emotion and passion and action. It has the ability to influence thought and behavior, and it can sway even the most hard-hearted of souls to compassion and empathy.
Words can be used to motivate hearts and minds in the most trying of times, but likewise, these same words can be used in the everyday to reach the hearts and minds of humankind in all manners of life.
I love that as mompreneurs, we have the exact same words available to us to wield and weave as people who are considered the greats: William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, and Agatha Christie, just to name a few. We have those same words to work with in our brand.
For the mompreneur, words can be used to speak to the heart of her audience in a way that stirs them to inspiration and action. More commonly, written words are used for the motivation of sales in marketing and other promotional materials. But overall, the written word is used to create an authentic brand voice for the small business that sends a consistent brand message and speaks to the heart of her audience.
When you think of a brand voice, what comes to mind? Illusive word choice, hard-to-follow rules, or perhaps that it is this idea that only big business has time to explore and implement: all of these could be the preconceived notion in your head of what a brand voice is.
Simply put, a brand voice is the way that you as a business or entity use words across all of your media platforms—including your website, social media platforms, brochures and other print materials, email marketing, everything—to reach your target market.
A brand voice is what you talk about, what your business is all about. Are you a small, handmade shop? Then you announce new products, run promotions, share satisfied customer photos, and market the brand behind your handmade business. This is bone structure of what you and your site are about.
A brand voice is diction, or word choice. This sounds like a given, but take a moment to think through the kinds of words you find yourself using. Are you drawn to flowery language, or are you a plain and simple kind of writer? Do you find yourself heading to the thesaurus for that perfect word or are you a fan of short-and-sweet?
A brand voice is tone, which is not what you say but how you say it. This is not just word choice, but also includes the elements of rhythm and even pace. The tone of voice expresses the heart and personality of the people behind the brand. Tone can be sarcastic, sweet, serious, light-hearted, or conversational.
A brand voice is consistent. It is consistent in its subject, its diction, and its tone. It is similar to all of the other branding in your business repertoire. Just as your logo, color scheme, mood board, graphics, and typography combine to form consistent visual branding of your business, the way you write should add to that overall package and provide consistent message for your audience. Your followers should recognize (at least subconsciously) that it is your brand speaking even if your visuals are not present.
Fortunately for busy mompreneurs, crafting a brand voice is not this golden ideal that is out of reach for the flustered business owner doing everything herself. We may not all be writers, but identifying the way you want to write and speak for your brand can be done. It is something you can achieve with just a little time and a bit of intentional focus.
Honestly, a brand voice is something you’ve been crafting all this time without even realizing it. To take your brand to the next level, all your voice needs is a little honing in.
Here are three action steps to discovering your distinct brand voice.
Identify your core values.
What values were your small business founded upon in the beginning? What do you stand for? What is important to your brand and what do you support as a mompreneur? Identifying these key factors can help you recognize values and the words you use (or should use) to express them. A brand voice cannot be effective without a strong brand to back it up in the first place.
Pinpoint the audience you are speaking to.
It is important to consider your ideal client when crafting your brand voice. These are the people you are trying to reach, after all. What kind of person are you speaking to in all of these written applications? What kind of language or tone do they appreciate or connect with? What are they looking for in your brand? By getting into the heads of your ideal client or customer avatar, you can craft a more effective voice.
Describe your voice in three words.
Finally, after you’ve done a lot of research (and a little bit of soul-searching) as to your brand identity, the values you hold dear, and the audience you wish to speak to, describe your brand voice in three words. Think of this as old fashioned brainstorming: write done all words as they
come to mind, even if they seem silly, ill-fitting, or off. Are you compassionate, humble, supportive, funny, authentic? Then go back and glean the wheat from the chaff until you nail down your three winners.
Remember the potential of the written word, the power in effective language, and the influence words hold to motivate and spur us onto action. Your voice is as unique as your brand is, mama, so use it to make a difference and a distinction for your business and those hearts you speak to everyday.
Verity Web Solutions, by Lindsey Johnson, was founded on the belief that your brand deserves a beautiful website and to tell a compelling story. Verity’s passion is working with the start-up, the creative entrepreneur, and the mama with a small business dream in her pocket, helping them bring their vision and brand to online success.
A twenty-something girl from Wisconsin, Lindsey is a web designer and writer raised along the rural shore of Lake Superior and now raising her little family the same way. Wife to Matt and mama to two little men and soon-to-be one very sweet little girl, she is a domestic by day who totally gets the juggle of managing a family and a business. A serial entrepreneur in her youth, you could now call her a small business cheerleader helping others make a go of succeeding “small.”
If you’re ready to jumpstart your small business, get your very own copy of my free brand discovery workbook!
To learn more about Lindsey and all that Verity offers for web design and copywriting, check out http://veritywebsolutions.com/ and follow along with her Instagram adventures.
Contributors to jaclynmellone.com are members of the Chasing Dreams and Littles Incubator.
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