How to Define Your Brand Voice When You Are the Brand

Mar 11

7 min read

A Guide for Creative Business Owners

Background: Purple with a white sound wave. Foreground: Four women in different expressions. From left to right: A woman doing her make up with a big eyed crazy expression, a woman in pink with sunglasses and pink hair holding a cupcake. Then a short-haired woman with a polite smile, white blouse and dark blue blazer, and then a woman with a white button top with a serious expression.

The brand voice speaks to customers in subtle ways. When you walk into an Ybor City coffee shop that has incorporated the city’s history into its brand, everything from the warm lighting, brick walls, exposed ceilings, and black and white posters will say “Ybor City coffee shop.” You will not experience the same vibe in Wesley Chapel or Temple Terrace.

This is an example of a company’s brand voice. And your brand needs one too.

This can be a challenge for creative entrepreneurs. Creative people are open vessels, absorbing inspiration from their environment. Narrowing down to a single brand voice can feel more like muzzling than amplifying.

Creative business owners are also too close to the brand, making the voice hard to define. Your personality feels obvious to you, so you assume it’s obvious to everyone else. It’s not.

Neither of these is the case, actually. Defining a brand voice gives your small creative business direction. Without a brand voice, your marketing will feel inconsistent. One day you sound poetic, and the next day you sound corporate. One post is serious, and the next is playful. Your potential customers will sense that something is off, even if they cannot name it.

Let’s fix that.

What Is Brand Voice and Why Does It Matter for Small Business Marketing?

Brand voice is not your logo. It is not your font choice or your website colors. It is the personality that comes through in your words.

For a ceramics artist in St. Petersburg, brand voice is how you describe your glaze process. For a jewelry designer in Clearwater, it comes through the story you tell about where you source your materials. For an author in South Tampa, it is the tone of your newsletter. For an Etsy shop owner in Wesley Chapel, it comes through in how you welcome customers to your online store.

When your brand voice is clear, customers feel like they know you before they meet you. You attract the right customers and politely repel the wrong ones. It also informs how you post about your business on social media.

Note: Do not mistake this as advice to create a new personality. A business owner only needs to hone in on the personality they already have.

Trying to Sound Like a Brand Instead of Yourself

Most solopreneurs think brand voice means sounding professional, corporate, or polished. So they write things like this for their small business website: Our artisanal ceramic vessels are perfect for the discerning home decor enthusiast.

But in person, they talk like this: I made this mug on my wheel last Tuesday. The glaze turned out even better than I hoped. It feels good in your hand.

Which one actually sounds like you?

Your customers do not want to buy from a faceless brand. They want to buy from a human. They want to buy from you. This is especially true for creative businesses, where the connection between maker and buyer is what drives sales.

How to Find Your Brand Voice

Let us walk through this step by step. If you need additional support, you can always book a marketing strategy session. For now, grab a notebook or open a Word document.

Step 1: The Dinner Party Test

Imagine you are at a dinner party. Someone asks: "So, what do you do?"

Write down exactly how you would answer out loud, casually, and honestly. Do not write the polished elevator pitch version. Write the real version.

“I make [your product]. I love it because…”

“I help people [your service]. It's great because…”

Step 2: Brand Adjectives

Read through this list of words and choose the ones that feel most like you in conversation. Do not overthink it.

Add your own words if none of these fit perfectly.

Now narrow it down. Choose your top three to five adjectives that best capture your natural voice.

“My top five adjectives are...”

Step 3: Language to Avoid / Definitely Not Me

Now look at this next list and choose the words that feel nothing like you. This step is just as important as the first one. Knowing who you are not prevents you from accidentally sounding inauthentic when you are trying to sound professional.

These are the words you will avoid in your marketing content. Write them down as a reminder.

“The words I will never use to describe myself or my business…”

For example: If you are afraid of sounding too salesy, your Definitely Not Me list might look like this:

Limited time offer (feels like pressure)
Don't miss out (feels manipulative)
Best deal ever (feels like an infomercial)
Act now (feels pushy)
One day only (feels fake)
Guaranteed to sell out (feels like hype)
Discount (makes your art feel cheap)
Buy now (too direct for your gentle style)
Hurry (creates anxiety, not connection)

Instead of these phrases, you might say things like:

"This piece is ready for a new home."
"I made a few extra mugs this month."
"Available now in my shop."
"If this one speaks to you, it is yours."
"I am offering a small batch of new work."

Step 4: The Ideal Customer

Think about your favorite customer. The one who sends you nice messages, leaves glowing reviews, or tags you in photos of your products.

Write a few sentences to them. Describe why you love working with them. Explain how you hope they feel when they use your product or interact with your art.

Step 5: Pattern Recognition

Look back at everything you have written in steps one through four and look for patterns.

Do you use short sentences or long flowing ones? Do you ask questions or make statements? Do you talk about process, feeling, or results? Do you use humor or stay serious?

Write down the patterns you notice.

For example, let us say you are a jewelry designer in Temple Terrace who makes whimsical pieces inspired by fairy tales and Florida wildlife. You are naturally warm and energetic. Your ideal customer is someone who loves magic, whimsy, and finding pieces that spark joy. You never want to sound pushy or salesy.

After completing steps one through four, a local jewelry maker might make the following observations:

I talk a lot about how things feel and sparkle. I use words like "twinkle," "glow," "magical," "whimsical," and "enchanted." I use exclamation points often but not excessively. I also use ellipses... to create a sense of wonder. I ask questions like "Can you imagine wearing this?” My writing feels like I am telling a story.

What I Avoid: I never use words like "discount," "sale," or "buy now." Instead of "purchase this," I say "this piece is looking for someone who will love it."

Their observed patterns might be documented like this:

I use short, excited sentences mixed with longer, dreamy ones
I focus on feelings and magic instead of features and specs
I avoid any language that sounds like a hard sell
I use sensory words like sparkle, glow, twinkle, and magical
I speak more as a dreamer than a jewelry expert
My energy feels bright and uplifting, never pushy

Step 6: Write Your Brand Voice Statement

Now it is time to boil all of this information into one or two sentences. This becomes your brand voice statement. Every piece of content you create, every Instagram caption, every email newsletter, and every product description should feel like it came from this statement.

Here is a simple template to follow:

My brand voice is [adjective], [adjective], and [adjective]. I talk to my customers like [a friend / a mentor / a guide / a fellow maker], and I never sound [adjective to avoid].

Here are some examples:

A ceramics artist in St. Petersburg might write: My brand voice is warm, honest, and quirky. I talk to my customers like a friend, showing them around my studio, and I never sound corporate or salesy.

A jewelry designer in South Tampa might write: My brand voice is sophisticated, gentle, and intentional. I talk to my customers like a trusted advisor, helping them find something meaningful, and I never sound trendy or pushy.

Now it is your turn.

What to Do With Your Brand Voice Statement

The brand voice statement is for you. Keep it out in the open while you’re working on building your brand. Refer to it every single time you write something for your business. This is how you build consistency.

Audit your current content. Pull up your last five social media posts or emails. Do they sound like the person you described in your worksheet? If not, that is okay. Now you know what to adjust going forward.

Then bring it to your marketing strategy session. When you sit down with us for your one-hour consultation, bring this worksheet. We will use it to build a content plan that actually sounds like you. Your marketing will finally feel as authentic and intentional as your art.

Frequently Asked Questions About Brand Voice

How is brand voice different from brand identity?

Brand identity includes visual elements like your logo, colors, and fonts. Brand voice is purely about words. It is how you sound, not how you look. Both matter, but voice is what builds connection.

Can my brand voice change over time?

Yes, but slowly. Your voice should evolve as you grow, but it should never flip completely. If you rebrand entirely, you risk confusing your customers. Think of it like your personal voice. You sound slightly different at forty than you did at twenty, but you are still recognizably you.

What if I have multiple people creating content?

This is exactly why you need a brand voice guide. When you hand off content creation to a marketing consultant, they need to know how to sound like you. Your worksheet works as their instruction manual.

How do I use brand voice on social media?

Every platform is an opportunity to express your voice. On Instagram, it shows up in your captions and stories. On Facebook, it is how you respond to comments. On Pinterest, it is the language in your pin descriptions. Consistency across platforms builds trust.

Your Brand Voice Is Already There

You do not need to invent a personality or sound like anyone else. You need to get out of your own way and let the real you show up on the page.

The artists and creative business owners who succeed are not the ones with the best marketing tricks or the biggest budgets. They are the ones customers feel like they know. They sound like real people rather than faceless brands.

Ready to Build a Marketing Strategy That Actually Sounds Like You?

In one 60-minute strategy session, we will take your brand voice and turn it into a custom content plan.

We serve creative small business owners throughout the Tampa Bay area, including South Tampa, Seminole Heights, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Wesley Chapel, and Brandon. Remote business owners anywhere in the US are welcome too.