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Branding

Does Your Business Have a Voice?: The Power of a Brand Voice Statement

Far too many entrepreneurs are tone deaf. They’re saying the same things in the same way as everyone else and, as a result, no one’s paying attention. Their voices are lost in the noise… like tears in rain.

Simply saying what you do is not enough in a world of nearly 2 billion websites and 5 billion internet users

In today’s market, your brand voice — or how you say what you say – is more important than what you actually sayYour brand voice is how what you say and what you write feels, sounds and comes across to your audience. 

You can no longer afford to be tone deaf if you want to be heard.

Crafting Your Brand Voice Statement

If you haven’t created a Brand Voice Statement for your business yet, I highly recommend that you do.

Simply taking the time to write 250-500 words about how you want to communicate as a business or brand will give you a huge amount of clarity and awareness. Simply noticing how you naturally communicate will allow you to tune in to your unique resonance and choose what parts of you voice you want amplify. In other words, you want to turn up the volume on your unique expression, so you can generate more interest, income and impact — every time you say (or write) anything.

A clear and concise Brand Voice Statement will allow you and your team to interact and engage – across all channels and media — in a way that supports your brand.

It will also help you bring more personality and voice into your content and marketing, so you become absolutely unmistakable in the market:

  • You’ll start to draw in new fans and followers by the way you talk, write and engage.
  • Your tribe will begin to recognize and look forward to your communications.
  • You’ll do what very few entrepreneurs manage to do: you’ll become more than just a business or service provider, you’ll become a trusted advisor, a mentor and perhaps even a friend.

This becomes even more important as you start to build your team and have other people communicating on behalf of you and your company.

We’ve been building our Marketing Team here at Live Your Message and one of the most important hiring criteria is that they get our voice. If they’re going to be drafting marketing and communications that are being attributed to me, then they have to be able to write like me.

The first thing I give new candidates is our Brand Voice Statement.

Then – if they’re going to be writing anything for us – we give them a paid writing test. Not only do we read their writing samples, we ask them to write something in our voice and see how do they do. Are they in the ballpark? Or are they completely off?

Let me share our Brand Voice Statement with you as inspiration as you write yours:

The Live Your Message voice is unmistakable in a market full of talking heads, copycats and surface-level communicators.

We’re never boring. We dare to be creative, playful, smart, provocative and vulnerable all at the same time.

We express a deeper truth that goes beyond the so-called business topics we’re actually talking about. We do that by bringing story, metaphor, word play, self-expression and a deep poetic sensibility to topics that are normally taught at the level of the mind. By bringing art, design and a love of language into our expression, we spark breakthroughs, insights and inspiration.

We’re willing to push the envelope of what’s accepted or appropriate. We believe business doesn’t have to look, feel or sound a specific way. By practicing full self-expression, we give others permission to express and ultimately be themselves more fully. We’re willing to take a stand for our beliefs… and our student’s success, even when it’s controversial or unpopular.

Our voice conveys power and strength while remaining curious and humble. We know what we know and what we don’t know and recognize that there’s always more to learn and ways to grow

We’re direct and strong, while being authentic rather than hypey — it’s more like let me give you the real deal, let me tell you the honest truth that others may not be telling you. We avoid fear-mongering, huge unsubstantiated claims and overt exaggeration.

We recognize that business is one of the greatest forces for personal development and change on the planet. We understand this can bring up a mixed bag of emotions, fears, judgments, projections and concerns. We embrace the good, the bad and the ugly. We don’t try to sweep things under the rug or pretend they don’t exist.

Because we know this work can be challenging and we understand the courage and commitment it requires, we infuse our voice with caring, compassion and acceptance. We strive to leave people better than we found them.

At the same time, we believe that every person has limitless potential when they align their business with who they really are and what they really want… and we’re willing to challenge the beliefs and assumptions that hold people back.

We encourage our tribe to take full personal responsibility for their success. To shift from being a victim to becoming a creator of their lives. Because of that our work can be challenging, deeply emotional and ultimately revelatory. We’re not for the faint of heart. We’re for people who are willing to “go there,” be all in, and do business for real.®

In order to do that, we need to practice what we preach. We’re not content to simply do business as usual, we want to embody our beliefs and lead the way to a new paradigm of experience marketing and business.

That’s how you become a superhero to your tribe… and change the world from your living room.

So how did that land for you? Can you hear us in this description? Let me know in the comments!

And if you want even more inspiration for creating your unique brand voice, I recommend quickly researching some well-known brands. A few of them even include their style guide — complete with their Brand Voice Statement — on their website. Take Mailchimp, for example. Years ago, they made their brand voice publicly available.

You can also peruse social media channels and subscribe to email lists or check your inbox for emails from the brands you know, like and trust.

But remember, to use these only as inspiration! YOUR Brand Voice Statement should clearly reflect your unique business and how you want to be known in the world.

And to help you get the ball rolling, what are the 3-5 words that really capture your Brand Voice? I’d love to read them!

Ready to take action and build unstoppable momentum in your business today?

Our team of expert concierge coaches are standing by to help you grow & scale your business beyond what you thought was even possible. Since 2015, we’ve worked closely with hundreds of students in our Momentum program who all wanted the deepest possible support to avoid the usual mistakes and accelerate their entrepreneurial journey. Will you be next? Book your discovery call today.

Love it? Hate it? Let me know...

  1. K Suresh Rao Avatar
    K Suresh Rao

    Hi Marisa,

    Thanks for your question: “Does Your Business Have a Voice?: The Power of a Brand Voice Statement.

    And let me know your 3-5 words”

    In our website http://www.meetmatch.com, our Home Page starts with Brand Voice Statement: “Journey of Life with Meetmatch”.
    Every journey has a destination. In the case of meetmatch.com, Destination is: “Finding a perfect match”.
    Becoming a Member of meetmatch is like embarking on a journey. Why? Click: “Read our Blog”.

    Our 3 to 5 words are: “Our Honesty”, “Member Safety” & “Top Class Service”.

    Now I await your response.

    Thanks & have a great day!

    KS

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Thanks for sharing K Suresh. Those are company values. How do those values translate into your brand voice?

  2. Jim Brown Avatar
    Jim Brown

    Oops, quote is from Epictetus, not Aeschylus!

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Got it Jim!

  3. Virginia Reeves Avatar
    Virginia Reeves

    Great statement of power from you Marisa and your team. Thanks for sharing this important post.
    My words used in my Permission Granted Today series of eBooks is: enhance talents, skills, thoughts, and beliefs.

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      That’s a great intention Virginia, though it doesn’t convey how you communicate.

  4. Alireza Rezaeian Avatar
    Alireza Rezaeian

    Hi marisa
    Thanks again about things help me I don’t know when finish this game and I come back true life I can’t find job and have pure life but not hard and I’m alone if I one lovely friend my English going better and start writing but some time I think universe better than me know I have to many mistakes time make sure I am ready for helping people .

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Marisa Murgatroyd · CEO & Founder at Live Your Message with Marisa Murgatroyd
      It sounds like you have your focus in the right place Alireza: helping people, loving people and teaching people.

  5. Joanne Moore Avatar
    Joanne Moore

    Love this, and just starting to work on it opens up new clarity for what I want to represent for my clients. Who I am for myself and for them.
    Thank you for sharing, and actually sharing yours because if left as just a concept without example it would be another thing I put to the side.

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      You’re welcome Joanne. And yes to doing some deep thinking around what you want to represent to your clients. I believe in being more intentional with how you show up while still being fully you.

  6. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
    Marisa Murgatroyd

    Thanks for sharing K Suresh. Those are company values. How do those values translate into your brand voice?

  7. Shel Horowitz Avatar
    Shel Horowitz

    Profitable solutions to huge problems. Specifically, addressing things like hunger, poverty, war, and catastrophic climate change by identifying/creating/marketing profitable products, services,a nd partnerships. http://goingbeyondsustainability.com

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Powerful Shel… and it’s more about what you do than how you make people feel. What’s your voice about?

  8. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    Totally agree. And am about to launch a business
    that embraces this strategy, but would like to know
    more about how you help launch poor entrepreneurs.

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Awesome Scott! I help many “poor entrepreneurs” through my blog and webinars. And I help many more “poor entrepreneurs” who are willing to invest in their future potential through our paid programs. 🙂

  9. Robert Port Avatar
    Robert Port

    Marisa; I’m both old and wise………….. You’re not helping the responders here…………. I’m clueless as to what you’re searching for as a response. Try some examples and explainations. You’ll find we all have brand voice but we just didn’t know how to recognize it ……………..

    I tell everybody: (The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes an extra two weeks.) Not our brand voice to be sure but when someone calls and says they were told to call us because we know how to do everything…… We have surely developed brand awareness. Now please help me find my brand vioce. ………. Bob

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Thanks for the feedback Robert.

      I teach this in-depth at Message to Money Live, in my Personal Brand Power course and to my Mentorship students during a 3-day workshop. I did give a lengthy example in the blog post above of the Live Your Message Brand Voice that you can look to that for inspiration.

      The mistake I’m seeing people make is focusing on what they do when this is an exercise in the tone and voice behind what you do.

      There is only so much I can do in a blog and blog comments. 🙂

  10. Robert Port Avatar
    Robert Port

    Marisa: Let me take a blind shot……….. OUR BRAND VOICE.
    ” You can clean and restore anything,if you don’t have to do it by yourself.”

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Robert – that’s compelling and it’s more of a belief or a motto than it is a description of your voice. There are many comments that readers left here that are voice words.

  11. DEEPAK Avatar
    DEEPAK

    Very satisfactory

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      Thanks!

  12. Marcia Stellpflug Avatar
    Marcia Stellpflug

    Passionate, Authoritative, Transformative, Transparent, Cutting Edge, searching for the last one (which I know makes 6 but feel like they are all part of it)- Something about willing to take a stand even if it is unpopular. I don’t like controversial because it sounds like I’m trying to stir things up which is not the intention and may not always be the case. If it needs to happen that’s fine, but I’m not trying to stir things up just to get a reaction. If anyone in this brilliant community has a suggestion I’d love to hear it!

    1. Marisa Murgatroyd Avatar
      Marisa Murgatroyd

      This is a great start Marcia! Keep going… 🙂

  13. John Buskell Avatar
    John Buskell

    “Our voice conveys power and strength while remaining curious and humble….”

    Humble triumphs ego hands down. Not only is it important to be humble in your entrepreneurial endeavors, it’s equally important to be humble in all aspects of your life. You can still convey power and strength without ego. Human beings have an innate sixth sense that enables us to determine if someone is genuinely humble or not. Humbleness somehow transcends all communication barriers and can have a very positive impact on others. Here’s an example…. I once met Mr. Jimmy Russell, the legendary Master Distiller at Wild Turkey Distillery in Kentucky. During the course of our discussion he said “I’ve been here 62 years and never worked a day in my life……it ain’t work if you love what you do.” That comment immediately struck a chord deep in my soul. To see the look on his face and the conviction in his voice is something I’ll never forget. He conveyed power and strength while remaining sincerely genuine and humble. I felt it in my soul. It still makes me feel good to this day. That’s the kind of impact you want to have on your tribe.

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