About this column
7 reasons to start thinking about your brand voice.
No. 1
Because if you’ve got an online presence, you already are a ‘brand,’ whether you groove to that word or not.
No. 2
Because the best communication is intentional, not haphazard. Anyone you care about, including your prospective clients, deserves that much from you.
No. 3
Because your Right People are thinking something about you right this minute. It might be, I feel really drawn to her as a creative service provider, but I’m not sure if she works with people like me. Or, there’s something about that product line that feels like a ‘click’ for me, but there’s something I’m still not sure about. Should I spend my money there or with the brand I usually buy?
No. 4
Because our online attention spans are very, very short. And our bandwidth for taking stuff in is very, very low. This means you’ve got mere seconds to make an impression that aligns with what your work is really about and who you really want to be in relationship with your Right People.
No. 5
Because you’re a thoughtful person, and I know that in your mental and emotional backchannels, you’re processing what it means to show up in the online conversation — you, your business goals, your brand objectives, and your voice values, packaged in a visual brand identity.
No. 6
Because if you’re going to have a brand conversation that’s sustainable over time (allowing for iteration, because, that’s just the natural process of things), you need to start figuring out what you’re about now when you bring a value proposition to the table. Start here. In this moment.
No. 7
Because you don’t have to do this alone. Helping online business owners like you show up in relevant online conversations in a way that matters and allows you to serve more of their Right People — that’s why The Voice Bureau exists.
Begin to Discover Your Voice Values today with our complimentary self-assessment. You’ll have access to it right away when you subscribe to the site. We promise — your communication style is already naturally powerful. We’ll help you identify how.
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In the comments, we’d love to hear:
What’s already going well for you when it comes to using your voice in the online conversation? What’s been working?
Hello, you.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds very interesting…tx for sharing ..
It’s hard to know if you’re doing the right thing or connecting with the right people until the feedback comes around. When I started my blog, friends followed me. Yay! Let’s hear it for friends. Slowly, I picked up a few new followers. Recently, a new follower left a comment. In one blog post, between content and brand, she learned everything she needed to in order to justify hitting the follow button: We share the same hometown, we write, we love mysteries, we love ghost stories, and we share a same childhood fondness for Nancy Drew.
She got my message.
Hey, Sherry! —
You are absolutely right: we do depend on reader feedback to know whether we’re ‘landing’ with the Right People for us. I’m glad to hear you’re finding such resonance among your readership! Thank you for commenting.
Re: “Because the best communication is intentional, not haphazard.”
I wish more real estate agents recognized this. The often vent about poor client relationships and the like without any consideration to how that reflects.
It strikes me that realtors need to have really great communication skills in order to create those relationships, translate information, help clients see comparisons and contrasts, etc. Wonder if there’s much/any correlation between communication skills and success in real estate.
Those really are beautiful reasons and so beguiling :) The more I think of branding as something that arises from the inside rather than something imposed externally, the more ease and joy I feel in my communication. It’s like an essence rather than a marque, and clients tend to feel a real sense of relief in ‘outing’ their brand voice in an organic way.
Personally, it’s a gradual inside-outing to balance my internal and external self-scapes. The more equilibrium I achieve there (and I get there via openness and honesty), the more connected I feel with my right people. Really looking forward to working through your self-assessment Abby.
Jo, I don’t believe I could have expressed the feeling of doing the intense work of personal branding (or branding one’s solo business) any better than you did here. Bravo — and thank you. I look forward to hearing what your Voice Values are. :)
Wow Abby, your descriptions, suggestions and caveats are spot on for my top Voice Values (innovation, intimacy, helpfulness followed swiftly by community & transparency). Thank you :)
Thank YOU, Jo. So happy to hear you found the descriptions elucidating! Thanks for sharing yours.
my brand voice swears a lot… but at least it’s consistent with cussing :)
Oh, Paul, you do YOU really, really well. :)
Just did the self-assessment and it is excellent – extremely insightful. Lots of wisdom here Abby :)
My top three are Enthusiasm, Playfulness and Depth, followed by three which got equal scores: Clarity, Innovation and Helpfulness.
The profiles for each of these are absolutely spot on – especially the ‘watch out for’ part!
Thanks for spending time with the assessment and sharing your results, Milo! So glad to hear that the ‘watch out for’ part was useful for you. Have been hearing that across the board — I think it’s important to spend a little time (just a little) looking at the flipside of our inborn strengths and gifts.
Great tips, Abby! The key to successful branding is to effectively communicate to your niche.
What’s the relation between brand and trust?
Hi, Arindam —
Every brand needs to establish a level of trust and sincerity with its ideal clients/site visitors, although the tone and style of trust-building can vary greatly. The ‘know, like, and trust factor’ will look and feel quite different depending on the market segment the brand creator is hoping to reach.
Does this answer your question?
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