In a bout of temporary insanity, we are moving house right before the holidays. After 22 years in one spot, it’s time for a change of scenery.

We’re in the first stages of sorting. It’s… a lot.

I’m following all the best advice (Make Three Piles) and enlisting the best help (i.e. I begged my parents to fly down.)

Despite all that, I know there’s going to be one particularly difficult and enormous hurdle…

Books.

I know you know what I’m talking about.

Like me, I’m sure you have a lot of them. And it feels a little sacrilegious to discard them.

I’ve got all the childhood classics (and some not-so-classic) from when the boys were little. Come to that, I’ve got some of my own childhood classics.

I’ve got our homeschooling books. I’ve got my mom’s classroom library after she retired from 30+ years of teaching.

Spiritual, self-help, how-to books…

Paperbacks from the pre-kid days when my husband and I devoured Jason Bourne and the like. (Plus my prolific chick-lit phase.)

A set of encyclopedias from the 50’s that I just can’t part with. I think they were purchased from an actual door-to-door salesman by my mother-in-law, like the myths of old.

And then…

I entered The Biz. This space we’re currently in together. And a whole new world of books opened up!

It’s actually kind of amusing to unearth these books and watch my own “stage of awareness” unfold with each new title.

As you can see, I’ve got quite the decision to make.

What stays, and what goes?

Have you ever had to cull your library? What was your criteria?

Last weekend I was in a “burn it all down!” mood and boxed up everything in sight for donation.

Then, I saw a video of a homeschool mom influencer and her beautiful library and she was all, “we’re saving western civilization by curating a robust library” and suddenly I, too, wanted to save western civilization. And all my books.

Back to square one. I need you to help me!!

Hit me with your best tips.

– Jill “drowning in books” Jensen

Whenever you’re ready, here are some ways I can help:

I offer Voice Finder and Brand Builder Sessions for personality-driven entrepreneurs who want to define or strengthen their Voice.

I also create Brand V.O.I.C.E. Guides for you & your team – an evergreen instruction manual to help writers “get” your voice, without endless re-writes and revisions.

Plus, I work with a select number of clients each quarter as a ghostwriter.

If you’re interested in learning more, reply to this email or complete this form: Work With Jill

Know someone who’d be interested in this? Pass it on! They can join my list here: https://jilljensen.berserkermail.com/brandvoice

The problem is, many businesses don’t know who really “owns” their brand voice. Without realizing it, they rely on one creative director, one writer, or one agency. And when that person leaves…. so does the voice.

Which leads to confusion for your team, wasted time, and trust broken with your audience.

Case in point:

The Seattle Mariners might not be good at much, but for decades they’ve absolutely dominated the dojo in one thing:

Their ads.

For 40 years, the Mariners ran “the funniest ads in baseball,” according to Adweek. The spots were shared on SportsCenter and gushed over in Sports Illustrated & the Bleacher Report.

But most importantly, the Seattle fans looooooooved them. (Which makes sense; the tagline was You’ve Gotta Love These Guys.)

It was more than an ad campaign. It was an identity.

We Seattle fans get no joy watching the M’s lose season after season. But those ads magically brought us “in” on the joke. They made fans part of something special. They packed the stadium game after game.

If a baseball team can have a Brand Voice, that’s exactly how it would look.

And then in 2020 the M’s did something very on-brand: they blew it.

They abandoned their beloved personality-driven ads which had so successfully bonded fans to the players and the franchise.

It left fans bereft. I think it hurt even more than the infamous A-Rod trade to Texas. (You still can’t mention that name in polite company in Seattle, FYI.)

Since 2020, Seattle fans have demanded to know where the goofy ads have gone. (Talk about breaking trust with your audience!)

So, what happened?

I did some digging and discovered the infamous ads disappeared when the lead collaborator at Copacino + Fujikado retired.

That was the ad agency behind the wildly popular campaign… Until one guy retired and it all came crashing down.

What’s this got to do with you?

Well, if you’re a business owner who hires agencies, writers, or freelancers…

Have you ever thought about who “owns” the Voice of your brand? Does it basically boil down to "whoever is writing for us at the time" or "whatever the agency says will work"?

And if so, what happens if/when you part ways?

I’ve seen this happen time and again to businesses big and small.

Situations where there’s one writer who embodies the voice of the brand...

And when they leave, the brand voice goes with them. Chaos ensues. Not to mention the damage it does to that fragile bond you’ve worked so hard to create with your audience.

How can you be sure this doesn’t happen to you?

One way is to have a Voice Guide. A “user manual” for your brand voice to document the what, when, where, why, who…

And most importantly: the HOW.

I call it a writer’s best friend because it’s designed with them in mind… you can hand the Voice Guide to any writer you hire and they’ll be able to “get” it. They’ll know how to write in your voice.

No jarring change when writers come and go. No endless revisions and rewrites. No angry mob of tee’d off fans demanding to know where their favorite commercials went!!!!! ;)

Interested in getting a voice guide for your business? I can help!

And, if you want to see some of the legendary Mariner’s commercials for yourself, start with the Jamie Moyer bangers, and the classic “I can handle pain. I’m a Mariners fan” on YouTube.

P.S. A happy ending to this story is in the works: the Mariner’s in-house marketing team has revived the quirky ad format for the 2025 season. They’ve still got their work cut out for them, but it’s a start. Now, if they could also cook up a playoff appearance…

Whenever you’re ready, here are some ways we can work together:

I offer Voice Finder and Brand Builder Sessions for personality-driven entrepreneurs who want to define or strengthen their Voice (and put some boundaries in place.)

I also create Brand V.O.I.C.E. Guides for you & your team – an evergreen asset to help writers “get” your voice, without endless re-writes and revisions.

Plus, I work with a select number of clients each quarter as a ghostwriter.

If you're interested in learning more, reply to this email or complete this form: Work With Jill

Love learning about Brand Voice? Share this email with a friend who'd love it, too! They can use this link to join my list: https://jilljensen.berserkermail.com/brandvoice

I’ll paraphrase Ken McCarthy: the trust you build & grow with your audience is like a light switch. And once that switch gets flipped off, it can be impossible to turn it back on.

Which means you need to ensure you’re actually building trust with your audience, not accidentally breaking it.

Thankfully, there’s a straightforward way to do just that!

It’s something that’s built into my Brand Builder and Voice Guides, and it’s something most people overlook: boundaries.

Not just what you say, but what you don’t say. Where you’ll go all in, and where you draw the line.

Today’s lesson comes courtesy of a legendary copywriter... and his surprising choice of subject line. When Bob Bly sent an email entitled:

“You’ll never have to struggle again to shave your balls”

…I laughed out loud. I’ve raised three sons and am apparently a middle school boy at heart. Bathroom humor gets me every time.

But there was an unintended lesson in that email (quite separate from the one he meant to teach, I believe).

Because as much as I love a good underpants joke, that email broke character. Bob deviated from his established voice… and in the process, eroded a bit of my trust.

A mentor of mine put it this way:

Your Brand Voice should have boundaries. Joking about underpants (for instance) is one thing…but talking about what’s inside the underpants is another thing altogether.

Not saying one is wrong and the other is right. That’s up to you.

What I am saying is this: don’t get them twisted.

In the case of Bob Bly (who I really do respect, don’t get me wrong), here’s what got twisted…

His “voice type” is one of absolute authority. It shows little to no vulnerability. This voice type is serious. It doesn’t get down on the reader’s level and coddle you; it hands down the 10 commandments from on high.

And it most certainly doesn’t talk about the state of your balls.

So when locker room humor crept in?

It was hilarious. But it also went outside the bounds of his voice in a way that was disturbing.

And when that happens — even just a little — you lose some trust.

Here’s what it taught me:

You can be funny. You can be edgy. You can talk about underpants, or even what’s inside them. All of that is up to you.

But you need to know whether it fits your voice, or violates it… and then stick with it.

Your Brand Voice isn’t just a vibe. It’s your North Star.

When you cross your own lines, your audience notices. And once trust is gone, good luck flipping that switch back on.

So, how do you know where your line is?

One way is to do a Voice Finder Session. That’s where I help you define your “heck yes,” your “hell no,” and everything in between so you build a brand identity that actually feels like you.

Another way is to document specific phrases, topics, and humor to avoid (or include!) in a Voice Guide.

Some brands put the kibosh on potty humor…

Some want you to feel like you’re right there in the locker room with them…

Some talk about manscaping, some don’t. 😉

The problem isn’t whether you do or don’t. It’s whether you’re consistent.

Because when you’re caught in the heat of the moment…

Or when you’re tempted to throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks…

Or when you’re desperate for engagement…

Do you have a guide to keep you from veering out of your lane?

A documented Brand Voice gives you that guardrail. So you can be funny without being confusing. Edgy without losing credibility. And relatable without breaking trust.

Choose a lane and don’t get into a head-on collision with your audience by swerving out of it.

And if you need help figuring it out? I’ve got you.

Jill

Whenever you’re ready, here are some ways I can help:

I offer Voice Finder and Brand Builder Sessions for personality-driven entrepreneurs who want to define or strengthen their Voice (and put some boundaries in place.)

I also create Brand V.O.I.C.E. Guides for you & your team – an evergreen asset to help writers “get” your voice, without endless re-writes and revisions.

Plus, I work with a select number of clients each quarter as a ghostwriter.

If you're interested in learning more, reply to this email or complete this form: Work With Jill

Love learning about Brand Voice? Share this email with a friend who'd love it, too! They can use this link to join my list: https://jilljensen.berserkermail.com/brandvoice

Change isn’t preceded by a big ‘ol heads up. “PSSSST…Start getting ready! I'm coming!”

But that doesn’t mean you can’t be ready for it, anyhow.

Which is the idea behind the “E” in my V.O.I.C.E. Framework: Evergreen.

I’ve been thinking long and hard lately about what “evergreen” really means.

On the one hand we know “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

There’s wisdom in understanding that fundamentals are timeless.

But we also know things evolve. Change is inevitable. We’ve all experienced it in some way or another.

In fact, I’m smack in the middle of it myself right now. A massive transitional phase of life that’s got me wondering, “what’s evergreen… and what’s gone forever?”

(To catch you up: my youngest of 3 boys graduates high school this Friday. Over two decades of non-stop games, dances, parties, projects, performances… it’s an adjustment when the “baby” grows up & it all comes to a screeching halt.)

What does this have to do with you?

If you’re an entrepreneur, it’s inevitable that pieces of you get mixed into your business and brand. (Even when you take pains to separate the two.)

So when the tidal waves of change start crashing down…having pre-defined boundaries and values (the fundamentals) is a life preserver.

Something to anchor your content and voice and messaging to, come what may.

A silly example: as a proud homeschooling mama, my social media used to be all about my boys & our adventures. Indeed, my life was all about those rascals & our adventures.

Then the teen years hit and… they did NOT want to be the main characters on my Facebook feed any longer. (Totally fair!)

So where did that leave ME?

What was my “brand” all about if I couldn’t post this part of my life?

I had to change it up, yet still be me.

This was before I knew about Voice Guides and Brand Builders and such. So it was a bit of a scramble.

If I’d had such a toolkit, I could’ve dug into the pre-defined values and fundamentals upon which everything else flows. The north star people talk about to guide your decisions.

We all like to think we know intuitively what our values are…

But they’re kind of like goals. They’re more potent if they’re documented and written down. Codified and crystalized.

And what’s more, you can easily explain and share them as needed!

Change won’t always warn you. But you can be ready for it.

That’s what you get with an evergreen Voice Guide!

It gives you something to return to when the landscape shifts. It’s a flexible, living document rooted in your core values, tone, and perspective.

Whether your content evolves, your audience grows, or your personal life flips upside down for a while (been there)… your voice doesn’t have to vanish in the shuffle.

Instead of scrambling to “find your voice” all over again, you’ve got a compass.

It’s a reminder for you & your team of what matters, how you should sound, and how to keep showing up authentically, strategically, and you-ly (that’s a word now).

So if you’re navigating change, planning for growth, or just tired of starting from scratch every time you brief a new writer…

Let’s get your voice documented.

Your future self (and your team) will thank you!

– Jill “my baby’s graduating” Jensen

P.S. Here’s the rest of my V.O.I.C.E. Framework for ya:

What Do You Get In A V.O.I.C.E. Guide?

• Viewpoint – Define your brand’s overall perspective, how you see the world, and how you relate to your customers.

• Organization – Clear and practical SOPs, style guides, and internal conventions so your content can be created, stored, and published efficiently.

• Instructions – A writer’s best friend: it’s a user manual & training tool so they “get” how to write and execute exactly as expected.

• Consistency – Ensure every piece of content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and personality, no matter who writes it.

• Evergreen – A living document that evolves with the brand and can be used by any writer you hire.

It’s both a strategic and practical tool. Use it to catalogue, train & evaluate your brand voice so your team can execute it with ease.

Whenever you’re ready, here are some ways I can help:

I offer Voice Finder Sessions for personality-driven entrepreneurs who want to define their Voice (and put some boundaries in place.)

I also create Brand V.O.I.C.E. Guides for you & your team – an evergreen asset to help writers “get” your voice, without endless re-writes and revisions.

Plus, I work with a select number of clients each quarter as a ghostwriter.

If you're interested in learning more, reply to this email or complete this form: Work With Jill

P.S. Love learning about Brand Voice? Share this email with a friend who'd love it, too! They can use this link to join my list: https://jilljensen.berserkermail.com/brandvoice

Today I’m going to flesh out the “C” in my acronym, for Consistency.

I’ve got a little horror story about this one. Here’s what happened:

A former coach & client of mine (who I absolutely respect and admire) has a big problem.

As his business grows, his time & attention has become focused on all the growing…and not on the writing/marketing. Which is fine, that’s what people like me are for!

The problem is, during my tenure, I saw about 5 different writers come & go…

And not a single one of them had the same voice, style, or philosophy. The messaging was an incohesive mess, to say the least.

Notice I didn’t say it wasn’t good. A lot of the writing was indeed good.

However, it was wildly inconsistent. Voice whiplash. As a reader, the constant change in tone was disorienting (to put it nicely.)

One writer realllllly excelled at “twisting the knife”. Getting readers good & scared about the monsters under the bed & around every corner. “Do this or you’re toast.” Very Voice of God.

Then a new marketing manager came on board who did not like pain and fear based marketing. They ushered in an era of earnest appeals to our fairer sensibilities…

Long, heartfelt, aspirational “we’re in this together, all you have to do is step in and do your part” pleas. Total Yogi Voice.

Yet another writer came along and brought their Underdog attitude with them. A little downtrodden. And also a little chip-on-your-shoulder confrontational (which was an abrupt departure from the inspirational Yogi voice.)

Where did I fit into this stew?

Well, this was all before my Brand Voice Academy training & certification. I knew there was a big problem afoot… but I didn’t yet have any concrete tools or systems to fix it.

I knew there had to be a way for the founder to reign it in and get people on the same page – or at the very least, define what was “in bounds” and what was “out of bounds” for his brand.

But with the unrelenting pressure of deadlines and launches and projects…

Getting everyone on the same page was constantly sidelined in favor of the next urgent thing. It was a “maybe someday that would be nice to have” pipe dream.

The result: a mish-mash of garbled messaging. For years.

One week you get the kind, gentle, motivational speaker…

Next week, the confrontational “you’re the problem” bully shows up…

He’s followed by the desperate, “why isn’t anyone taking me up on my offer???” underdog…

And the inconsistency is evident in the ever-shrinking list and declining enrollment.

What I’m trying to say is this:

Leaving your precious messaging in the hands of writers who come & go… scattered freelancers… the unrelenting pressures of time… is a recipe for a Brand Voice horror story.

And those are the problems V.O.I.C.E. Guide is designed to solve!

It puts you back in the driver’s seat and in control of your messaging.

The mission, vision, and values of your brand and messaging come straight from YOU – documented for everyone to adhere to.

The style, the outlook, the philosophy… again, all you. The “heck yeses” and the “hell nos”... you get to decide.

And you barely even have to lift a finger.

A quick look at how a V.O.I.C.E. Guide leads to Consistent messaging:

1. A Style Guide Section: Whether it’s punctuation preferences (the hot-button em-dash, use of exclamation marks, to parenthese or not to parenthese). Or grammatical preferences (starting sentences with And, But, Yet); number formatting; testimonial layout – you’d be surprised by how the “little” style choices add up.

2. Lexicon: what are your commonly used phrases? Do you have any “isms” or idiosyncrasies that make your Voice pop? Personal anecdotes that are part of your brand story? Just as important: what are the words and phrases to AVOID at all costs?

3. Outlook: How you relate to your audience. This is your Voice Type. It’s important and should be consistent – not Voice of God one day and Friend at the Bar the next. When your writers know this, they can frame their writing accordingly.

4. Resources: real, concrete examples of what you consider to be great writing (whether it’s yours or someone else’s); internal guides to all products and offers. Your team doesn’t have to wonder, they have models.

5. Rubric: writers can evaluate their writing against a custom rubric to check they’re hitting the right notes before it even hits your desk. Then you can use the rubric as an objective tool to provide feedback.

And did I mention… this really isn’t an onerous process for you. We meet, I collect what I need, and then I do my thing behind the scenes.

Then, you (or your copy chief) hand this Voice Guide over to any writer or freelancer you use, and voila! They’ve got an instruction manual to “get” your voice and produce Consistent Messaging.

Back to our poor friend from above: I left that role in large part to pursue Brand Voice. I wanted a concrete solution to this problem I saw eating away at this great business…

I know it will be a lifesaver to so many people in the same boat.

If that’s you, hit reply and let’s chat!

– Jill “Consistency” Jensen

P.S. Here’s where I’ve written about some of the other letters in the V.O.I.C.E. acronym:

Some people are. They’ve got that rare ability to break down a concept and explain it in a way that actually makes sense to the student. (If you’re lucky, you’ve had one or two of them in your own life!)

But as we all know…

Being good at something and knowing how to teach someone else to do it are two completely different things.

Maybe you’ve run into this conundrum in your own business.

You know how to solve a problem and sell it. In fact, you’re doing it so well, your business has taken off!

And suddenly, you don’t have time to write every Facebook ad, every email, every sales page.

As your business grows, so does your team. You bring in much-needed help, like a copywriter.

But now you’ve got to explain to them how to sound like you. And that’s where things get messy.

There are plenty of skilled copywriters out there.

But no matter how good they are, they’re not mind readers. They’re going to need time – and instructions – to sound like you and “get” your voice.

And guess who’s expected to teach them? That’s right, it’s you! Because inside your head is where all the necessary info lives.

So I’ll ask again: are you a good teacher?

Or do you play a frustrating game of “you're getting warm… warmer… nope, still not it.” You know what you want but have no clue how to explain it?

Writers lose confidence when they keep missing the mark and don’t know why. You feel like you’re wasting time and money.

Eventually the writer moves on… and you’re back to square one, racing the deadline, doing yet another round of revisions, wondering why no one can “just get it.”

That’s why the “I” stands for instructions in my V.O.I.C.E. Guide.

A V.O.I.C.E. Guide is a user-friendly, writer-approved instruction manual that helps your team understand and execute your voice…clearly, consistently, and confidently.

I call it a writer’s best friend. Because it’s built for them, with you in mind.

Most “brand voice” docs out there are fluff city:
“Be bold.”
“Be human.”
“We use our voice to illuminate the world’s hidden dimensions and transform it for the better.”

(Yes, those are real. No, I don’t know what they mean either.)

If you handed that to a writer and asked them to draft a launch email, what would you get back?

Exactly.

This is how writers feel when there’s nothing specific to grab onto.

So let’s fix that. For them and for you.

The instructions in your custom V.O.I.C.E Guide include:

• Examples of your best content as the standard bearer

• Specific words, phrases, and transitions that are YOU (and ones to avoid at all costs)

• Punctuation and style preferences (to em dash or not to em dash…)

• Stories that are an integral part of your brand, including how you prefer to structure a story (get right to the point? A slow reveal?)

• Sentence length and readability: is it hitting the right notes to reflect your style?
  

You’ll even get a scoring rubric so you can give feedback that’s clear, constructive, and actually helpful.

Now, instead of trying to explain your voice from scratch every time you bring someone new on board, you’ve got a plug-and-play guide that helps them hit the ground running.

Less guesswork. Fewer rewrites. More content that’s just right.

Want to see what this could look like for you?

Reply to this email, or head over here: Work With Jill

Ciao,

Jill

P.S. Here's a refresher on what the other letters stand for in V.O.I.C.E....

What Do You Get In A V.O.I.C.E. Guide?

• Viewpoint – Define your brand’s overall perspective, how you see the world, and how you relate to your customers.

• Organization – Clear and practical SOPs, style guides, and internal conventions so your content can be created, stored, and published efficiently.

• Instructions – A writer’s best friend: it’s a user manual & training tool so they “get” how to write and execute exactly as expected.

• Consistency – Ensure every piece of content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and personality, no matter who writes it.

• Evergreen – A living document that evolves with the brand and can be used by any writer you hire.

It’s both a strategic and practical tool. Use it to catalogue, train & evaluate your brand voice so your team can execute it with ease.

Whenever you’re ready, here are some ways I can help:

I offer Voice Finder Sessions for personality-driven entrepreneurs who want to define their Voice (and put some boundaries in place.)

I also create Brand V.O.I.C.E. Guides for you & your team – an evergreen asset to help writers “get” your voice, without endless re-writes and revisions.

Plus, I work with a select number of clients each quarter as a ghostwriter.

If you're interested in learning more, reply to this email or complete this form: Work With Jill

P.S. Love learning about Brand Voice? Share this email with a friend who'd love it, too! They can use this link to join my list: https://jilljensen.berserkermail.com/brandvoice

You’re searching for that one testimonial…you know, the one that would be perfect for an upcoming campaign?

You know you saw it just the other day, or at least saw a notification that your team finished it.

You find yourself on a scavenger hunt, clicking through files labeled things like: Final_V2, MarketingAssets_NEW, ClientFolder_Archive (DO NOT DELETE).

Maybe you get sidetracked by a folder called Random Stuff…

An hour later… you finally find it. Buried under Vid_Clip_S05. 😡

Even if you personally aren’t the one hunting down files… I’ll bet someone on your team is.

And if you’re paying an hourly VA or freelancer to sort through the chaos… whew. How many hours are wasted there?

Let’s call this kind of digital disorganization the “chaos tax.” Just like any other tax, it is not our friend.

And the bigger your team gets, the more this mess escalates.

You have a system that makes sense to you. Everyone on your team has a system that makes sense to them…

One person saves files by date. Another by project name. Someone else just calls it “ThingsForJim.” (Who??)

When it’s finally time to go live with your sales page… which doc is the most recent?

​Is it Final_v3_Updated_FINALFINAL_UseThisOne? No one knows. (Fun fact: That is never the actual final version.)

This doesn’t just waste time. It costs you money.

It leads to duplicated work. Your designer tweaks a landing page and saves the changes. Meanwhile, your copywriter (working from a different version) also makes updates. Now, someone has to manually merge the changes.

It’s easy to make mistakes. The wrong version of an ad, email, or landing page goes live. Now you’re backtracking, losing engagement, leads, and sales.

And if you’re paying hourly VAs or freelancers, how many hours do they spend just trying to sort and find things?

That’s why the “O” in my V.O.I.C.E. Guide Framework is for Organization.

At first glance, organization may not seem related to Voice.

But remember, my V.O.I.C.E. Guide is also a training manual…

It can be used as the Once Source of Truth for your entire team.

I can include a detailed section on SOPs for digital organization to alleviate the above headaches and more.

Everyone on your team knows the exact naming & formatting conventions for every piece of content. They know the exact copy review process. They know exactly where digital assets are stored.

Seamless, streamlined execution of your content (in your voice) is the goal!

If this hits home and you’re ready to stop paying the chaos tax…let’s chat! Reply to this email or fill out the form below.

– Jill “oh so organized” Jensen

P.S. How do I know this is an issue for many, many businesses? Because time & again I’ve been the freelancer who cannot for the life of me find what I need to do my job. I’ll get access to a client’s Google drive and watch out…it’s the wild west in there! (No shame; happens to the best of us.)

As a writer, I know how helpful it is to have these SOPs in place so I can deliver exactly what you want, when you want it. That’s why it’s part of my Voice Guide!

What else is included? Check it out:

My V.O.I.C.E. Guide Framework:

• Viewpoint – Define your brand’s overall perspective, how you see the world, and how you relate to your customers.

• Organization – Clear and practical SOPs, style guides, and internal conventions so your content can be created, stored, and published efficiently.

• Instructions – A writer’s best friend: it’s a user manual & training tool so they “get” how to write and execute exactly as expected.

• Consistency – Ensure every piece of content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and personality, no matter who writes it.

Evergreen – A living document that evolves with the brand and can be used by any writer you hire.

Today I'm going to quickly break down the "V": it's for Vendetta. No! Just kidding. The "V" in my framework is for VIEWPOINT.

Consider this:

Do you have a point of view when you communicate to your audience? If you're not sure, that's ok. Let's figure it out!

First, think about the words you use to position yourself and your offer.

Do you like to make your point as simply as possible? Something like: “This is how to [get result].”

Or maybe you take on more of a parental role: “This is how I learned to [get result], and how you can avoid my mistakes.”

See the difference? Here’s more:

Perhaps you prefer to speak with gravitas… “This is the exact process you can implement immediately to master [result] and become a trusted and valuable resource to upper echelon (and more profitable) clients.”

Or your MO could be to buddy up to them and say, “Want to see how I [get result] for my clients? Let me show you this cool thing I do that can help you [get result], too.”

Subtle differences that make a huge impact on the world you’re creating for your customers.

These are four examples out of the 9 basic “voice types” I look for when I create a Codex Persona Voice Guide for clients.

The problem is, as writers, we tend to make these choices subconsciously.

You probably have no idea when, why, or how you make the choices you do when writing content (much less how to explain them to someone else). You just write and voila! It sounds like you.

Which makes it hard to train other writers, or to pinpoint what feels flat, wrong, or out of place when they try to capture your voice.

What I do is help you pinpoint those things. I help you SEE the hidden patterns embedded in your writing. To make the unconscious conscious…

And then I document all of it & package it up into a user-friendly voice guide. It's training manual-slash-reference guide your team will use again and again to create written content.

Now, not everyone needs an asset like this. You may not hire writers or manage a team of freelancers. Does that mean you don't need to understand your Brand Voice?

Survey says....that's up to you! Personally, the more I truly know myself, the better. And I think understanding the why & how behind the what strengthens my voice.

(See how I used the “&” above? And the parentheses I’m using now? And the amount of question marks throughout this email? And starting my sentences with “and”? Those are all ingredients that make up Voice, too… and something I’ll cover in more detail in the future.)

Till then, think about your viewpoint when you communicate with your audience. How would you describe it? Hit me back & let me know!

– Jill “friend a the bar” Jensen

P.S. “Viewpoint” is the first element in my V.O.I.C.E. Framework:

• Viewpoint – Define your brand’s overall perspective, how you see the world, and how you relate to your customers.

• Organization – Clear and practical SOPs, style guides, and internal conventions so your content can be created, stored, and published efficiently.

• Instructions – A writer’s best friend: it’s a user manual & training tool so they “get” how to write and execute exactly as expected.

• Consistency – Ensure every piece of content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and personality, no matter who writes it.

• Evergreen – A living document that evolves with the brand and can be used by any writer you hire.

I’ll be covering the other elements soon!

Whenever you’re ready, here are some ways I can help:

I offer Voice Finder Sessions for personality-driven entrepreneurs who want to define their Voice (and put some boundaries in place.)

I also create Brand V.O.I.C.E. Guides for you & your team – an evergreen asset to help writers “get” your voice, without endless re-writes and revisions.

I also work with a select number of clients each quarter as a ghostwriter.

If you're interested in learning more, reply to this email or complete this form: Work With Jill

P.S. Love learning about Brand Voice? Share this email with a friend who'd love it, too! They can use this link to join my list: https://jilljensen.berserkermail.com/brandvoice

No more struggling to train writers! No more disjointed messaging!

Just clear, compelling, on-brand content, every time.

What Do You Get In A V.O.I.C.E. Guide?

• Viewpoint – Define your brand’s overall perspective, how you see the world, and how you relate to your customers.

• Organization – Clear and practical SOPs, style guides, and internal conventions so your content can be created, stored, and published efficiently.

• Instructions – A writer’s best friend: it’s a user manual & training tool so they “get” how to write and execute exactly as expected.

• Consistency – Ensure every piece of content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and personality, no matter who writes it.

• Evergreen – A living document that evolves with the brand and can be used by any writer you hire.

It’s both a strategic and practical tool. Use it to catalogue, train & evaluate your brand voice so your team can execute it with ease.

P.S. Know someone who needs a brand voice boost? They can use this link to join my list and get weekly insights into all things Brand Voice: https://jilljensen.berserkermail.com/brandvoice

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