What a brand voice profile is, and how to build your own in an afternoon

Every client engagement I run starts with the same document: a voice profile. It is the reason AI-assisted content can sound like a specific doctor or mentor instead of a generic expert.

Here is what goes into one, so you can build a first version yourself.

Step 1: Gather your raw material

Collect 20-30 pieces of things you have already said or written. Variety matters more than polish:

• Your best-performing posts
• Transcripts of talks, webinars or podcast appearances
• Long emails where you explained something to a client or student
• Your answers to frequently asked questions

Spoken material is the most valuable. It shows how you actually talk.

Step 2: Pull out your phrases

Read through everything and highlight the words and phrases you repeat: the analogies you use, the way you open an explanation, the words you never use. Write down 15-25 of them.

Step 3: List your opinions

Write down ten things you believe about your field that not everyone agrees with. “Most people start X too late.” “The standard advice on Y is outdated.” These become your strongest posts.

Step 4: Collect your stories

List ten stories you tell often: a turning point in your career, a common mistake you see, a case that changed how you work. One line each is enough for now.

Step 5: Write the rules

Finish with a short list of rules for anyone (or any AI) writing as you:

• Sentence length and tone (short and direct, or warm and explanatory?)
• Words to avoid
• How formal to be with your audience
• Topics that are off limits

How to use it

Give the profile to whoever writes your content, or paste it into your AI tool before every writing session. Then check every draft against it. If a line does not sound like something you would say, cut it.

My free brand voice worksheet walks through each of these steps. If you would rather have it done for you, it is the first thing I build in every UGC content engagement.