Brand voice and tone guidelines anyone can follow
Your logo looks the same everywhere; your words should sound the same too. Melon Cut Guidelines gives your brand voice and tone, personality, terminology, key messages and taglines a place in your guidelines, with notes that flag the rules that matter most.
- foundation entries for how you sound
- 5
- link for everyone who writes for you
- 1
- places it shows: Foundation and Usage
- 2
Brand voice and tone, step by step
Describe the voice
In the Foundation tab, write your Voice & Tone and your Personality: how you sound, and how that changes for an apology, a launch or a joke.
Fix the words
Add your Terminology - the words you use and the ones you avoid - and your Key Messages and Taglines, word for word.
Flag the rules
Add notes with a priority, so a Critical rule such as never promising a result stands out from a gentle preference.
Voice stays, tone adapts
Your voice is who you are in writing, and it stays the same. Your tone shifts with the moment - warmer in a thank-you, plainer in a delay notice. Writing both down lets anyone write as the brand, not only the person who started it.
The five entries that shape how you sound
Each of these is its own foundation entry with a Copy button, so writers take the approved wording instead of remembering it. A usage note on each says where it applies.
- Voice & Tone: how you sound, and how that changes with the situation
- Personality: the traits behind the voice, such as warm, direct or playful
- Terminology: preferred words, words to avoid, and how to write product names
- Key Messages: the points every piece should land
- Taglines: the exact lines, never paraphrased
Different markets, same brand
A brand can sound formal in one country and relaxed in another without becoming two brands. Write a per-market variant of your voice or your key messages, and assign each version to the markets it is for.
Give writers one link
Copywriters, agencies, social media managers and support staff all write for you. Send them your guidelines link and they find the voice next to the logo and colours, always in its latest version.
Brand voice and tone: the details
- Entries
- Voice & Tone, Personality, Terminology, Key Messages and Taglines
- Notes
- Low, Normal, High or Critical priority
- Markets
- Per-market variants of any entry
- Where it shows
- The Foundation page and Usage blocks
- Copy
- One button per entry
What is the difference between brand voice and tone?
Voice is your brand's consistent personality in words. Tone is how that voice adjusts to the moment and the audience - more serious, for example, when something has gone wrong.
What should a terminology list include?
The words you prefer, the words you avoid, and how to write your product and company names, with capitals, spacing and spelling.
Who should read the voice and tone guidelines?
Anyone who writes for the brand: copywriters, agencies, social media managers, sales and support. A link is easier to keep current than a document passed around.
Works well with
- Brand guidelines Brand foundation 16 kinds of foundation, with notes and per-market versions.
- Brand guidelines Brand guidelines website Logos, colours, fonts and rules at meloncut.com/yourbrand.
- Social media AI captions A caption for every item, written with the plan.
- Brand guidelines Brand guidelines maker Build guidelines on the page itself, on the web or in the apps.
People also ask
- Brand guidelines What is brand voice and tone? Brand voice is the consistent personality in everything a brand writes - for example warm, plain-spoken and confident. Tone is how that voice adjusts to the moment: more upbeat in a launch post, calmer in an apology, more precise in a help article. The voice stays the same everywhere; the tone changes with the audience and the situation.
- Brand guidelines What is a brand foundation (mission, vision and values)? A brand foundation is the written core of a brand: why it exists, where it is going and what it stands for. It usually includes the mission (what you do and for whom), the vision (the future you are working towards) and the values (how you behave), plus the audience, positioning and brand promise. Logos, campaigns and messages should all follow from it.
- Social media How do I keep social media posts on-brand? Write the rules down and apply them every time: the same colours, fonts, logo placement and tone of voice on every post. Brand guidelines make that possible. In Melon Cut, publish your guidelines in Melon Cut Guidelines, then type your brand's @username in Melon Cut Design: its colours, fonts and style guide every post, and your real logo file is placed on it.
Put your brand at one link
Voice, personality, terminology and key messages, written down.