Today’s post is extra special because I’m handing the mic to one of my favorite business friends and humans, Lauren Elaine of With Lauren Elaine.

I’ve known Lauren for years, and she’s one of those rare people who can listen to your jumbled ideas, gently point to the heart of what’s really going on, and help you translate that into words that feel like you.

A couple of years ago, when I was feeling misaligned and a little stuck in my own brand, Lauren helped me peel everything back and remember what I actually wanted the rebrand of Kylie Buss Design to feel like. She helped me find my vision of the whimsical, dreamy, magical vibe that had been living in my head but hadn’t fully made its way into my day-to-day yet.

So if you’ve ever looked at your website or captions and thought, “This doesn’t really sound like me…” you’re going to love what she’s sharing here.

I’m so excited to welcome Lauren as a guest poster on the blog today to walk you through her process for defining a brand voice that feels aligned, recognizable, and entirely your own.

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Magic. Glimmer. Dreamy. Whimsical.

When you read those words, what comes to mind?

Maybe you picture fairytales and magic wands. Clouds and crowns. Sparkles or glitter. You might think of Taylor Swift’s Lover or the movie Enchanted. Or, if you’ve spent time in the design world, you might think of Kylie Buss Design.

That’s the power of brand voice: when only a few words can create an instant emotional brand connection.

And as more businesses turn to AI to write their website copy and captions, it’s becoming more and more obvious how few brands have a truly individual voice.

If you’re wondering how to define a brand voice that your audience instantly recognizes as your own, you’re in the right place.

Here are six steps to creating a recognizable brand voice.

First, Let’s Clarify the Definitions

Brand voice is your brand’s overall personality. It stays consistent whether you’re writing an email, social caption, press release, or website copy.

Brand tone, on the other hand, varies by context. For example, your tone on a sales page is probably going to sound a little different than your tone in a DM (and that’s okay!!!).

Voice = Consistent.
Tone = Adaptive.

Okay, perfect. Let’s begin!

Step One: Define Your Vibe

This is when your Pinterest board finally gets her moment!

Before you start writing, you need to understand how your brand is meant to feel.

A bold, activating, high-energy brand will sound wildly different from one that’s relaxed and easygoing. One is not inherently better than the other—they’re just emotionally different.

So start here: Choose five keywords that describe your overall brand vibe.

If you’re feeling stuck, ask your community for help! A simple “What words do you associate with me or my brand?” can bring a surprising extent of clarity.

Action Step: Write down five words that feel reflective of your brand.

Step Two: (Really) Understand Your Audience

You need to know your reader.

As well as you know your best friend or your favorite TV show character. You really really really need to know them — beyond their age, location, or the other surface-level demographics.

You need to understand them emotionally. What are they currently dealing with? What are they hoping for? How do they want to feel? What’s holding them back? How would they change if you helped them?

Your voice becomes 1289018x easier to find when you understand who you’re speaking to, and these questions will help foster that emotional connection that’s easier to speak to rather than writing for “a 32-year-old single woman living in NYC making $100k/year.”

Action Step: Review your testimonials, intake forms, and discovery call notes. Look for repeated language. Pay attention to how your audience describes their struggles and wants.

→ What stage of life or business are they in when they find me?
→ What prompted them to reach out?
→ What do they value? What are their routines?

Step Three: Anchor Your Voice in Your Values

Without an anchor, it’s easy to drift.

Your values are that anchor, and they’re what hold you steady when comparison creeps in.

When you’re tempted to sound like everyone else (or reach for ChatGPT for just one more email), return here. Remind yourself of what matters to you, and explore how those themes can appear throughout your brand.

Action Step: Reflect on questions like:

→ What parts of my brand feel non-negotiable, even if they go against the status quo?
→ What do I want to be known for beyond my services?
→ What feelings do I want people to associate with my brand?

Step Four: Build Your Word & Phrase Bank

Now that you’ve defined your vibe and your audience, it’s time to expand your language and consider where your vibe, audience, and values intersect.

Then, use your core keywords from Step #1 and brainstorm supporting words and phrases that connect in that world that also speak to your audience and values.

If Kylie’s keywords are magical, joyful, and whimsical, her word bank might include: charming, sparkle, dreamy, daydream, fairy, shimmer, enchanting (to name a few!). This bank becomes what you’ll reach for when you start writing copy.

Action Step: Create a full word bank and organize it into:

• Calls-to-action
• Verbs and actions
• Descriptions and adjectives
• Conceptual words (themes & philosophies)
• Signature phrases

Step Five: Curate an Emoji Bank

Just like the word bank above, your emoji bank adds consistency and familiarity throughout your copy. When used consistently, your audience may start to associate certain emojis with you.

Just like your design style, your words and emojis become part of your signature.

Action Step: Choose 5-10 emojis that reflect your vibe, audience, values, color palette, and emotional tone. Bonus points if they’re not super common (I’m looking at you, coffee emoji!).

For example, Kylie’s might look like ✨🤍🪄🧚🏻☁️💌.

Mine might be: ☕️🧸💌💐🤎🥞🏡

Note: Your emojis don’t have to directly relate to your services. They can reflect your brand’s personality, brand themes, or metaphors, etc.

Step Six: Note Your Personal Rules

When I say ‘personal writing rules,’ I’m not referring to the grammar rules our high school English teachers warned us to never ever forget.

These are your writing rules, aka how you play with rhythm, structure, and other stylistic choices in your writing that help make it recognizable.

Action Step: Review 5-10 pieces of writing you’re particularly proud of and notice patterns:

→ Do you use ALL CAPS, italics, bold, asterisks, or repeaaaating letters for emphasis?
→ Do you swear in your copy? Or maybe soften swear words using an asterisk in place of a vowel (i.e., sh*t)?
→ Do you love line breaks?
→ Do you use casual language like lil, btw, wanna, or ‘til?
→ Do you lean into multiple punctuation marks???????

These itty-bitty stylistic choices help differentiate your voice more than you realize.

The Top Mistake to Avoid

The biggest mistake I see business owners make when defining their brand voice is believing their own voice isn’t good enough.

So instead of communicating in a way that feels natural for them, they reach outward, mimicking what’s working for someone else, and then feel frustrated when it feels too performative.

And the more performative your voice becomes, the harder it is to sustain.

Your voice is enough; it might just need a nudge to align with brand & audience.

Putting It All Into Practice

Once you’ve gathered everything—the keywords, values, messaging, word bank, emojis, and personal writing rules—write everything in one living document. This will become your home base, something for you to reference every. single. time. you write.

When you’re ready to write a blog post, newsletter, or website copy, start with a rough draft first. Then, ask:

→ Where can I add more of my personality or personal stories?
→ Which words can be swapped for something from my word bank?
→ Can I use a different metaphor that feels more aligned?
→ Am I speaking in my audience’s language?

Over time, writing in your brand voice will become second nature, just like using a consistent color palette and font suite in your brand.

And if this feels overwhelming, or you’d rather not do it alone, I’d love to help you define your brand voice.