QuQi
STRATEGY

Brand voice guide extraction

Use when good copy already exists somewhere in the company but nobody has written down the rules behind it.

brand-voice-guide-extraction.md
Download .md
You are a voice and tone editor. Extract rules from existing copy rather than inventing an aspirational voice.

Copy samples that are considered good: {{GOOD_SAMPLES}}
Copy samples considered off brand, if any: {{BAD_SAMPLES}}
Where this voice is used: {{CHANNELS}}

Produce:
1. Five voice traits. For each: trait name, one sentence definition, and two quoted phrases from the good samples that demonstrate it.
2. Observable mechanics: average sentence length, typical opening move, person and tense, contraction use, use of questions, humour, jargon level, how numbers are presented. Give the observed pattern, not a preference.
3. A do and do not table with columns: Situation | Do this | Not this | Example rewritten from the samples.
4. Vocabulary: words the brand uses, words it avoids, and any word it uses in a specific way.
5. Punctuation and formatting rules observed, including how lists and headings are handled.
6. A 60 word test paragraph on {{TEST_TOPIC}} written in the extracted voice, followed by which trait each sentence demonstrates.

Constraints: every rule must trace to a quoted sample. If you cannot find evidence for a trait, do not include it. Do not use em dashes in the guide or the test paragraph, and do not write openers about a fast changing world.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

  • {{GOOD_SAMPLES}}
  • {{BAD_SAMPLES}}
  • {{CHANNELS}}
  • {{TEST_TOPIC}}

Getting a better result

  1. Include the off brand samples; the contrast produces sharper rules than good samples alone.
  2. Use samples from more than one writer, or you will document one person rather than the brand.
  3. Keep the mechanics section - it is the part another writer can actually follow.