# Brand voice guide extraction

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

## Fill in before running

- `{{GOOD_SAMPLES}}`
- `{{BAD_SAMPLES}}`
- `{{CHANNELS}}`
- `{{TEST_TOPIC}}`

## Prompt

```
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.
```

## Getting a better result

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

---

From the QuQi prompt library - https://www.quqi.io/prompts/brand-voice-guide-extraction