The brand voice guides that get used are the ones that show rather than tell. Saying your brand is "professional but approachable" or "bold but not arrogant" gives your team a set of adjectives and very little else. What actually changes writing behavior is seeing the difference between a sentence that embodies the brand and one that doesn't.
These 50 examples are organized across the five dimensions of voice that matter most: clarity, confidence, warmth, specificity, and format. Each pairing shows the same basic idea expressed in the generic brand voice most companies default to, and then in a voice that has real personality.
1. Don’t: "We leverage best-in-class solutions to drive synergistic outcomes for our stakeholders." Do: "We build marketing systems that get your phone ringing."
2. Don’t: "Our holistic approach encompasses all aspects of the digital experience ecosystem." Do: "We handle your website, your SEO, and your ads. You handle everything else."
3. Don’t: "Utilizing our proprietary methodology, we optimize conversion pathways." Do: "We find the specific thing killing your conversion rate and fix it."
4. Don’t: "Comprehensive digital transformation solutions for modern enterprises." Do: "Marketing strategy for companies that have tried everything and are tired of guessing."
5. Don’t: "We empower businesses to achieve their full potential." Do: "We help businesses grow. That's it."
6. Don’t: "Innovative, forward-thinking, results-driven marketing excellence." Do: "We run campaigns that pay for themselves or we tell you why they won't."
7. Don’t: "Strategic brand development for scalable growth opportunities." Do: "Before you run ads, you need a brand worth clicking on. We build that."
8. Don’t: "Our integrated suite of marketing solutions drives measurable business outcomes." Do: "One team. Your website, your content, your ads. One monthly report that tells you what each one did."
9. Don’t: "We deliver transformative results through data-driven decision-making." Do: "We make decisions based on your numbers, not ours."
10. Don’t: "Unlocking the potential of your digital presence." Do: "Your website is probably losing customers. We find the leak."
11. Don’t: "We try to provide quality marketing services when possible." Do: "We don’t take clients we can’t help."
12. Don’t: "We hope our approach will be beneficial for your needs." Do: "If this isn’t working in 90 days, we’ll tell you."
13. Don’t: "Our team is fairly experienced in digital marketing." Do: "We’ve managed over $10 million in client ad spend. We know what breaks."
14. Don’t: "Results may vary depending on your specific situation." Do: "Results depend on your market and your starting point. We’ll be honest about both before we start."
15. Don’t: "We do our best to respond to inquiries in a timely manner." Do: "You hear from us within 24 hours. Always."
16. Don’t: "Some clients have seen improvement in their marketing metrics." Do: "Our last 12 clients averaged a 3.2x return on their retainer within six months."
17. Don’t: "We would love the opportunity to potentially partner with you." Do: "Book a call. We’ll tell you in 30 minutes whether we’re the right fit."
18. Don’t: "We believe our approach might be well-suited to your goals." Do: "Either this is the right approach for you or it isn’t. We’ll figure that out in the first conversation."
19. Don’t: "We try to stay up-to-date with industry trends and developments." Do: "We run our own business on the same strategies we recommend. We know what’s actually working."
20. Don’t: "Thank you for considering us as a potential marketing partner." Do: "Thanks for taking the time. Here’s what we think you should do next."
21. Don’t: "Clients are important stakeholders in our service delivery process." Do: "We’re all just trying to build something we’re proud of. That’s the common ground."
22. Don’t: "We prioritize client satisfaction as a key performance indicator." Do: "We don’t think of you as a KPI. We think of you as someone with a problem we want to solve."
23. Don’t: "Our team is committed to delivering exceptional service." Do: "We stay later when something isn’t working. Not because we have to — because it bothers us."
24. Don’t: "We value your business and appreciate your continued patronage." Do: "We like our clients. That’s probably why most of them stay."
25. Don’t: "Our client-centric approach ensures alignment with your objectives." Do: "We ask a lot of questions at the start because your version of success is not the same as our last client’s."
26. Don’t: "We provide a supportive environment for client growth and development." Do: "We’ll tell you when something we recommended isn’t working. We’d rather have the uncomfortable conversation than bill for time on a strategy that’s failing."
27. Don’t: "Our team brings extensive experience to every client engagement." Do: "There are probably three of us who’ve seen your exact situation before. One of them is on your account."
28. Don’t: "We welcome the opportunity to address any concerns you may have." Do: "If something feels off, just say so. That’s what the retainer is for."
29. Don’t: "We look forward to a productive and mutually beneficial relationship." Do: "Let’s find out if we’re a good match. The worst case is you leave the call with a better idea of what you actually need."
30. Don’t: "Thank you for submitting an inquiry to our team." Do: "Got it. We’ll take a look at your site before we talk."
31. Don’t: "We help businesses grow their online presence." Do: "We help home service businesses in mid-size markets rank on Google and get more calls."
32. Don’t: "Our clients see great results." Do: "Our clients average 40% more organic traffic in 90 days. Our best result in the last year was 200%."
33. Don’t: "We have experience working with various types of businesses." Do: "We’ve worked with 60+ local businesses across six cities. Most of them are in healthcare, home services, or professional services."
34. Don’t: "Our pricing is competitive and transparent." Do: "Most retainers start at $2,500/month. We’ll tell you what’s included and what’s not in the first conversation."
35. Don’t: "We offer a range of digital marketing services." Do: "We do three things: brand, website, and growth marketing. We don’t do social media management, PR, or video production."
36. Don’t: "We have a proven track record." Do: "We’ve delivered above the retainer value for 87% of clients in their first 90 days. We have the invoices and the results to prove it."
37. Don’t: "Our process is designed to maximize outcomes." Do: "Month 1 is audit and strategy. Month 2 we execute. Month 3 we report and adjust. That’s every engagement."
38. Don’t: "We take a data-driven approach to every campaign." Do: "Every decision we make can be traced back to a number. We document the number, the decision, and what happened."
39. Don’t: "We deliver quality content across multiple platforms." Do: "One article per week, two LinkedIn posts, one email. Everything repurposed from the same core asset so you’re not paying for the same idea four times."
40. Don’t: "We provide ongoing support and optimization." Do: "We review your numbers every 30 days, document what changed, and tell you what we’re changing next and why."
41. Don’t: Paragraph after paragraph of dense copy with no visual breaks. Do: Short paragraphs. Space to breathe. One idea per sentence.
42. Don’t: "In conclusion, it is evident that..." Do: End with the sharpest sentence in the piece, not a summary.
43. Don’t: Starting every email with "I hope this finds you well." Do: Start with the point. They’re already reading. You don’t need a warm-up.
44. Don’t: Four-syllable words where one-syllable words exist. Do: "Use" instead of "utilize." "Start" instead of "commence."
45. Don’t: Passive voice as a default. Do: "We built this" not "this was built by our team."
46. Don’t: Headlines that don’t tell you what the piece is about. Do: Headlines that answer the question before they ask it to be clicked.
47. Don’t: Seven bullet points that all start with the same word. Do: Three bullet points with real sentences that actually say something different.
48. Don’t: "Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions." Do: "Questions? Just reply."
49. Don’t: Burying the ask at the end of a long email. Do: Lead with what you need, support it with context, end with a clear next step.
50. Don’t: Writing to sound impressive. Do: Writing to be understood.
