how to find your voice

Voice and Tone Creating content for humans @katekiefer voiceandtone.com mailchimp.com

Find your voice Speak onto the page Watch your tone Know when to keep a straight face Be honest

Ask questions What does your company do?

Why did you start your company?

Why do people visit your website?

Who are your customers?

What other companies do you admire?

Ask questions If your brand were a person, how would you If your brand were a person, how would you describe them? describe or her?

Show mehim a few examples of content that suits your brand. other companies do you admire?

ShowWhat me a few examples of content that How do you want people to feel when they visit your website? suits your brand.

How do you want people to feel when they visit your website?

MailChimp is fun but not childish. clever but not silly. powerful but not complicated. smart but not stodgy. cool but not alienating. informal but not sloppy. helpful but not overbearing. expert but not bossy.

Design persona (Aarron Walter)

Voice guidelines company's mission content types specific content examples brand traits personality explanation reader/customer types visual guidelines

Yaaaawn.

styleguide.yahoo.com

"It is insight into human nature that is key to the communicator's skill.

For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it.

He therefore becomes a student of how people read or listen."

William Bernbach

Find your voice Speak onto the page Watch your tone Know when to keep a straight face Be honest

"A good teacher I know, Jennifer Auger, has a simple but effective technique for the writing classroom.

When her students have blah voiceless writing, she makes them speak the following words to her before reading their text: 'Listen to me, I have something to tell you.'"

Peter Elbow Vernacular Eloquence: What Speech Can Bring to Writing

Jerrold, a Nerdbot

Any questions?

Next up: Watch your tone Know when to keep a straight face Be honest

Find your voice Speak onto the page Watch your tone Know when to keep a straight face Be honest

Style guide: content types The app The application is MailChimp’s heart. Its language helps people along as they create, send and track email campaigns. People using the app already know and love MailChimp, so we can have a little fun with the language–though our priority is helping them get their work done quickly.

Why we do it: Duh.

Microcopy Microcopy is that small but oh-so-important instructional copy that you usually see in forms and feedback messages. It might remind a user that her password has to contain a number or explain that email communication will only be used regarding a specific order. We also call it “help text,” and you see it both in the app and on the public site.

It’s short and to-the-point.

Why we do it: To help users complete tasks.

MailChimp newsletter MailChimp’s email newsletter is a company update written by our CEO, Ben. It’s full of photos, stories, experiments, links and announcements for customers who want to know more about MailChimp. It’s casual and entertaining.

Why we do it: To give customers more MailChimp news and provide an occasional behind-the-scenes look at how the company works. We are an email service, after all.

Mascot’s jokes: an extra layer of humor

Compliance alert: bad news

Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions

"If advertising had a little more respect for the public, the public would have a lot more respect for advertising."

James Randolph Adams

To determine your tone of voice, consider: 1. Content type 2. The reader's emotional state

Ask yourself What situation is the reader in that's bringing her to this content?

What situation will this content put her in?

How does the reader feel right now?

How will this content make her feel?

What can I do to maintain the reader's state of mind or put her in a better one?

Touchy subjects

Sensitive content types

health and medicine religion politics money and banking private information fundraising

help content contact page FAQ forms privacy policies and terms of use failure messages and alerts

"No tears tears in in the the writer, writer, no no tears tears in in the the reader." reader."

"No Robert Frost Frost Robert

Tufts University’s voice wiki Tufts University’s voice and and tone tone guidelines

wikis.uit.tufts.edu

Tufts University’s voice and tone guidelines

wikis.uit.tufts.edu

Indiana University Alumni Association IU Alumni Association’s word oppositions

alumni.indiana.edu

be.macmillan.org.uk

Macmillan Cancer Support’s writing guide

be.macmillan.org.uk

Gov.UK’s style guide

Some examples (and mistakes I’ve made)

WRONG tone of voice

Playful tone of voice

Obama campaign’s unsubscribe screen

flickr.com/whitehouse

Romney campaign’s unsubscribe screen

Photojojo’s unsubscribe form

Photojojo’s unsubscribe screen

Tea Muse’s unsubscribe screen

"The consumer isn’t a moron. She is your wife."

David Ogilvy

Find your voice Speak onto the page Watch your tone Know when to keep a straight face Be honest

mint.com 404

Current 404

404 reject

Woot’s product description

woot.com

Woot’s contact page

woot.com

More questions!

Next up: Be honest

Find your voice Speak onto the page Watch your tone Know when to keep a straight face Be honest

Warby Parker’s roots

warbyparker.com

Warby Parker’s library

warbyparker.com

Warby Parker’s writing guide

Warby Parker’s story page

warbyparker.com

Oh, really?

Maker’s Mark’s apology

“We’re humbled by your overwhelming response and passion for Maker’s Mark. While we thought we were doing what’s right, this is your brand – and you told us in large numbers to change our decision.

You spoke. We listened. And we’re sincerely sorry we let you down.”

makersmark.com

"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Maya Angelou

Thanks. @katekiefer voiceandtone.com mailchimp.com