“How would you describe your brand voice?” One of the first things I do when working with wedding industry business owners is I ask them to complete a big giant onboarding questionnaire. It starts with all the boring questions like contact info and basic business details, but then it gets to the good stuff. The meat and potatoes of this form dives deep into your branding—your tone of voice and vibe, your visual branding (think your logo, fonts, and colors), and the words you use to talk about your business. The key part of this is your brand voice. 

As someone who mainly focuses on writing content for wedding businesses, understanding your brand voice is crucial for me to be able to do my job well and write as if I’m you. But you’d be surprised how many wedding entrepreneurs really struggle with the brand voice section of my form. It’s as if they’ve never really taken the time to think about it deeply and define it for themselves. And I get it—you’re an artist, not a brand marketer! You may be more comfortable talking about your visual style (especially if you’re a photographer), but when asked to simply describe your brand’s written tone of voice with three adjectives, you come up with crickets.

Don’t wait until a blogging partner like me asks you about your brand voice to start developing and implementing it. The way you speak to your audience about your business (and how you’ll help theirs) can make all the difference in attracting your dream clients and turning those inquiries into bookings. And guess what? Not only do I help my blogging and Pinterest clients solidify their brand’s tone of voice (my giant form is not for nothing!), but I’m also going to share a few of my biggest tips here on how to nail your brand voice and watch your client list grow. So keep reading to learn why it’s so important and how you can develop your brand voice starting right now.

Define Your Brand Personality

First things first, you need to flesh out who you are as a brand. What sets you apart from every other photographer, planner, or florist your potential clients will come across? What’s your “unique selling proposition” that other peers in your area cannot claim? The wedding market is SATURATED. It’s worth the time to figure out how you’re different from the rest so you can begin to communicate that.

Often, your brand’s personality will mirror your personal one—who you are as an individual. Think about ways your friends or past clients describe you. Whether it’s your unparalleled eye for detail, your knack for calming nerves on the big day, or your commitment to eco-friendly solutions, come up with a list of qualities that you KNOW you possess, a list of qualities you HOPE to portray to clients, and a list of core VALUES that are important to you. After all, you want to attract clients who share your vision, vibe, and values. Marry those lists together (see what I did there?) and that’s a really good starting point for solidifying your brand’s personality.

Understand Your Ideal Client Persona

Now that you’ve solidified your brand’s personality, let’s get down to the brass tacks of knowing who you’re talking to—and who you’re attracting. Who’s your ideal client? What makes them tick? Don’t just stop at the shallow details. Craft a compelling, specific persona of one particular person that you could describe as a dream client. How old are they, and how far along are they in their career? What kind of background (or geographical region) do they come from? Those kinds of questions help clarify which services they might be looking for and the price point they may fall within. What are the problems they face and what things are most important to them? What do they want to feel from working with someone like you?

Understanding your ideal audience persona is key to speaking their language and making them feel like you’re the perfect fit for their wedding day. Learning how to communicate in an audience-centric way is quite possibly the most important tip in this list. It affects how you communicate on every channel you use—your website, your social media, your blog and Pinterest profile, and your email workflows. And yet, so many wedding pros focus mostly on talking about themselves and their brand. But future clients want you to speak about THEM, and how you’ll make their dreams come alive.  

An easy way to make this mental switch is to make sure that your client’s desired outcome is the focus of your sentence, not your brand. For example, instead of “Capturing joy and timeless memories in the Bay area” simply reframe it from the client’s point of view: “Serving Bay-area couples looking for joy-filled and timeless memories.” So go ahead and take a minute to flip the script and think audience-first. Let their wants, needs, and pain points take center stage in your content. 

Use Emotions & Story to Connect with Your Audience

Emotions are the heart and soul of every wedding and every wedding-planning experience! Your brand voice should do more than just convey information—it should tug at the heartstrings of your audience and make them feel something. Whether it’s excitement, nostalgia, or FOMO, evoking emotion is the secret sauce to building a meaningful connection with potential clients. Don’t forget to think beyond your future couples and keep in mind their parents and older relatives who often first discover a wedding vendor and recommend them to the couple. Everyone involved in planning a wedding is motivated by sentiment and emotion, since they want a perfect day to cherish not only that weekend, but forever.

Storytelling is another powerful tool for conveying your brand message in a way that’s engaging and relatable. No doubt you could re-tell an unforgettable story right now that you heard from someone else. Real-life examples and personal experiences are much more memorable than facts or statistics. That’s why sharing client stories and your own memories is so important, especially in a context like your blog. Not only does it give a connection point with your audience, but it lets them peek behind the curtain and get to know the real you. It will help them know how they’ll feel when they work with you.

Showcase Your Expertise & Credibility

As a small business owner in the wedding industry, it can be easy to slide into imposter syndrome. But clients need to hear and experience your confidence in yourself in order to trust you with something as important as their wedding day. Your brand voice should portray expertise and professionalism to build your credibility. Educating your audience on a topic in your area may feel a bit “teachy” and weird at first, but it’s an amazing way to build credibility and help you stand out from the pack.

Testimonials help with building credibility, but I’d argue that you can exude confidence without them—if you get your brand voice just right. Perhaps you’re newer in your business journey or you’re looking to break into a new area where you have less experience.  Don’t be shy! No matter how inexperienced you may feel, you’ve always got tips, tricks, and insights to share with your audience. Whether it’s through blog posts, social media captions, or client stories, showcasing your expertise is a surefire way to build trust and credibility with your audience.

Use a Consistent Brand Voice Across Platforms

Last but not least, let’s talk consistency. It’s easy to fall into patterns of communicating differently based on the platform—Instagram can bring out that uber-feminine girl-boss voice, your website can feel more formal, and your email flows can seem rigid and business-like. But your brand voice should act more like your favorite little black dress—timeless, true to you, and ready to be pulled out of the closet for literally any occasion.

Whether it’s your blog, website, social media profiles, or email newsletters, maintaining a consistent tone of voice for your brand ensures that potential clients know exactly what to expect from you and your work. Settle on your brand voice strategy and then make sure you implement it everywhere. If you’ve been doing this awhile, it’s good to take stock of all of your current workflows and your most popular blog posts to make sure they really resonate with who you are as a brand, right now.

Nailing your brand voice is essential to help you stand out from your wedding industry peers and attract more of your ideal clients. You want clients who not only vibe with the work you provide, but also with you as a person! So, take the time to define your brand personality, understand your audience persona, connect emotionally with them, and showcase your expertise in consistent ways across all the platforms where you show up. 

Of course, if you’re looking for a helping hand along the way (or you’re really curious about my giant client onboarding questionnaire!) don’t hesitate to reach out to schedule a discovery call. One of the most important aspects of my work as a blog writing partner is helping you solidify your brand voice and then learning it like the back of my hand. Then together, we’ll sit back and watch your business grow!