Tree Aid: tone of voice guidelines, boilerplate copy and key messages
It’s not only what you say, but how you say it.
And it’s the specific words you choose to use.
Tone of voice is an essential part of building your brand and promoting your charity.
With my colleague Sarah Myers, I worked with Tree Aid to help them come up with a new tone of voice before they rewrote their website copy.
We reviewed existing communications and interviewed around 10 members of staff and supporters. This insight helped us produce guidelines featuring: key messages, words to avoid, boilerplate copy and rewritten content examples in the new tone of voice.
Sarah and I then mentored key members of staff to help them write website copy in the new tone of voice. Then we worked on the charity’s impact report, putting the tone of voice into action.
I have worked on numerous tone of voice projects, including with Rethink Mental Illness, Alzheimer’s Society, the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Music in Hospitals & Care.