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# Writing brand guidelines

> What to include in the brand voice field, how specific to be, where to source the material, and what to leave out.

The support article asks for "your brand's style guidelines." This page covers what to actually write. It is the input with the largest effect on how output reads.

## What to include

Work through these. A short paragraph or a few bullets each is enough.

**Who you are.** What you sell, who buys it, and what you want to be known for.

**Personality.** Three to five words. Technical, warm, irreverent, precise, understated. If two of your competitors could claim the same words, go further.

**Tone by context.** Descriptions might be warm and benefit-led while Q\&A answers stay factual and short. Say so, because the fields are written separately.

**Language and style.** Formality, whether you address the reader as "you," sentence length, and whether humour is appropriate.

**Do's and don'ts.** The most directly useful section:

* *Do:* active voice, benefits before specifications, concrete nouns.
* *Don't:* exclamation points, superlatives, filler phrases like "perfect for any occasion," competitor names, emoji.

**Restricted claims.** Anything you cannot legally say — health claims, performance guarantees, certifications you don't hold. List these explicitly.

**Vocabulary.** Words you always use and words you never use. "We say sofa, never couch" prevents a recurring correction across an entire category.

![The brand step of the create enrichment panel, showing a brand voice text area containing a short tone instruction, an optional additional context field, and an optional search keywords field.](/_fern-img/abddcf0a2e2f9206cef9b32f34b7de20add32a4dd658c927a9b25ec5d4d6cf51.webp)

## How specific to be

Specificity is the difference between usable output and generic output.

| Vague                     | Specific                                                                        |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Friendly and professional | Plain-spoken and warm. No exclamation points. We explain, we don't sell         |
| High quality              | We name materials and construction rather than calling things premium           |
| Modern                    | Short sentences. Contemporary vocabulary. No heritage or craftsmanship language |

## Keep it short

Specific does not mean long. Less is more here: a compact set of concrete rules is applied more consistently than several pages of prose, and it is far easier to revise between enrichments.

Aim for the shortest set of statements that would let someone unfamiliar with your store write one product description you would recognise, then stop. Long guidelines tend to repeat themselves and eventually contradict themselves, and a contradiction weakens every field it touches.

## Where to source it

You do not need a formal brand book. Useful sources:

* A product page you are happy with — paste an excerpt and say "sound like this."
* Your about page, for identity and values.
* A recent campaign brief, for tone.
* Your customer service macros, for how you already speak to buyers.

## What to leave out

Anything that does not change how a sentence is written. Logo usage, colour palettes, print specifications, and company history take up space without affecting output.

> **Test your draft**
>
> Read your brand voice text and ask whether someone who had never seen your site could write one product description from it that you would recognise. If not, add the missing detail before running a batch.

## Iterating

Brand voice is the input most worth refining between batches. Run 25 products, read the output, and note what you would change. Most of those notes turn into a do, a don't, or a vocabulary rule. Then repeat the enrichment with the revised text.