We’re often asked why it isn’t enough to tell a tool to write a post about “fresh bread in a warm and personal tone”. The answer is that warm and personal isn’t a tone. It’s a wish. The tone lives in the details.
The details that give it away
- Formal or informal. Swedish has a formal and an informal “you”, and the choice says a lot. A hairdresser speaks differently from a law firm. Switch halfway, and people notice.
- The rhythm. Some people write short sentences. Full stop. Others tell stories in long, winding paragraphs. Writing in the wrong rhythm is like speaking in the wrong voice.
- What goes unsaid. A lot of everyday Scandinavian tone is built on understatement. “Not bad at all” often means “really good”. A text that exaggerates sounds foreign at once.
- Local words. What things are called differs between regions and generations. The wrong word tells the reader the text isn’t from around here.
- Neighbouring languages. We write for businesses in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Three languages similar enough to fool you, and different enough for it to show.
The phrases that give it away most
The biggest giveaways are the phrases everyone uses: “don’t miss out”, “we look forward to your visit”, “amazing offer”. They say nothing about the business, and they signal to the reader that the text was written to fill a feed – not to tell them anything.
How we work with it
We read a lot before we write. We collect the owner’s own words and turns of phrase, and we keep a list of phrases each business should never use. When the owner corrects a text – “I wouldn’t say it like that” – we save the correction. Next time, we know.
That’s why it takes time before a text truly sounds like the owner. But it’s also why it gets better every month. Tone isn’t something you set once. It’s something you learn.
