Most small business owners know exactly how they sound when they talk to a customer over the counter. The hard part is making it sound the same in writing. Here is the method we start from ourselves, simplified so you can do it on your own.
1. Gather your last ten posts
Print them out or put them side by side on your screen. Include both the ones you’re happy with and the ones you’d rather forget. It’s the pattern we’re after, not the individual posts.
2. Mark what got a response
Circle the posts that got comments, questions or shares. Then look at what they have in common. Often they’re not the most polished ones – they’re the ones where something real shows: a person, a moment, a detail.
3. Look for your own words
Underline words and phrases you use often. Then write down the phrases that don’t sound like you – “don’t miss out”, “amazing selection”, “we look forward to your visit”. They tend to creep in when you write in a hurry and try to sound professional.
4. Describe the business in three words
Not what you sell, but how you are. Then ask a regular customer or a colleague to do the same, without showing them your words. If the words differ a lot, that’s an important discovery: the picture you have of the business isn’t the one your customers have.
5. Write a note with two columns
On the left: This is how we sound. On the right: This is how we don’t sound. Fill it with examples from your own posts. Put the note up where you usually write. It’s your own little style guide, and it’s worth more than many pages from an agency.
Why it works
Once you know how you sound, writing gets easier. You don’t have to invent a tone every time – you just check that the text fits the note. It’s the same principle we use when we write for our customers: tone first, then text.
