If we haven’t met — hi. I’m Steph.
But my friends call me Laffy, so you can call me Laffy.
Before we get into the fun brand voice stuff, here’s what you should probably know about me:
I’m certified brand voice builder, messaging strategist, and creative copywriter.
I’ve been doing this whole brand voice and messaging thing for…about six-ish years now? She says as a question because what is time. Long enough to see how truly weird writing for your own business can get.
I’ve written websites, emails, captions, built voices — you name it — for folks at all kinds of stages and in all kinds of industries.
I’ve got a certification in brand voice, one in website UX, and roughly 14 million tabs open at all times on language, identity, and why writing for your business gets so weird so fast.
Basically?
I help creative service providers and founders of small-but-mighty teams build brand voice and messaging systems that don’t just look good in a Google Doc — but actually make writing feel like something you might want to do again. Maybe even…dare I say it…fun.
We start with voice.
Then drill down into what the hell you actually want to say.
Then turn it all into a system you can tap into and pour into every corner of your brand — from your homepage to your Dubsado form to that spicy little rant that’s been sitting in your drafts folder for three weeks. (You know the one.)
Talking about brand voice can go in a lot of different directions, but this show is especially for the ones in one of those fun “in-between” phases.
You’re not new to this.
You’ve been winging it and vibing your way through for a while now.
You’ve got the client results, the offers, the opinions.
You’ve tried the templates. Maybe even worked with a writer. Maybe you’re smack in the middle of a rebrand right now.
You can feel that next version of your brand juuusttt out of your metaphorical arms reach.
But, finding the words for it all has you feeling…
Hella stressed.
Or maybe even just bored.
You’re don’t wanna sound generic.
You’re tired of second-guessing every sentence.
Tired of watching other humans on the internet (seemingly bolder humans) say the thing you’ve been thinking but haven’t quite had the guts to say.
You want to trust what you’re saying, feel good putting it out there, and maybe even enjoy writing again. (I know. Wild.)
If that’s feeling #relatable. You’ve wandered into the right spot.
Alright. So.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way…
Let’s talk about brand voice.
Who be she? What be she?
And maybe most more importantly: Where does one even begin?
Now, I could give you the whole spiel.
Voice is made up of the vocabulary you use, the rhythm of your sentences, the cadence and pacing, the tone you take across platforms — and how that tone shifts depending on where and when you’re showing up.
The whole hoopla.
And I will. If you really want me to.
But I honestly don’t think that’s the most helpful place to start.
Because if you’re here, you’re probably still figuring out what your brand voice feels like.
Not in a theoretical sense — in a real, usable, “please help me say this better” kind of way.
And a textbook definition?
It’s probably not gonna help you much.
(Leave the nerdy stuff to me.)
Hell, you’ve probably already filled out a brand voice workbook or two that told you you’re “bold, fun, and authentic,” and then left you staring at a blank doc wondering what the hell to do with that.
What you actually need is a way into this thing.
Something that makes brand voice feel less like a vague concept and more like something you can actually recognize and use.
And maybe — just maybe — a reminder that your voice is probably already showing up.
You just haven’t been taught how to notice it yet.
Because here’s the deal:
Brand voice isn’t something you have to create from scratch. Unless thats what you’re into.
More often than not — especially for small teams or personal brands — it’s something you unearth.
Something you recognize.
And something you build up, a layer at a time.
So if I were to give you a “step one,”
it’s this:
Get curious about what’s at that base layer. What’s already there. Or even, if you are building a brand from scratch, what you want your voice to be.
Because voice can feel like this big, sweeping, high-stakes concept you’re supposed to nail on the first try.
Like you need to crack open a fresh Google Doc and bang out a perfect brand voice guide before you’re allowed to post anything.
But…no.
Who wants to do that? No one.
Unless we’re looking to procrastinate. A useless strategy doc is a greaaaattt procrastination tool. One of my go tos.
No, we start with curiosity.
The goal of a brand voice is to help you feel more confident showing up in the way you want to — whatever that looks like for you.
And THAT starts with playing and getting clear with what you want to live at that base layer.
When you feel clear on that foundation, everything else gets easier. You experiment more, play more, create more — because you’re anchored in something you feel good about and are actually stoked to share with other humans.
So instead of chasing the idea of full-blown voice clarity off the get go, I want you to zoom in.
Start noticing the little stuff.
The way you already communicate — in your brand, in your DMs, in the weird half-sentences you send your best friend.
What do you like about it?
What do you wish showed up more?
That’s where we start.
Seriously. Start a note in your phone.
Call it “Brand Voice Clues” or “Brand Voice Playtime” or whatever you want.
And here’s a real-world example to show you what I mean.
Recently, I got added to a group chat.
Introvert gasp
This is a tres rare and unsettling event in my life. But we pressed on.
I entered the chat, and the only person I had saved in my phone was the friend who added me. Everyone else? Mystery digits.
Instead of asking “hey, who’s who?” like a normal person…I waited.
One message came in. Then another. Then another.
And within three messages, I knew who was who.
How?
Because voice is real, friend. Even in a text message.
You’ve probably felt this too — when your friend is driving and her partner texts on her behalf, and the second you read it you’re like,
“Woah. What the hell is this? Have they been taken hostage?!”
It might be her words, but it’s not her voice.
You can tell. Instantly.
That’s how specific and baked-in our voice is or can be.
And it leaks through everything…if you let it. And if you’re curious enough to notice.
- How excited someone sounds (or doesn’t) aka capital letter and !!! usage
- when they’re being sarcastic vs that chill friend that loves an ellipses.
- Who types in all lowercase
- Who uses punctuation and who refuses
- Who sends keysmashes when something’s funny vs sends a 3-paragraph soliloquy
- Who says “lmao” to everything and means absolutely nothing by it
- And there’s always that one friend who sends memes instead of using actual words (it’s me. I’m that one friend.)
- Who lovvvesss a pop culture reference
- Some love a pun. Others go for the deadpan one-liners.
- Some people would rather die than use the crying-laughing face emoji. Others can’t complete a sentence without 🔥 or 😍 or 👀.
You get the picture.
That? That’s voice.
It’s the teeny tiny, sometimes quirky ways, you bring your special kind of energy to the table.
And it absolutely shows up in writing — if you stop trying to sound the way you think you’re “supposed” to.
You’ve probably been taught — directly or indirectly — to sand down your edges.
To write like a “brand”.
But, voice isn’t about being loud for the sake of it. Or clever. Or silly. Or whatever.
It’s about being recognizable.
So if you dropped your brand into a random group chat, we’d know, instantly:
Yep. That’s them.
That’s the goal.
So here’s what I want you to do.
Start a note on your phone.
Title it whatever you want — brand voice clues, shit I say a lot, voice stuff, Steph told me to do this. I don’t care.
Just open a note.
And any time you notice something about the way you write or speak or express things drop it in there.
It could be:
- a phrase you use all the time without realizing it
- a reaction your clients have to something you wrote
- a meme that feels very “you”
- a type of joke you always make
- words or punctuation you default to when texting friends
- the soundtrack that’s basically playing in your head while you write (yes, that counts)
The tiniest things are fair game.
Because voice lives in the tiny things.
And if you keep that note open, you’ll start to notice little subfolders forming.
The way you ask questions.
The rhythm you naturally write in.
Your level of sarcasm.
Your go-to sentence starters.
Whether you’re “no thoughts, just vibes” or “here’s my 6-paragraph thesis.”
That’s the stuff that becomes your voice.
Not all at once.
Not in a three-word adjective list.
But slowly.
Layer by layer.
As you start noticing what’s already showing up — and decide which parts you want to keep, dial up, or rewrite entirely.
But for now?
Just start the note.
Stay curious.
And don’t overthink it.
