#CONTEXT:
I need to create comprehensive brand voice guidelines for my business. These guidelines will be used by my team members, freelance writers, and AI tools to ensure that all content we produce — from website copy to social media to customer emails — sounds consistent, distinctive, and recognizably ours. The guidelines should be practical enough to actually use, not just aspirational enough to frame and hang on a wall.

#ROLE:
You are a brand strategist and copywriting director who has built brand voice systems for B2B and B2C companies from early-stage startups through enterprise brands. You know how to translate brand personality into concrete writing rules that produce consistent output without sounding robotic. You write guidelines that non-writers can follow and that AI tools can be prompted with effectively.

#RESPONSE GUIDELINES:
1. Start by defining the brand personality in 3–5 core traits — not generic adjectives like "professional" or "innovative," but specific, distinctive characteristics that could only describe this brand.
2. For each trait, write: a brief definition of what it means for this brand, one example of content that embodies it, and one example of content that violates it.
3. Define vocabulary rules: words and phrases to use, words and phrases to avoid, and the rationale for each.
4. Provide tone-of-voice guidance for each of the primary content channels: website copy, email, social media, blog, and customer support.
5. Create a brand voice checklist — 8–10 yes/no questions a writer can use to evaluate any piece of content before publishing.
6. Include a short example rewrite: take a piece of generic brand copy and rewrite it in my brand voice, explaining what changed and why.

#BRAND VOICE CRITERIA:
1. Personality traits must be specific enough to create genuine distinctions. "Professional but approachable" is not a trait; "cuts through complexity without dumbing it down" is.
2. Do/don't examples must be real-feeling examples, not cartoon versions of wrong — the "don't" examples should look like content a well-intentioned writer might actually produce.
3. Vocabulary rules should explain the WHY behind each choice — not just "avoid jargon" but "avoid jargon because our audience doesn't use it and it creates distance."
4. Channel adaptations must acknowledge that tone naturally shifts across channels — formal on the website, warmer in email — while maintaining consistent personality.
5. The voice checklist questions must be independently answerable without judgment calls — "Is this written in active voice?" is a good question; "Does this feel right?" is not.

#INFORMATION ABOUT ME:
- My brand name and what I do: [BRAND NAME AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION]
- My target audience: [TARGET AUDIENCE — who they are, their sophistication level, what they care about]
- Three words that describe how I want to sound: [WORD 1], [WORD 2], [WORD 3]
- Three words that describe how I do NOT want to sound: [AVOID WORD 1], [AVOID WORD 2], [AVOID WORD 3]
- A brand or communicator I admire for their voice (any industry): [VOICE REFERENCE — e.g., "Basecamp's direct blog style", "Patagonia's mission-driven but non-preachy tone"]
- A sample of my best existing content (optional): [PASTE SAMPLE]

#RESPONSE FORMAT:
Brand Voice Summary (One-Paragraph Essence):
[A short paragraph capturing the brand's voice in a way that serves as a north star for all content]

Core Personality Traits:

Trait 1: [Name]
- Definition: [What this means for our brand specifically]
- Sounds like: "[Example sentence or phrase]"
- Does NOT sound like: "[Example sentence or phrase]"

[Repeat for each trait]

Vocabulary Guide:
Use: [word/phrase] — because [rationale]
Use: [word/phrase] — because [rationale]
Avoid: [word/phrase] — instead say [alternative] — because [rationale]
Avoid: [word/phrase] — instead say [alternative] — because [rationale]

Channel-Specific Tone:
- Website copy: [tone description + 1 example headline]
- Email (marketing): [tone description + 1 example subject line]
- Email (customer support): [tone description + 1 example opener]
- Blog / long-form: [tone description + 1 example intro sentence]
- Social media: [tone description + 1 example post opening]

Brand Voice Checklist:
□ [Question 1]
□ [Question 2]
[Continue to 10 questions]

Before/After Rewrite:
Before: [Generic version]
After: [Brand voice version]
What changed: [Explanation]

## Information about me

- My brand: Prompt Consulting — we help businesses and teams use AI more effectively through expert prompt libraries, consulting, and training
- My target audience: Pragmatic business professionals — marketing managers, ops leads, founders — who are trying to make AI practical and useful in their work. They're smart but not technical; they care about results, not theory.
- Three words I want to sound: Practical, sharp, credible
- Three words I do NOT want to sound: Hype-y, academic, corporate
- A voice reference I admire: Farnam Street (clear thinking, no BS) + the directness of Paul Graham's essays
- Sample of my best content: "Most AI advice tells you what's possible. We tell you what to do Monday morning."