"Warm and Professional" Is Killing Your Brand, Here's How to Build a Brand Voice with Grit.

If your copy could belong to any of your competitors, you don’t have a voice. You have a template. Here’s how to fix that.

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There’s a version of your voice that exists when you’re talking to a friend. The one that's unfiltered, maybe a little sharp, and actually has opinions. And then there’s the version that shows up in your marketing. Smoothed out and careful, trying not to offend anyone.

That gap is costing you.

Because the polished version sounds like everyone else, it’s forgettable by design. You sanded down the edges to sound professional, and now there’s nothing left for people to hold onto.

Your voice needs grit, personality, and edges people can actually feel.

So, let’s fix it.

What Brand Voice Actually Is

Brand voice isn’t a list of adjectives. It’s not “friendly, professional, and empowering.” That’s a mood board for words, not a voice.

Real brand voice is how you say things. The rhythm of your sentences. The words you reach for instinctively. The phrases that could only come from you. The way you explain ideas that makes people think, “I’ve never heard it put that way before.”

It’s personality on the page, and personality has its edges.

Think about the people you actually remember from conversations. They’re not the ones who said all the right things in all the right ways. They’re the ones who said something unexpected. Something with a point of view. Something that made you lean in or laugh or think.

Your brand voice should do the same thing.

Why Most Brand Voices Have No Grit

Here’s what happens: founders sit down to “develop their brand voice” and immediately start filtering themselves.

What sounds professional? What won’t offend anyone? What’s safe to say?

They sand down every edge. They remove anything that might polarize. They end up with copy that’s technically fine but completely invisible. This is the nice trap.

Nice is likable and approachable. It’s also forgettable. Because nice doesn’t have a point of view. It doesn’t take a stance. It just exists, pleasantly, in the background while everyone scrolls past.

The brands people remember have grit, opinion, and edges you can feel.

That doesn’t mean aggressive or rude. It means specific, clear, and willing to say things other brands won’t say.

How to Build a Voice with Actual Grit

Here’s the process I use.

Kill the category language.

Every industry has words everyone uses. In coaching, it’s “transformational” and “step into your power.” In wellness, it’s “nourish” and “self-care journey.” In business, it’s “results-driven” and “reach your full potential.”

These words are dead. They’ve been used so many times they don’t mean anything anymore. When you use them, you sound like everyone else by default.

Make a list of the words your industry loves. Then ban them from your vocabulary. This forces you to find fresh language. Your own language. Words that actually mean something because they haven’t been beaten to death.

Find your signature phrases.

What do you say that no one else says?

Maybe it’s a way you describe a common problem. A metaphor you use to explain your approach. A phrase that keeps showing up in your content because it captures something essential about how you think.

These become your verbal signature.
The phrases people associate with you and only you.

I talk about “performative marketing” and “brand doing the heavy lifting” and “signal-first branding.” Those phrases are mine. When someone hears them, they think of me.

What are yours?

Develop your hot takes.

What do you believe that’s not universally agreed upon? What would you say that might make some people uncomfortable? What’s your actual opinion, not the safe version you’ve been sharing?

Hot takes don’t have to be inflammatory. They just have to have a clear position that not everyone shares.

“Show up more isn’t the answer” is a hot take. “Most branding advice is built for extroverts” is a hot take. “Pretty visuals are killing your conversions” is a hot take.

These become the backbone of your content, they give your voice somewhere to go.

Write like you talk, then sharpen it.

Read your copy out loud. Does it sound like you? Or does it sound like a corporate brochure wearing your logo?

The best brand voices feel conversational. Like you’re talking to one person, not broadcasting to an audience. Real language, not marketing language.

But remember this: conversational doesn’t mean rambling. You write like you talk, then you edit for impact. Cut the filler, sharpen the points, keep the personality but lose the fluff (aka filler words).

Lean into your weird.

What do you do that’s a little unusual? What would a “professional” brand coach tell you to tone down? What feels like too much?

That’s probably your edge.

Maybe you swear. Maybe you use strange metaphors. Maybe you’re blunt in a way that makes people uncomfortable. Maybe you’re funny when everyone else is serious, or serious when everyone else is trying to be cute.

The thing that makes you different is the thing that makes you memorable. Don’t sand it down. Sharpen it.

What Voice with Grit Sounds Like

Let me show you the difference. I’ll take my industry as an example:

Without grit: “I help entrepreneurs build authentic brands that connect with their ideal clients.”

With grit: “I help founders who are sick of performing online build brands that do the talking for them. No content hamster wheel. No fake vulnerability. Just strategy that works when you’re not working.”

Without grit: “Discover your unique value and stand out in a crowded marketplace.”

With grit: “Your brand sounds like everyone else because you followed the same templates everyone else followed. Here’s how to stop blending in.”

Without grit: “We believe in helping founders achieve their dreams through business strategies.”

With grit: “Most business advice is built for extroverts who love being on camera. We’re not most business advice.”

Feel the difference? One sounds like every other brand. The other sounds like a specific person with a specific point of view.

Your Permission Slip

Here’s what I want you to hear: you’re allowed to sound like yourself.

You don’t have to sound “professional” if professional means boring. You don’t have to be “warm and approachable” if that means generic. You don’t have to follow the rules of how brands are supposed to sound.

The rules were made by people who benefit from everyone sounding the same, mostly because it makes their templates easier to sell.

Your voice is your competitive advantage. The thing that can’t be copied, can’t be templated. It’s the reason someone chooses you over the identical-looking competitor.

But only if you actually use it.

Where to Start

Here’s your next step.

Take something you’ve already written, a caption, an email, a page on your website. Read it out loud and ask yourself: could this have been written by any of my competitors?

If yes, rewrite it. Remove the category language. Add your actual opinion. Make it sound like you, not like a brand voice guideline.

Then do it again. And again. Until every piece of copy you write is unmistakably yours.

That’s how you build voice with grit. One rewrite at a time.

Next week: I’m breaking down the specific words your industry loves that are killing your brand, and what to say instead. Because sometimes the fastest way to find your voice is to know exactly what to stop saying.

Hi, I’m Jessica.

So glad you’re here reading my stuff. Thank you for that!

I help quiet founders build brands that stand out without the constant visibility grind. Disruptive branding, sharp positioning, and strategy that works even if you hate being on camera. Most strategists talk about alignment. I talk about opposition.

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