“When you are content to be simply yourself and
don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”
Lao
Tzu
Welcome to A Secret Blogmas
2025!
Today is Day Twenty-One and this twenty-first post is all about the beneficial impact there is if you – as a content creator – stay true to yourself by recognising the importance of your voice, tone, and style. In a very over-saturated industry and career path, being unique, finding a niche, and being different can be so important. So, keep reading to find out why and how recognising the importance of being you, can impact the success and popularity of your content and/or your platform…
Voice – your
unique personality in your content.
It’s consistent across everything you create.
Think of it as who you are and how
you naturally communicate.
It includes things like:
- Your worldview
- Your humour (or lack of it)
- Your preferred vocabulary
- Your attitude or energy
Example:
A creator’s voice might be:
- Playfully sarcastic
- Warm and encouraging
- Analytical and precise
Your voice rarely changes—even when the topic
or format does.
Tone – the emotional flavour you choose for a
specific piece of content.
Tone changes depending on the
situation, audience, or purpose.
It’s how you adapt your voice to fit the
moment.
Common tones:
- Inspirational
- Serious
- Friendly
- Urgent
- Humorous
Example:
Your voice is friendly, but your tone could be:
- Supportive in an educational post
- Excited in a product launch
- Calm in a crisis update
Style – the
technical and artistic choices in how you present your content.
It’s the
mechanics: formatting, structure, language patterns, and aesthetic decisions.
Style includes:
- Sentence length
- Use of emojis or slang
- Storytelling vs. bullet points
- Visual structure (for video, design, editing rhythm)
- Pacing and word choice
Example:
Two creators with similar voices could have totally different styles—one might
be minimalist and concise, the other colourful and expressive.
1.
Voice: Your core personality
Voice is the consistent,
recognizable personality that shows up in all your content.
It reflects who you are and how you naturally speak or write.
A voice profile describes:
- Your attitude (e.g., warm, bold, empathetic, witty)
- Your values and worldview
- Your typical vocabulary or phrases
- The type of energy you bring to your audience
Your voice rarely changes.
2. Tone:
Your emotional approach
Tone is how you
adjust your voice depending on the situation.
Unlike voice, tone changes from post to post.
A tone profile explains:
- How you communicate during serious vs. light-hearted moments
- How you speak when educating, comforting, advocating, or
celebrating
- The emotional “temperature” you use (calm, excited, gentle, firm,
etc.)
- Examples of tones you commonly use
Tone is flexible and contextual.
3.
Style: Your technical and artistic choices
Style is the mechanical, structural, and
aesthetic way you deliver your voice and tone.
A style profile details:
- Sentence length and pacing
- Formatting preferences (lists, long paragraphs, storytelling,
quotes)
- Whether you use emojis, slang, or polished language
- How formal or casual you are
- Whether you prefer metaphors, humour, dialogue, or straightforward
explanations
- Typical post structure (intro → story → takeaway, etc.)
Style shapes the feel and readability of your content.
1. It
makes your content instantly recognisable
When your voice, tone, and style are clearly
defined, people can spot your content without even seeing your name.
Think of it like a “signature.”
Your personality, word choices, energy, and structure all become part of your
brand.
This helps you:
- Stand out in a crowded online space
- Build a memorable identity
- Create trust because people know what to expect
2. It
keeps your message consistent across platforms
Creators post everywhere — blogs, TikTok,
Instagram, email, podcasts, newsletters.
A profile ensures you sound like the same
person in all places, even when content changes forms.
It helps with:
- Brand cohesion
- Professionalism
- Easier content repurposing (one idea → many formats)
It’s especially important if you work with
editors, freelancers, or AI tools — the profile gives them a guide on how to
represent you accurately.
3. It
builds stronger emotional connection with your audience
People don’t follow creators just for
information — they follow for personality, resonance, relatability, or
inspiration.
A defined voice and tone profile helps you:
- Communicate more authentically
- Attract the right audience
- Make readers feel understood
- Create deeper loyalty and engagement
When you know who you are on the page, your
audience knows who they’re connecting with.
4. It
makes creating content easier and faster
When you clearly understand your voice, tone,
and style, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you write.
It helps you:
- Avoid writer’s block
- Streamline your writing process
- Improve quality and consistency
- Make decisions more quickly (e.g., “Is this post better written in
a supportive tone or a bold one?”)
It becomes a creative compass.
5. It
strengthens your brand’s professionalism and credibility
Brands — even personal brands — need identity.
A well-defined profile shows you’re intentional, thoughtful, and serious about
your content.
Marketers, publishers, and collaborators will
also find it easier to:
- Understand your vision
- Work with you
- Share your content accurately
- Maintain brand integrity
6. It
supports growth and scalability
If your platform expands and you hire help or
collaborate with others, your profile becomes training material.
Your voice becomes:
- Replicable
- Documented
- Scalable
This is how large creators, bloggers, and
influencers maintain a consistent presence even as they grow.
7. It
improves storytelling — and storytelling sells
Voice + tone + style give your content
emotional texture.
This makes stories more vivid and relatable, which improves:
- Impact
- Shareability
- Conversions (if you're selling or promoting)
- Audience retention
People connect with stories that feel
authentic.
Voice
- Authentic & Vulnerable: The
voice is deeply personal. It doesn’t shy away from hard truths about
mental health, trauma, self-harm, loss, and recovery. For example, in the
“Goodbye, Gracie” post the writing is raw and candid.
- Empowering & Resilient:
Despite the pain, there’s a strong current of survival, strength, and
growth. The content often frames difficult experiences as part of a
journey.
- Compassionate & Relational: The voice reaches out to readers not just as a storyteller, but
as someone who understands suffering, wants to help, and values
connection.
- Reflective & Insightful:
There’s introspection around mental health, trauma, the process of
healing, and the therapeutic value of writing. For example, in her post on
“Everything blogging has done to me,” she reflects on how writing changed
her confidence.
Tone
Because the voice is stable, the tone flexes
depending on the subject matter. Here are some of the key tones used across the
blog:
- Sombre / Grieving: On
personal loss — such as in “Goodbye, Gracie” — the tone is gentle,
sorrowful, grieving yet hopeful.
- Reflective / Thoughtful: When
talking about past trauma, hospital experiences, or self-harm, the tone is
measured, introspective, and honest.
- Determined / Motivational: When
sharing recovery stories, lessons learned, or encouraging others to speak
out, the tone becomes more driven. In “Everything blogging has done to
me,” she expresses the importance of being open and consistent.
- Educational / Informative: When
discussing mental health concepts, pain, or therapeutic techniques (e.g.
discussion of DBT), the tone is explanatory and clear. For example, in her
post “Pain & Mental Health,” she breaks down emotional and physical
pain in a way that’s accessible.
- Warm / Supportive:
Across the blog, there’s an underlying empathy — she writes as a friend or
peer, not just as a distant voice.
Style
This is about how she writes, not just what
she says. Based on the blog:
- Long-form narrative: Many
posts are quite in-depth — she tells stories, shares memories, and goes
into detail. This isn't just “bite-sized” content.
- Personal anecdotes: She
uses a lot of first-person storytelling (“I felt …”, “When I was …”) which
helps draw the reader into her lived experience.
- Poetic phrasing:
Sometimes the writing leans into lyrical or metaphorical language.
(“Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye / You were bigger than the whole sky …”)
- Conversational but polished: The
language feels like she’s talking to the reader, but it's refined enough
for blog writing. She balances informal moments with thoughtful structure.
- Balanced use of emotional and factual content: She doesn’t just rant — she also gives structured reflections,
mental health frameworks, and practical insight.
- Visual & structural variation: While I didn’t see the exact blog HTML, the content suggests she
mixes longer reflective pieces with more practical / list-style posts
(e.g., “five reasons why …”).
- Use of quotes / references: She
brings in quotes (e.g. Paulo Coelho) to emphasise emotional points.
- Therapeutic pacing:
Posts don’t rush. She gives space for her emotions, her backstory, and her
lessons. This pacing mirrors therapeutic writing: slow, considered,
healing.
Putting It
All Together: Your Voice–Tone–Style Profile (Inspired by I’m NOT Disordered)
Here’s how you (or a creator wanting a similar
brand) might define your voice, tone, and style:
- Voice: Honest, resilient, compassionate —
someone who’s walked through serious mental health challenges but writes
with the purpose of healing and helping.
- Tone: Flexible — able to shift from
vulnerable grief to hopeful motivation, from reflective insight to
practical guidance.
- Style: Narrative-led, deeply personal,
emotionally rich, yet structured — long-form writing with storytelling,
introspection, and useful take-aways; poetic and conversational; uses
quotes, metaphors, and detailed examples.
VOICE,
TONE & STYLE PROFILE TEMPLATE
Below is a structured template you can copy,
fill in, or adapt.
1. Creator
Identity Overview
Name / Brand:
Niche or Industry:
Audience:
Core Mission / Purpose:
(Why you create content and what you want your audience to gain.)
2. VOICE —
Your Core Personality
Voice Keywords (5–7 words):
(e.g., warm, honest, bold, playful, analytical, compassionate)
Voice Description (1–2 paragraphs):
Describe the creator’s natural communication personality.
Include worldview, attitude, common themes, and how they want to be perceived.
Consistent
Elements of This Voice:
(Examples: storytelling, authenticity, humour,
vulnerability, directness.)
Things This
Voice Avoids:
(Examples: jargon, negativity, formal
corporate language.)
3. TONE —
Emotional Approach
Tone Overview:
Explain how the creator’s tone shifts depending on the context.
Common Tones & When to Use Them:
- Supportive: for
mental health, advice, or emotional topics.
- Excited: for announcements, milestones, launches.
- Reflective: for
lessons learned, personal stories.
- Direct: for educational or instructional
content.
- Advocacy: for campaigns or awareness topics.
(Add or remove depending on the creator.)
Tone Examples:
Write 2–3 example sentences in each tone to show how the voice adapts
emotionally.
4. STYLE —
Technical & Creative Choices
Writing Style Traits:
- Sentence style (short/punchy or long/flowy?)
- Level of formality
- Use of humour, metaphors, or storytelling
- Preferred vocabulary
- Use of emojis or not
- Use of quotes or references
- Use of headings, lists, or long paragraphs
Formatting Preferences:
- Blog posts
- Social captions
- Emails/newsletters
- Scripts
- Images/graphics
(Describe specific habits or expectations for each.)
Structural Style:
Describe how posts are typically organised.
Examples:
- “Story → Insight → Takeaway”
- “Hook → List → Call to action”
- “Reflection → Lesson → Encouragement”
5. Audience
Experience
How you want the audience to feel:
(Heard? Supported? Entertained? Challenged? Inspired?)
What the audience should take away from your
content:
(Belief shifts, practical tips, emotional comfort, etc.)
6. Examples
of Voice, Tone, and Style in Practice
Include 2–3 sample paragraphs written
in the creator’s voice.
These can be from real content or newly written examples.
7. Do’s and
Don’ts
Do:
Don’t:
This section keeps your communication consistent and protects your brand identity.