The Character Diamond
While my number one pick for creating copy that converts is the creation of an interview-based Avatar Empathy Map, I firmly believe that won’t do you a bit of good until you’ve committed to a voice (or voices if you have more than one spokesperson) for the brand.
What does it mean to define the voice(s) of your brand? It means being clear on how you’ll balance the four aspects of personality represented on a Character Diamond: credibility, entertainment, trust and vulnerability.
Once that’s done, you’ll clarify further by adding phrases, stories and characteristics that should show up in your copy and video content based on each quadrant. This gives communications from your brand a consistent flavor.
The 4 quadrants of your Character Diamond:
“Congruence of voice must remain steady even while communications change, and change they will!”
Joy Houston
The reason defining the voice of your brand is so crucial has to do with creating psychological trust. A person who is consistent throughout their content and communications is inherently more trustworthy than a person whose actions don’t align with their words. Congruence lays the path for trust, which is essential to build with your community.
You will have very different conversations with people as they progress from discovering you to becoming a raving fan. Initial encounters need to meet them where they’re at and provide a solution to their problems. Then, you’ll need to support them through a decision making process, then through the execution of the solution once they buy, and you’ll continue to connect as long as they remain in your sphere.
Your voice must remain consistent through all these very different communications. The mission must continue to be clear.
Nothing I’ve found makes this task easier than creating a Character Diamond and keeping it in front of yourself when you write (or your copywriters when they create for you).
If you’ve never seen a Character Diamond, let alone created one for your brand, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered with a free Character Diamond template and when you grab it you’ll have access to a tutorial on how to complete it.
Once you've completed your Character Diamond, be sure to check out “How To Use Your Character Diamond” for the top 5 ways to put in in use right away.
