Brand Voice DNA
For ghostwriters and agencies writing as someone else, badly.
Definition
Brand voice extraction is the process of converting a person's existing writing into a written specification of measurable patterns, including sentence rhythm, vocabulary range, punctuation habits and argument shape, precise enough that another writer can hit it deliberately.
Your client says it does not sound like them. They cannot tell you why. You cannot either, so you guess, and the next draft is wrong in a different way.
Voice is not a vibe, it is a measurable set of patterns: sentence rhythm, vocabulary bands, punctuation habits, argument shape. This is the extraction method that turns a person's writing into a specification precise enough to write against.
What you get
- The extraction protocol: what to sample, how much, and the twelve markers that carry a voice
- The voice specification format, which makes “it does not sound like me” a solvable problem
- The fidelity test for checking a draft against the spec before your client sees it
- How to hold one voice consistent across a team of writers
The problem
Why this keeps happening
The reason voice feedback is so frustrating is that clients experience voice but cannot describe it. They know when it is wrong and have no vocabulary for why.
So the correction loop is guesswork. You adjust something, they react, you adjust something else. Three rounds later it is closer by accident and neither of you could reproduce it.
The fix is to make voice explicit before writing. Twelve measurable markers carry most of what people mean by 'sounds like me', and every one of them can be specified.
What is Brand Voice DNA?
Brand Voice DNA is brand voice extraction is the process of converting a person's existing writing into a written specification of measurable patterns, including sentence rhythm, vocabulary range, punctuation habits and argument shape, precise enough that another writer can hit it deliberately.
A sampling protocol, twelve voice markers, a written specification format, and a fidelity test you run on your own draft before the client ever sees it.
Illustrative diagram. Shape of the argument, not measured data.
How it runs
How does Brand Voice DNA work, step by step?
Brand Voice DNA runs in 5 steps: sample, measure, specify, draft, test. Each step is described below with what it produces and why its position in the sequence matters.
- 01
Sample
Collect the right material. What you sample matters more than how much.
- 02
Measure
Score the twelve markers that actually carry a voice.
- 03
Specify
Write the spec, which turns 'sounds like me' into something checkable.
- 04
Draft
Write against the specification instead of against a feeling.
- 05
Test
Run fidelity scoring before delivery, so the client is not your QA process.
What is inside
What do you get with Brand Voice DNA?
Brand Voice DNA is delivered as a working skill file plus a written companion covering the method. It contains 4 parts: sampling protocol, twelve markers, specification format, fidelity test.
- Sampling protocol20%
- Twelve markers30%
- Specification format25%
- Fidelity test25%
Failure modes
What do people get wrong?
The 4 most common failures are: sampling the wrong material; absorbing the vibe; treating tone as voice; letting the client be your qa. Each one is explained below with why it happens and what to do instead.
- 01
Sampling the wrong material
Polished published work has been edited by someone else. Sample where their own voice survives.
- 02
Absorbing the vibe
Reading their posts gives you an impression, and impressions cannot be handed to a second writer.
- 03
Treating tone as voice
Friendly is a tone. Voice is structural and survives a change of mood.
- 04
Letting the client be your QA
If the first fidelity check happens in their inbox, you have outsourced quality control to the person paying you.
Your client says it does not sound like them. They cannot tell you why. You cannot either, so you guess, and the next draft is wrong in a different way.
Bhavik Sarkhedi · somewhere over Australia
The alternatives
How does Brand Voice DNA compare to the alternatives?
There are three ways to solve this: do it yourself, hire it out, or buy the method. Brand Voice DNA is the third. It costs $25 once, the method stays yours, and you can re-run it without paying again.
| Consideration | Doing it yourself | Hiring it out | This system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basis | A feeling | A style guide | A measured specification |
| Cost shape | Revision rounds | Per-client discovery | One payment |
| Transferable to a team | No | Partly | Yes, that is the point |
| Catches problems before delivery | No | Sometimes | Yes, fidelity test |
| Reduces revisions | No | A little | Substantially |
Key terms
The vocabulary, defined
- Voice marker
- One measurable pattern that contributes to a recognisable voice.
- Voice specification
- The written document that makes a voice reproducible.
- Fidelity test
- Scoring a draft against the spec before delivery.
- Register
- The tonal band, which can shift while the underlying voice stays constant.
Who is behind it
Built from the actual work
Named to the Forbes 2025 list of top personal branding experts. Published twice in The New York Times. Writing for HuffPost since 2016.
Before you buy
Questions
Is this just a pack of prompts?
No. A prompt is one instruction. This is a production system: the method, the sequence, the failure modes, and the standard for finished work. It is the process I would charge a client for.
Can I use this on client work?
Yes. That is what it is for. Use it inside your own delivery, for as many clients as you like. You are buying the method, not a seat.
Could I not just ask an AI to do this?
You can ask. You will get an average answer, because the model writes toward the middle of everything ever written. Knowing what good looks like in this specific job is the part that took twelve years.
Do I need to be technical?
No. If you can use ChatGPT, you can use this.
What format do I actually receive?
A working skill file you install once, plus a written companion explaining the method so you can adapt it rather than follow it blindly. It runs inside Claude.
What happens after I click buy?
It opens an email to me, already filled in. I reply with a payment link and send the files the same day. Deliberately human, because I want to know who is using these.
Is there a refund?
Yes. If you use it properly and it does not do what this page said, tell me and I refund you. No argument.
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