Write in any Tone of Voice with ChatGPT (Step-by-Step Guide)

6 min readOct 13, 2023

Marketers want an AI that writes perfect on-brand copy. Everytime.

The only problem is that AI mostly understands what we want, but the output tone of voice will give you nightmares for 4 weeks straight.

Sentences that outgrow your screen
Expensive words that no one knows how to pronounce
Emoji’s and hashtags that will make you cry

It can be a very difficult issue to tackle, but definitely not impossible.

In this edition of ‘AI Marketing Machine’ I’ll go step-by-step over how to achieve any tone of voice, so you will never run into these issue’s again.

Our example today: our very own NikeCommercialGPT. ChatGPT writing like a Nike voice over.

This article was originally a newsletter of ‘AI Marketing Machine’. If you’re a marketer and you want simple step-by-step guides on how to use AI as a marketer, consider subscribing.

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Ready? These are the steps:

Collect lots of examples of the tone you wanna hit
Show ’em to ChatGPT with my specific prompt (it’s free)
Use my ChatGPT prompt to start the writing process (it’s also free)
Give ChatGPT all the details about target group, goal, format and tone of voice.
Enjoy the replies and time saved

Important sidenotes:

This will work better if you already have specific copy with a very specific tone of voice. The more vague your existing copy is, the more issue’s ChatGPT will have with replicating it.
You can use ChatGPT 3/3.5 for this, but in my experience ChatGPT 4 is worth the money for this kind of stuff.
If you want an out of the box solution: try SonicWriter. They have a tone of voice function build in.

Interested in more of these Step-by-Step guide for using AI as a marketers? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter!

1. Collect lots of examples of the tone you wanna hit

Prepare a document with examples of copy with the tone of voice you want to replicate.

This newsletter I want to recreate a NIKE commercial for my newsletter.

They have been known for commercials with voiceovers that will make you so fired up that you will run a marathon at 3 am, just because some old guy said: “just do it”. Use Google and other resources to find your examples.

For the best results: use as much quality copy as you have.

2. Show ’em to ChatGPT with my specific prompt

Now we let ChatGPT analyse the examples we put together. For that you can use this specific prompt:

You are ToneOfVoiceAnalyserGPT, the ultimate authority on dissecting tone of voice. Your mission is nothing short of critical: to decode the exact tone in provided examples. Your analysis will serve as the blueprint for creating future masterpieces in that identical tone. Failure is not an option; we must nail this down to the finest detail.
Non-Negotiable Guidelines:
- Your word choices must be laser-focused and unerringly accurate.
- Scrutinize not just the words, but also the rhythm—sentence lengths and their variations are key.

Examples for Your Expert Eye:
[EXAMPLES HERE]

After your meticulous analysis, compile an ultra-detailed briefing for an elite copywriter. Break down the methods to recreate this inimitable style. Capture the essence, the emotion, the vibe—every nuance must be covered. Leave no stone unturned; the copywriter should have all they need to craft textual gold.

Yes, this prompt is very over the top. Us Dutchies are very allergic to this, but in my defence: this works wonders.

3. Use my ChatGPT prompt to start the writing process

If you follow me on LinkedIn (you should, I give actionable AI advice for markters) you may have already seen the 6 ingredients for writing an excellent prompt. They are:

Task → Clearly describe what ChatGPT should do. Use actionverbs.
Context → Give relevant background information. Be specific, specify target group and goal.
Example → Give multiple examples of what you want to achieve.
Persona → Give ChatGPT a character. Exaggerating is key (worldclass, olympic athlete, multiple grammy winner etc.)
Format → Give instructions on the format you want to recieve back. You can use Markdown and tables as well!
Tone → Exactly what we try to define in the previous steps.

With that in mind, I already wrote a prompt for you to use which will have all the elements. Copy this prompt and paste it into ChatGPT.

You’re CopywriterGPT, a word class copywriter with multiple awards and generally considered the best at what you do. Your goal is to accurately write word class content in the tone of voice that is specified. It’s really important to me that you get this right.

INSTRUCTIONS. Follow STEP BY STEP, ASK 1 QUESTION AT THE TIME. USE THE ANSWERS OF THE QUESTIONS IN YOUR FINAL COPY.
- Ask me about the target group for the piece of content. Make sure you keep this in mind when writing your content. Wait for a response before going to the next question. 
- Ask me about a very specific tone of voice guide that I shouls use. Wait for a response before going to the next question. 
- Ask me about what this specific piece of copy should be about and if they have use any reference material you should use for writing the piece of copy. Make sure you use this in your final response. Wait for a response before going to the next step. 
- Ask me if there are any specific formats you should keep in mind of the piece of copy. Make sure you use this format in your final response. Wait for a response before going to the next step. 
- Respond with the final piece of copy that you create based on all the information you have gathered.

4. Give ChatGPT all the details about target group, goal, format and tone of voice.

Enter the prompt into your ChatGPT. Specify all the questions with the relevant information about the copy you want to create. If you also want to give some extra examples, you can add an extra step to the prompt.

5. Enjoy the response.

You did it! I got a crazy good AI marketing commercial in the Tone of Voice of Nike. I am considering making it. It’s too good.

Some final tips for optimizing:

Experimentation is key. Don’t give up if the first response is not 100% what you want. You can ask it to improve or change specific things or create variations.
If the content is really far off, go back to the examples. Try other examples or define the tone of voice yourself.
Don’t want to use ChatGPT? Try SonicWriter. They have a tone of voice function build in.
Running into other issue’s? Respond to this email and I’ll try to help.
Want to take this to the next level? Connect this ChatGPT prompt to a specific Slack Channel or subdomain on your website for your entire team to use!

You’re very welcome for the time I just saved you.