Rabbi Naiman and Brand Voice

Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Naiman, the founder of Healthy Jew, is an old friend of mine.  

We lost touch over the years, but I started receiving his insightful weekly emails a little while back, and I was hooked.

❓ And why, pray tell, was that, oh dear Danny?

 💡 Good question!

Well, it wasn't because I have an extreme academic interest in health studies (though I probably should). 

And it wasn't just because the content is well-written (though it is). 

It was because when I started reading his stuff, I immediately saw that he's an authentic person.  He's living what he's writing. Or, in super-fancy copywriting terms, he's using a clear brand voice.

❓ And what, pray tell, is brand voice, oh dear Danny?

 💡 Another good question!  You'll get an extra treat next time we go to the store. 🍬

Brand voice is the distinct personality a business curates to communicate with its target audience across mediums.  In the words of Justin Blackman, a brand voice expert who also sends out awesome emails, “It’s what they hear when you write.” 🎙️

❓ And how, pray tell, do you know that Rabbi Naiman is putting his heart into his writing, oh dear Danny?

How come you keep askin’ me things like that? 🤔

As I said, you can tell from the writing, but he also proved it to me.  Check this out:

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I met up with Rabbi Naiman recently to catch up. At some point, we discussed health, and he mentioned that he gets a lot of cardio, including one 5K-run a week.

I quickly swallowed down the intense feelings of  envy and inferiority and told him that I was very impressed.  I commented that if I tried, I'd only manage around 0.25K at best.

 . . . wait for it . . .

"You know," Rabbi Naiman answered, speaking with calm and authority, "that's great. If you do that for a while, soon you'll move up to 0.5K. And then, after a little while, you'll reach 1K..."

Did you see that?

He didn’t either until I pointed it out to him.

He demonstrated that all his talk about health, connecting to Israel as a healthy land, getting in touch with ourselves, meditation, and more—it's all REAL.

He's genuinely here to help people, to be encouraging, positive, and truth-centered.  He wasn’t trying to sell me something; he was expressing who he is as a person.

✨ That's brand voice at its best✨

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❓ What about the rest of us, though?  How do we get in touch with our voice and make sure others hear it?

💡 That’s your best question so far.  And thanks for laying off the "dear Danny" stuff.

Brand voice isn’t simple.  People hire copywriters to take care of it (or go insane trying). 

But there are some things you can implement right now. 

Here are three quick tips to add more of "you" into your writing:

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- Define Your Core Values: Identify what your organization stands for and ensure your content consistently reflects those principles.

- Know Your Audience: Understand who you're speaking to and tailor your language to resonate with them authentically.

- Be Consistent: Maintain the same tone and style in all communications to build a cohesive and trustworthy brand image.

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Do you need help determining your brand voice? 

Or have you already got that down and want to prove it to me (and maybe have me write about it in a future blog post)

Get in touch!

Go ahead, don't be shy now.

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That’s all for now, folks!

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Danny 😊