# Tov Guidelines

> TOV guidelines

- Skill: `matteotitta/tov-guidelines` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add matteotitta/tov-guidelines`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/matteotitta/tov-guidelines/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: matteotitta (https://skillmd.com/u/matteotitta)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/matteotitta/tov-guidelines

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# TOV guidelines

Extract actionable editorial tone of voice guidelines from a company's existing content. Two-phase workflow: Phase 1 analyzes website content to surface evidence-based voice patterns; Phase 2 codifies those patterns into guidelines that downstream content skills consume. User review gate sits between the two phases.

## When to run

- User says "tone of voice", "brand voice", "voice guidelines", "writing style guide", or asks to extract voice from a URL.
- Starting a new content program for a client and downstream skills (linkedin-content, landing-page-copy, product-messaging, outreach-emails) need a voice contract.
- Existing TOV is stale (>6 months) or content has drifted from documented voice.

**Don't run when:** user wants visual brand identity (use `brand-kit`), product messaging (use `product-messaging`), to write content directly (use the content skill with TOV as input), or just a quick voice description (answer directly).

## Inputs

| Input | Required | Source |
|-------|----------|--------|
| Company URL | yes | User |
| Founder context (transcript, notes, voice preferences) | optional | User / company-context |
| Existing brand guidelines (to update) | optional | User |
| Target audience | optional | icp-research / user |

**Validate before proceeding:** URL is accessible, site has homepage + 5-10 pages of content. If thin, flag sample-size limitation in output.

**Research substrate (Exa):** primary tool `web_search_exa` for founder voice harvesting via `site:linkedin.com` / `site:twitter.com` filters. Per `.claude/rules/exa-protocol.md`. Citation: `[VERIFIED: exa_search, {url}, accessed {YYYY-MM-DD}]`. Quality gate: ≥3 sources per major claim, ≥50% `[VERIFIED]`.

## Steps

Two phases. Phase 1 outputs `tov-analysis.md`. User reviews. Phase 2 outputs `tov-guidelines.md`.

### Phase 1 — Analysis

1. **Discover site structure** — fetch homepage, extract internal links, filter same-domain only, prioritize `/about`, `/manifesto`, `/values`, `/blog/*`, `/case-studies/*`, `/pricing`, `/faq`.
2. **Scrape 15-20 pages** in priority order: homepage → about/values → blog (3-5) → case studies (2-3) → pricing → FAQ → landing pages.
3. **Extract sentence-level patterns** — average length, person (1st/3rd), question frequency, imperative usage.
4. **Extract paragraph-level patterns** — average length, openings, transitions, evidence placement.
5. **Extract word-level patterns** — company vocabulary, customer/industry vocabulary, banned/avoided words, modifier frequency.
6. **Extract structural patterns** — headers (sentence vs title case), CTA placement and phrasing, proof stacking, section organization.
7. **Score frequency** — High (80%+ of pages), Medium (40-79%), Low (<40%), Conflict (contradictory).
8. **Build content-type voice mapping** — table of person/formality/CTA per page type (homepage, blog, case study, pricing).
9. **Generate voice-in-action examples** — generic → on-brand transformations, drawn from actual scraped text (never invented).
10. **Identify inconsistencies** — flag conflicts (e.g., homepage uses "I", pricing uses "we") for Phase 2 resolution.
11. **Document gaps** — what couldn't be determined; suggest founder interview questions.
12. **Write `tov-analysis.md`** using the premium reference (44-section canonical scaffold; compact alternative in same file).
13. **Present to user — Review gate.** User must confirm patterns, correct misidentifications, and answer gap questions before Phase 2.

### Phase 2 — Generation

14. **Incorporate user feedback** — apply corrections, resolve inconsistencies, fill gaps with founder answers.
15. **Generate `tov-guidelines.md`** using the premium reference — primary reader, tone attributes with before/after, pattern library with LLM guidance, vocabulary lists, structure templates, anti-patterns. **Always include an AI-speak anti-patterns section — select ≥5 relevant rows per the premium reference and embed them inline with the client's own examples, stripping row numbers and internal paths so the client's doc stands alone.**
15a. **Append the 'We Are / We Are Not' table** per the premium reference Template 1. Source every row from Phase 1 evidence; mark confidence per row; overall confidence is the worst of any row. Minimum 5 rows, maximum 8.
15b. **Append the tone-by-context matrix** per Template 2. Cover the 7 default contexts (cold outbound, nurture, objection-handling, sales-call follow-up, support reply, case study, social post). Add or split rows for client-specific contexts.
15c. **Append the open-questions list** per Template 3. Minimum 3 questions, each with a "Why it matters" line naming the downstream unblock.
16. **Add source attribution** — every guideline traces to a source URL; frequency scores carried forward; unresolved gaps marked "TBD — requires founder input".
17. **Self-evaluate** per the premium reference (completeness, evidence, guardrails, self-roast). Surface improvement prompts to user when checks fail.
18. **Save approved output as reference example** if user explicitly approves — see the premium reference.

## What good looks like

### Evaluations

A TOV output passes when:

- [ ] 15+ pages scraped, all pattern categories (sentence, paragraph, word, structural) have findings.
- [ ] Frequency scores based on actual counts (e.g., "5 of 6 pages, 83%"), not "usually" or "often".
- [ ] Every guideline traces to a source URL.
- [ ] All examples are from actual scraped text (no invented illustrative examples).
- [ ] Inconsistencies explicitly flagged, not papered over; gaps documented with founder questions.
- [ ] No adjective-only descriptions ("friendly", "professional"); no vague guidelines ("use conversational language").
- [ ] All 6 critical questions answered: who reads / what tone sounds like / patterns repeat vs vary / words used / structure / what to refuse.