We just replaced a $20,000 brand analyst

_{Day 240/100}

Hey—It's Tim. 

November 10th, last year, I was on a call with a fintech CMO.
She said: "We just spent $20,000 on a brand analyst to create our style guide."

I asked if I could see it.

47-page PDF. Mood boards. Adjectives. Tables of "approved phrases."

It told me nothing about how they actually write.

Then I showed her an Echo we'd built for a beta user. She went quiet.

Then: "This is more useful than our entire $18,000 guide. And you built it in 25 minutes?"

Yeah.
We are re-releasing it TODAY.
By the time you see this. It’s in all paid plans of Penfriend.

Here's what Echo actually does

Most voice tools give you vibes.

"Be conversational. Sound professional. Use active voice."

Echo gives you mechanical instructions.

You feed it your best writing. It breaks down:

• How you structure sentences (length, rhythm, variability)

• When you use questions vs. statements

• How you transition between sections

• Where you get specific vs. abstract

• Your verbal tics that actually work

• How you create emphasis

But here's where it gets interesting.

Your writing changes depending on what you're doing.

You don't write intros the same way you write conclusions.

Echo finds those patterns too.

I want to show you how we do it

When you drop your writing into Echo:

Step 1: We score your core voice

Five dimensions: Structure, Tone, Distance, Energy and Approach

But we don't give you one score.

We track how those scores change throughout your writing.

Are you serious at the start and lighten up? Stay casual the whole way? Get formal when making tactical points?

That variability is your rhythm.

Step 2: We split your writing into section types

Intros. Explanations. How-tos. Examples. Transitions. Conclusions.

Because you write each differently.

Step 3: We build If/Then rules for each section

Example:

IF: Writing an intro
THEN: Use 2-3 rhetorical questions. Open with specific scenario. Average 12 words per sentence. Transition with "Here's the thing."

IF: Writing tactical content
THEN: 2-3 sentence paragraphs. Introduce with "Here's how." Include concrete examples. Shift to bullets after "What does that look like?"

These aren't suggestions.

These are your measured patterns. Made repeatable.

Step 4: We extract your writing principles

Do you lead with the answer or build to it? Metaphors or straight talk? Where do you show vulnerability vs. authority?

Step 5: We grab examples

Real examples from your writing that show each pattern in action.

So the AI isn't following abstract rules.

It's looking at exactly what you did - then doing that.

What this looks like

Here's my Echo:

It found when I use each pattern.

I didn't know I was doing this. Echo measured it.

That's the difference.

This is the deepest breakdown of your writing that exists. Period.

Not a mood board.
Not adjectives.
Not approved phrases.

A mechanical spec sheet for how you write.

And once you have it? We can replicate it.

The question

That fintech CMO asked: "Can we cancel the brand analyst contract?"

I said keep it. Brand strategy is bigger than writing style.
But for the "how do we actually write in our voice" part?

Echo does it better. In 20 minutes instead of 3 months.

Go build yours.

See you tomorrow.

✌️ Tim "20 mins or $20k?" Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai

Same brain, different platforms: X, Threads, LinkedIn.

P.S. For the writers out there managing multiple projects. I’ve been told this is a live saver.
Not only do you have a full analysis you can sell to a client, if you wanted to.

But you can switch between all your different client writing styles inside of Penfriend and have it match to their writing style when you make the content.
No need to juggle different styles, or words or tones. Just select the voice at the beginning of the article and you’re good to go.

Penfriend.ai
Made by content marketers. Used by better ones.