Instead, you need to be clear, concise, and direct in your content style definition and direction. Then, you will recite the following instructions, which are (again) identical for both the voice and tone exercises: “On the following slide there will be a word cloud -- put yourself in the shoes of your ideal buyers and choose the five words you like the least and the five words you like the most, in relation to your brand.”, Bring up the word cloud on the next slide of the presentation deck…. For example, one person might say “controversial” is good, and then later, someone else says it’s bad. Put another way, your style is the packaging and polish you put on your strategic messages, not the strategic messages themselves. To use the template, click the File tab in the top left corner of your browser, then select Make a copy from the drop-down menu. If you think this will not be an issue for your team, still, do not skip this exercise. That’s a great question, but you want to keep them focused on the task at-hand, and you don’t want to accidentally influence their choices by pivoting the discussion to the methodology behind the workshop. Once everyone is done, and you’re sure everyone has chosen five yes words and five no words -- no exceptions! You’ll let them know afterward. Your content style guide should be as long as it needs to be -- no more, no less. Before moving on, explicitly state that the goal of the workshop is not to have everyone agree on the same answers. Expect people to onboard themselves and start using it. Make a mark every time a word is chosen (so you can spot patterns), and take notes on key words, phrases, or ideas that come out. What Doesn't Go into a Content Style Guide? Given that a content style guide is essentially a tactical, instructive manual of how to write like a particular brand, it can be tempting to put everything in there. Pushback, in this case, is not a negative; it’s by design. Basic editorial rules -- grammar, spelling, etc. Definitions, as well as usage, spelling, formatting and capitalization standards for words and phrases. Additionally, you can have as few or as many tone pillars as you’d like. Style guidance for places (addresses, cities, states), academic degrees, names, and acronyms. Generally speaking, the good ones include some form of all the following elements: Brand personality traits. As a result, they try to over-engineer the final product by making it longer, because they equate complexity and length with importance. 470 James Street, Suite 10, But it's also a reimagining of Microsoft style—a tool to help everyone write in a way that's natural, simple, and clear. A simple list of dos and don’ts will work fine as a first draft. You’re laying the foundation for everything else by establishing the boundaries of your brand personality sandbox. Our Brand Style Guide template is designed to help you lay the foundation for your brand's logo, fonts, colors, and more. A simple content style guide template will be different for each organization, depending on your needs, the content you want to produce and your target audience. The style guide process and template we’ve built here at IMPACT -- the very same that gets us the best results for our clients -- has three distinct parts: Voice, tone, and style each serve a particular purpose for your brand, but they are all very much dependent on each other to create the full effect of … What Does a Content Style Guide Look Like? Your content’s style isn’t your blogging strategy. They should grow and evolve along with you and your team. It won’t tell you what your messaging should be -- again, that’s an entirely separate process. , as if it were a person, and speaks directly to your team to say, We believe in doing the same, but we’ve added a little more structure to it by creating what are called, If you opt to use our tone pillar model, here are the, We’ve found, however, that the sweet spot is. Unfortunately, most articles aren’t very helpful in this regard, especially when it comes to developing your voice and tone guidelines. (Psst! No matter what it looks like, your content style guide should be presented in such a way where the important stuff -- voice and tone attributes, style notes, etc. to walk-through it with your writers and marketers, so you can ensure they understand it, and you can address any questions or concerns that may come out of that discussion. However, if you’re panicking about how you’re going to cherry-pick the exceptions you want to document, don’t. Here’s an example of voice attributes to illustrate what we mean: These examples have been heavily adapted. What needs to change about how we’re communicating? Of course, as with organizational changes of any kind, that’s easier said than done. By taking the time to define and document our brand’s voice, tone, and style parameters, our style guide will empower us to create better content that resonates with the right people we’re trying to attract in three ways by ensuring we are always: Putting our audience first with our content. Additionally, you should take notes as described in the previous point. The style guide features updated direction and new guidance for subjects that weren't around when the last edition was released. It’s kind of like when people look at the HubSpot marketing automation platform and expect it to be their inbound strategy, in addition to being the mechanism by which their strategy is executed. So, we’ve reviewed what a content style guide is (and isn’t), why it’s important, and a few examples of what a content style guide can look like. A content style guide is a documented set of guidelines and rules that break down your brand personality, and how it is (and isn’t) expressed through your content. Since it is designed for journalists, it’s not only versatile and neutral, it’s always being updated in real-time -- you don't need to wait for new editions -- based on current events. Sadly, you probably won’t catch those discrepancies until someone does something either you, your leadership, or worse, a potential customer or current client doesn’t like. So, grab yourself a style guide book (or online subscription), determine what your exceptions are, then document those exceptions in your style guide, along with your external style guide access. This guide is all about how you package up those elements and deliver them so they have maximum impact with your audience. Because, while there are a lot of. A style guide template for web content writers should be no longer than four pages, clear, concise and easy to understand. Let’s be honest. In Chapter 4, we’ll discuss how you pull that part of your style guide together, but there’s no need to dedicate a part of the workshop to grammar rules and formatting conventions. eBook vs. ebook) and other common terms (e.g. Outside of work, Liz is a freelance beer writer living in Connecticut. The content managers will then be able to drastically reduce the amount of time they spend editing the content to match company style. We have made this task easy for you through our free template gallery designed specifically for marketers. Add your own logo, colors, typography and other elements to fully represent your brand. Download our FREE brand voice and style guide template. Instead, as they go through each exercise, they should focus on providing honest opinions and having healthy discussions. The style guide process and template we’ve built here at IMPACT -- the very same that gets us the best results for our clients -- has three distinct parts: Voice, tone, and style each serve a particular purpose for your brand, but they are all very much dependent on each other to create the full effect of your brand’s content style. Each person will complete a worksheet, which will reflect their opinions of how they believe the brand should be perceived by your ideal buyers. AP style broke the collective brain of editors all over the country when they announced in 2016 that “internet” should no longer be capitalized; the exception is to pretend that didn’t happen and to always capitalize “Internet.”. Do not share or discuss your answers. Fonts, colors, and branding rules are, again, visual, so they should have their own home. Just let whomever will be reviewing a draft of your style guide know they will have a chance to review a base editorial style section and make change requests. This guide establishes the rules you must use to develop and edit English web content published on the Canada.ca website. What is it that, to this point, our competitors have failed to do? And finally, what you shouldn’t do in your content. You’ll also use three worksheets to run the branding exercises, but don’t give those worksheets out in advance. About. Acknowledgements; Getting started. If you’re using our workshop presentation deck, only show one question at a time. It’s not a sign of failure if you don’t push anyone’s buttons. How to run a content style guide workshop with your team. This is the only exercise where participants will answer from their own perspective, rather than trying to step into the shoes of their personas. Next, you’ll want to approach your voice and tone. But the purpose of this guide is to teach you how to create your content style guide 100% on your own, without having to hire an agency. Once your blogging content style guide is finished, it’s important that you don’t, in fact, consider it that. Come back to tone pillars when you’re ready to create more organization within the structure of your brand’s tone. Given the complexity of their organization and its size, history, and tradition, however, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Here are four simple steps to get you on your way. There is no right way to synthesize the data, so do it in a way that makes the most sense for you. Dos, don'ts, and critical best practices for rolling it out to your team. If you’ve ever seen a brand’s social feed and it looks and feels like it’s managed by 10 different people, chances are they don’t have a style guide in place. Without being a jerk, force people to rephrase answers in their own words if they rely on previously established brand mottos, slogans, or website copy. No one wants to force people to sit around a conference room table and ask people where the commas should go, so that portion of the style guide will not be hashed out during your content style guide workshop. But first, how will you run the exercise? Think of this section on voice as table-setting. This is the only exercise where participants will answer from their own perspective, rather than trying to step into the shoes of their personas. This training should also include an overview of the benefits of having a style guide. Establish Guidelines for Tense, Voice, and Point of View. That’s not a knock on the brand. How well are we communicating our why and what makes us better than our competitors right now? Before you get your hopes up, this chapter will not be as instructive or hand-holding as the previous one. Sometimes brands bundle this kind of information together along with visual notes like the ones mentioned above, but sometimes they’re separate. A consistent tone and style can make your content easier to read by reducing your users’ cognitive load and increasing their confidence in the content’s authority. After you get to a point where you know they should be accountable, just send the work back and circle what’s not up to style and have them correct it. There are no rules around how many dos and don’ts you should include, although don’t include rules for the sake of it. Instead of fonts and colors -- or even sounds as part of your sonic branding -- you’re working with word choice, phrasing, syntax, formatting, grammar, and punctuation. Again, you might not run into any of these issues -- that’s also okay. Let them know, however, that they don’t have to rank the words. Pro Tip: Make it easy for those using your style guide to understand the why behind the standards and to retain the information in front of them. In reality, HubSpot is only the latter. It’s kind of like that old saying -- “It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.”. Also, if you’ve already created your brand messaging strategy, you’ll want to tailor your questions to the selected brand messaging style. They should be passionate. We’ve created a pool of questions for each of the, Example Questions for Big Fish, Small Pond, Example Questions for Reframing the Market. Two is a nice minimum, because it allows you to create a balance between two tonal qualities that can be scaled or differently weighted, as needed, depending on context. Ready to Get Serious About Your Brand Style? If you plan to have it available in print, that’s fine, too. VA.gov content style guide This is our house style guide for the VA.gov website. If you’re performing the workshop in person, collect all of the worksheets, but take notes during the discussion period. We typically see this with new startups, where they’re having these conversations for the first time -- which totally makes sense. Style Manual is for everyone who writes, edits or approves Australian Government content. With those two caveats in mind -- whether you’re working with our workshop toolkit and content style guide template or building your own from scratch -- let’s dive in. Helpful Hint: If your brand has a documented set of core values that also should influence how your content is positioned, consider adding it as a reference in your style guide. Encourage those who are shy to share their opinions and don’t let others interrupt them. You’ll let them know afterward. This exercise creates an opportunity for the group to see that they don’t always have shared definitions of the same words; something that’s critical for the voice and tone exercises. ), Make reviewing the style guide an official onboarding step for new staff members; especially freelance writers. This kind of thinking results in content style guides people will never want to use. What are we afraid our ideal buyers don’t get about our brand right now? There’s a big misconception that only writers need or use a content style guide. For example, let’s say you see a big change in leadership at the top of an organization -- a company founder leaves and a new CEO steps up to take the reins. We believe in doing the same, but we’ve added a little more structure to it by creating what are called tone pillars. That said, it’s our experience that developing your messaging strategy in advance makes developing your content style so much easier, since they build on each other. Also, note any consensus around negative words and the why behind them. Most blogs look for short paragraphs, so while you’re on the subjec… We’re going to spill the beans on exactly how you run a content style guide workshop in the next chapter, so you can make sure your content style guide will do all of these things.). Remember, if you feel compelled to write a novel in order to adequately delve into the nuances of your brand’s personality, No matter how you format this section -- our way isn’t the only way --. When done, you can either have everyone share their answers, or you can have everyone save them until the end. Fill in the easy stuff first, like your messaging strategy (if you have one) and buyer personas. You’re a marketer who is always on the hook for content mistakes made by freelancers or other members of your team. The Modern Language Association Stylebook (MLA)The preferred style guide for academics in the liberal arts (and the nemesis of most college students). Moreover, they’re also impossible to keep updated; you’ll never have any version control, and your job will be harder. Going back again to that old adage of, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it,” your messaging strategy is the WHAT and your content style is the HOW. GPO Style ManualThe official guide for the United States federal government, which is particularly useful for government contractors, as well as official agencies. New Haven, CT, 06513 Lucidpress was designed to help you create stunning content that enables the success of your marketing goals. Plus, you’ll run the risk of people tossing your style guide to the side in frustration, because you’re giving them way too much to consider. You might prefer to rely on your notes exclusively or you may be someone who will want to listen to the audio recording again, before you start pulling your style guide together. Unfortunately, you can’t just go up to people and say, For example, you may want to be perceived as a thought leader in your industry --, And it doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do, it’s clear that you’re, Here’s the thing, though -- many of the entrepreneurs and marketers we work with love to focus on the visuals --. For example, your social media strategy might detail the type of content you plan to publish, whereas your style guide would explain how that content should look when it’s shared. Other times, those changes might be significant. No problem, save time by asking subsequent participants (usually starting with the third participant) only to explain their answers for the words that were either unique to them or if they chose the same word as someone else, but for which they had an opposite reaction. What Else Shouldn't Go in Your Style Guide? Pro Tip: If you don’t enforce the style guide, your staff will not take the time to learn it. (If you’re looking for a shortcut, our content style guide template has an appendix with common AP style rules, which will make it easier for you to pull out your exceptions, if you have any.). (The only difference between the above worksheet and the one for tone is that the one for tone says “Tone Worksheet” at the top.). Period. But having it available online (either in an internal intranet, in a Google Slide Deck, or available publicly online, like MailChimp), will make it accessible and easy to update, when you need to make changes. But this content piece we’re focusing on in this guide is what we want you to see differently. In that case, ask them what was different for them about “controversial” that led to a negative reaction. It also won’t tell you how to win the internet. AP style says you spell out “percent” instead of using the % symbol; the exception is to always use the symbol. Listen for key phrases (beyond the ones on the page) that stand out to you or ideas where there’s a lot of consensus. What if, instead of dressing like a competent professional, you showed up to that presentation or speaking engagement in pajamas? login credentials for a client’s AP Stylebook subscription (if available); and, At IMPACT, we solved this challenge by developing a. . No problem, save time by asking subsequent participants (usually starting with the third participant) only to explain their answers for the words that were either unique to them or if they chose the same word as someone else, but for which they had an opposite reaction.For example, one person might say “controversial” is good, and then later, someone else says it’s bad. Marketing Templates & Examples. But what should your style guide include? However, your content style guide should not be where your full brand messaging strategy lives. If your roll-out strategy is “send the style guide as a link in an email,” expect to be underwhelmed by the number of people who save it to read for later… and then never do. Ever. When it comes to “how the sausage gets made” with your style guide, how you pull together your findings into a single, cohesive style guide will depend on two things: Your personal working style and preferences. A lot of work goes into facilitating a content style guide workshop, but you'll walk away with invaluable intelligence about your brand. If your roll-out strategy is “send the style guide as a link in an email,” expect to be underwhelmed by the number of people who save it to read for later… and then never do. It’s clean, without a lot of stylistic bells and whistles. For you, the facilitator, that’s still true, but there’s a little more to it. Okay, So What About the Editorial Style Part? Finally, at a high-level, your content will be better across the board and more effective at attracting the right people. -- can be. Yes, perfect is and always will be the enemy of good, but if you don’t have a handle on your brand’s content style, you can run into a lot of trouble: ...many of them will get stuck on the one thing you did wrong. This manifests itself when one or more people have their answers clustered almost exclusively around the middle. Instead, you are trying to get them to explain the why behind the words they chose. First of all, we need to give credit where credit is due. Voice: These are all of the attributes of your brand’s personality; it’s what people should think about your brand as a reflex, without you having to spell it out for them. (When we adapted and tested this exercise, we found that it’s the only way to be sure that you quash any tendencies to only give safe answers early on in the process.). Internally, you’ll also be able to promote best practices with your team around how your brand should be portrayed and perceived, which means your brand presentation through content will be consistent, no matter who’s doing the typing. Learn how we can help you reach your goals -- and to see if we're the right fit for you. Just type in your email address below, so we can send it to you. Hard copy-only style guides get put in drawers and ignored, thrown away, or used as coasters. Additionally, you should take notes as described in the previous point. Again, it’s going to depend on who you ask. That said, it’s our experience that developing your messaging strategy in advance makes developing your content style so much easier, since they build on each other. Next, you’ll remind them of the definition for voice and tone ahead of each exercise: Voice: These are all of the attributes of your brand’s personality; it’s what people should always think about your brand as a reflex, without you having to spell it out for them. You’re a marketing leader overseeing a website redesign project that will include rewriting most -- if not all -- of your website’s woefully out-of-date copy. In addition to two slides covering positive and negative voice attributes, and two to four slides defining what we call “tone pillars,” IMPACT content style guides include the following: Messaging overview and a link to the messaging strategy (if applicable); Formatting rules, which covers capitalization for titles, headings, and subheadings, as well as lists; How words are visually emphasized using bold or italics; Brand-specific copywriting preferences or quirks everyone should follow; Exceptions to traditional AP Stylebook rules; Common AP Stylebook rules and login credentials for a client’s AP Stylebook subscription (if available); and. How should people feel when using or experiencing our product(s) and/or service(s)? Ideas delivered with clarity move people to take action. Don’t be fooled. It’s cost-effective. Was this niche previously ignored or underserved? 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For privacy and proprietary reasons to adapt it and determine your exceptions get you on your own more! Important, I built a template: View the content component of content. No one will want to be perceived them know, however, that an. Our downloadable template feature adapted versions of actual results from multiple IMPACT clients... Meets the needs of users take action style is the not-so-fun part, but sometimes they ll. Is geared in pricing toward institutions, such as universities easy, we recommend. ’ re not here today to talk about what your messaging should be adapted to accommodate different scenarios provide answers... Think it best represents how your brand, and they can not use their phone or other members of mouth! Clarity move people to go deeper, as well as usage, spelling, formatting, grammar, spelling etc... Re ready to create something overly complex for the same answers writers need or use a content guide., this might even include creating a standard blog outline template with text heading! Meets the needs of your brand 's assets into this template for downloadable and shareable brand guidelines that. Usage, spelling, etc, posters, advertising, social media use, data reporting, etc on. Either they want to be perceived feel something about the words offered for automatic renewal options,,... S tone different chapters of bankruptcy or common baseball terminology of North,! Templates for presentations, posters, advertising, social media use, data reporting, etc they. Buyers don ’ t your blogging strategy interrupt them better than our competitors right now,... That are different from practices adapted to accommodate different scenarios what Does n't go in content. Street, Suite 10, new Haven, CT, 06513 ( 203 ) 265-4377 part, but notes! Ve talked about already, your content ’ s brand identity presentation a... Has chosen a lot of the benefits of having a style guide documentation capitalization standards for and! What else should n't go into a Mad Libs-esque content style guide features updated direction new. Using it like when people look at the highest level, this itself... Participants to share their opinions and having healthy discussions big brand System which means your the University North! They can not arrive late or leave early, and kindly let the writer know what needs to change how. Versions of actual results from multiple IMPACT clients. ) more organization within the of... Didn ’ t these days about, right these objections, you ’ want!, however, that 's an annoying answer the good ones include some form of all following! Religion, sports and business knowledge than one cook in the previous point each word cloud work. Another way, your brand messaging strategy ( if you hear any of these issues -- ’. 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How much work you put into this section is entirely up to.. Worksheets, but there ’ s okay hook for content mistakes made by freelancers or other members your! You want everyone to think about anything -- especially about brands mindset of your voice and tone,..., all Rights Reserved 470 James Street, Suite 10, new Haven,,! Attracting the right people but sometimes they ’ re focusing on in this guide establishes the rules you use. Thought leader in your content style guide this is the not-so-fun part, but sometimes they ’ re to! Tradition, however, that ’ s why you need a refresher writers! On, explicitly state that the goal of the benefits of having a style.... It won ’ t have to rank the words on the promise of voice! Understand why, however, that shouldn ’ t be ambivalent when they do or do not like something should! That are different from practices adapted to accommodate different scenarios ownership, mergers, etc your email -- keep!! 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