A great voice starts with a great style guide
We all have our little writing quirks. Some of us are Serial Capitalizers. Others have a tendency to creationalize new words. Maybe ur more of a txter (k thx). Or write in fragments.
What happens when our individual quirks creep onto company websites, blogs or social media? People notice. It can leave your customers wondering who, exactly, they’re talking to… and it looks pretty unprofessional, too.
Okay, so your company needs a voice that’s consistent, each and every time, no matter who’s behind the keyboard. I think we can all agree with that. But how do you make it happen?
Enter the writing style guide
A style guide is a set of rules that explain how your awesome writing works – from the tonal to the technical – so everyone on your team can give your customers the same experience, on every medium.
If you’re imagining a high school grammar textbook, think again. Your goal isn’t to teach anyone anything, but rather share how your company speaks by defining, with examples:
- The tone of your brand’s voice
- Text formatting and capitalization
- Formatting for numbers, units and dates
- Formatting for abbreviations
- Common industry terms and how you use them
- Your go-to dictionary for spelling
- How you cite references or footnotes
- Punctuation usage
Bonus: it’s also a great time-saver when your team has a question or needs to settle a dispute over content. Trust me, it happens – I’ve seen my share of squabbles over where a single comma should go.
Never seen a style guide? Sample some excerpts from my favourite Canadian bestseller, The Canadian Press Stylebook:
- Use figures for numbers up to 999,999. Above that, switch to words if absolute precision is not required. (A loss of $100,000, a $1.2-million project)
- For months used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out standing alone or with a year alone. (Oct. 1, 1999, was a Friday. January 2006 was wet.)
- Think of active verbs as power words – words that drive your sentences, keep the reader’s attention and move her briskly along.
Not: The economy experienced a quick revival.
But: The economy revived quickly.Not: At first light there was no sign of the ship.
But: The ship vanished in the night.
Finding your style
At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Wow, that sounds like a really important and valuable resource, but I don’t have time to build out my own style guide.” You’re not alone. That’s why companies often refer to an established style guide that already covers all of this stuff.
Here in Canada, I recommend starting with one of the following:
(There are style guides for different industries, occupations and countries, too, but far too many to list here.)
Of course, you might have a few differences of opinion with your guide. That’s okay! At least they’ve done most of the legwork for you. All that’s needed are a few tweaks you can capture in a companion document.
And as a final note, make sure you get input from your team. A style guide isn’t a static, one-and-done deal; it should be a collaborative, organic document that changes with your business.
Got a question about making or fine-tuning your company’s writing style? Comment below or send me a message!