Why and how to craft an in-house style guide
Every organization should have documented guidelines for writers and editors for all content. Beyond promoting consistency, it can help keep your people from misrepresenting the brand.
When I join an organization or take on a new content marketing client, one of my first tasks is to draft a content style guide if there isn’t one in place.
Why? Because it’s one of the most important tools for keeping all your organization’s content creators on voice and on message.
Without it, you’ll find you are destined to spend more of your time than you’d like making edits and requesting revisions to the content your internal and external writers create.
Wouldn’t you rather spend that extra time working on amplifying the terrific content your team is creating?
The benefits
For writers, a content style guide details how to approach the content they’re creating.
It increases their likelihood of getting back a few notes and suggestions instead of a mess of red-lined edits and exasperated editor’s notes about style points they are tired of repeating.
It also ensures that, even though your content is created by a team of writers, it all still reflects your carefully crafted brand voice.
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