One of the first questions I like to ask new clients interested in my content writing services is whether or not they have an editorial style guide. Most do not. Do you?
If you want to be a trusted expert in your niche, don’t overlook your style guide. Wondering where to start? You’re in the right place. Here’s the exact guide I use with my clients – including a free editable template you can snag – to get started on your editorial style guide today.
Why Does it Matter?
I’ll admit, I didn’t have one for the first three years of my business either. It wasn’t until I began working with clients who hired multiple writers for different projects that I realized it matters.
One client, in particular, comes to mind. I read a few emails from two different email sequences and the style was quite different. It was clear they weren’t written by the same person. I wasn’t even sure which sequence was the ideal one to use as a model.
Houston, we have a problem.
The entrepreneur’s personal voice was not consistently clear.
Inconsistency brings confusion. Consistency builds trust. And I don’t have to tell you that having an audience that trusts you is worth its weight in gold when it comes time to launch or sell a product.
What is an Editorial Style Guide?
Simply put, it’s a list of guidelines for your written content. These guidelines define your brand’s voice. It often includes information about your mission, audience, voice, spelling, grammar, how you use emojis and GIFs, and so on. Everyone who creates your written content should be familiar with and regularly refer to this document.
Even if you are a solopreneur, creating a set of guidelines helps you clearly define your brand’s voice. And if you bring someone on to assist you in the future, you’ll be prepared. Stay a step ahead and have your guidelines ready to include in your onboarding process for any future new members of your team.
3 Steps to Create an Editorial Style Guide
You’ll need three things to get started: at least two hours of time, your computer, and my free editable editorial style guide template.
Step 1: Decide who will be involved.
You can create your guide by yourself, with the assistance of a virtual assistant like myself, or with anyone in your writing team. This depends on your availability, your budget, and how much input you want into your guide.
Step 2: Gather your materials.
Find a few samples of your ideal content. This may include blog posts, email sequences, podcasts, videos of you talking, and so on. Also have easy access to information about your mission statement and target audience.
Step 3: Start!
Work through my free template. You’ll list information about your mission, audience, voice, style, word list, and best practice samples. Make it yours, but don’t get caught up in being perfect. You can tweak and update this document as often as you need.
Tips to Using Your Guide
So now that you have your guide, what do you do with it? Use it! To make sure it doesn’t collect digital dust, try these tips.
- Keep your guide on a platform that allows changes to become live immediately. This way you don’t have to keep resending a PDF each time you make changes. My personal favorite is Google Docs.
- Include a link to your style guide in each document you draft so it is easily accessible. For example, when I draft a blog post, I have a template I use that already has a box at the top listing important resources. This way, I see it every time I write and can open it when I am familiarizing myself with a new client’s style and also add to it as things arise.
- Add a link to your style guide or upload it to your project management software. For instance, I have a blog post workflow board on Trello. One of my lists is for resources. My style guidelines are the card at the top.
- Include it as part of your onboarding process. Ensure anyone on your team who is involved with writing is familiar with this document. Encourage them to refer to it first when they have any editorial style or brand voice questions. And if their question isn’t answered, now is a great time to add it to your guide.
Bottom Line
Every brand has a voice. An editorial style guide will help you be crystal clear on yours and reduce the need for editing, no matter how many people are on your team.
As a former elementary teacher, Marissa Fedorow learned doing too much on your own leads to burnout. Since pivoting from teaching and launching Marissa Fedorow VA Services in 2018, she has focused her creativity and attentiveness to details to help multi-passionate entrepreneurs nurture their audiences with content creation, optimization, and refreshing so they gain time to focus on what gives them joy in their business. It is her core belief together we can do so much.
