Your CompanyStyle Guide

Template Developed by BrandVox™for the online class Find Your Brand Voice: Personality for Business Success

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Purpose & Overview..............................................................................3Your Brand Story...................................................................................4Mission and Vision.................................................................................5Who Buys From Your Brand..................................................................6Your Brand Personalities.......................................................................7Word Springboard..................................................................................8Writing Techniques................................................................................9

Reference Guides.........................................................................9Bringing our Personality to Life....................................................9Plain Language.............................................................................9Writing Technique #2.................................................................13Writing Technique #3.................................................................13Writing Technique #4.................................................................13Writing Technique #5.................................................................13

Common Situations..............................................................................14Operations..................................................................................14Finance/Legal.............................................................................14Sales...........................................................................................15Community Building...................................................................15Products......................................................................................16Packaging...................................................................................16Customer Service.......................................................................16Internal/HR..................................................................................17

Your Brand House Style......................................................................18Structure and Composition........................................................18Choosing the Right Word...........................................................21Grammar, Capitalization, and Punctuation...............................25

Purpose & OverviewIn this section, include a personal message about the company. Where are you now? What kinds of success have you seen? Why are you creating a style guide? What kind of growth do you expect in the future?

Your Brand StoryLook at your company’s About Us section. Is there some content you can repurpose to tell the story of how your brand got started? How have you grown?

Mission and VisionAll of our communication should map back to our core values.

Your Brand mission: Put your mission statement here.

Don’t forget to include any supporting statements, such as core values, vision statements, etc.

Who Buys From Your BrandUse this section to outline your audience. What are their demographics? Why do they choose your brand over others? What are they thinking? What do they desire?

It’s usually helpful to include a picture to represent each audience.

Your Brand PersonalitiesIn this section, take each one of your personalities and list them out. Include your foundational content, too. It’s also helpful to include images.

Word SpringboardWhen you’re writing, here are words that you’ll want to keep in mind. These words describe the overall feeling we want to convey as we talk to our employees, vendors, and customers.

Build your word spring board by taking each word in your brand personalities and running it through a thesaurus. Make the personality words bold and the words that are similar regular and a lighter shade.

honest wide-eyed open authentic clear self-reliant independent confident convicted inquisitive curious

interested gregarious adventurer trailblazer passionate expressive spirited storytellers relator reporter reviewer

sentimental preserver nostalgic protector cultivator nurturing supporter developer change innovator eccentric fearless enterprising intrepid guide hero

pioneers authority informal conversational stimulator motivating agitator catalyst

Writing TechniquesYou don’t have to have a college degree in English to be an effective communicator. In fact, there are several lessons that you likely learned that aren’t helpful when we’re communicating for business. That’s because most of the English courses you took in school focused on how to write a research paper, which is very different than the way you write for the web.

Reference GuidesWe use AP Style, with a few exceptions. See the current AP Stylebook for reference.

For questions of spelling, use the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Use the first spelling presented, and note that word presentations in the dictionary supersede the stylebook.

Bringing our Personality to LifePersonality Writing Technique

Authentic Honesty Plain Language

Personality #2 Matching Writing Technique

Personality #3 Matching Writing Technique

Personality #4 Matching Writing Technique

Plain LanguageDid you know that it’s illegal to use language that’s too complicated? Don’t worry. The grammar police aren’t going to hunt you down, but writing well is so important that the federal government passed the Plain Language Writing Act in 2010, requiring all government organization to use “clear communication that the public can understand and use.”

So, what does “Plain Language” look like? Let’s take a look at some excerpts from the Federal Plain Language Guidelines .

Think about your audienceOne of the most popular plain language myths is that you have to "dumb down" your content so that everyone everywhere can read it. That's not true. The first rule of plain

language is: write for your audience. Use language your audience knows and feels comfortable with. Take your audience's current level of knowledge into account.

<insert a NOT Plain Language example>

<insert a Plain Language example>

Address one person, not a groupRemember that even though your document may affect a thousand or a million people, you are speaking to the one person who is reading it. In addressing a single person, you can avoid awkwardness by using “you” to address the reader directly, rather than using “he or she” or “his or her.”

<insert a NOT Plain Language example>

<insert a Plain Language example>

Use contractions"Write as you talk" is a common rule of writing readably, and the best way to do that is to use contractions. People are accustomed to hearing contractions in spoken English, and using them in your writing helps people relate to your writing.

<insert a NOT Plain Language example>

<insert a Plain Language example>

Use short, simple wordsIn making your word choices, pick the familiar or frequently used word over the unusual or obscure. There are many lists of complex words and suggested substitutes, for example: www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/wordsuggestions/simplewords.cfm

<insert a NOT Plain Language example>

<insert a Plain Language example>

Write short sentencesExpress only one idea in each sentence. Long, complicated sentences often mean that you aren't sure about what you want to say. Shorter sentences are also better for conveying complex information; they break the information up into smaller, easier-to-process units.

<insert a NOT Plain Language example>

<insert a Plain Language example>

Use listsVertical lists highlight a series of requirements or other information in a visually clear way. Use vertical lists to help your user focus on important material. Vertical lists:

• Highlight levels of importance• Help the reader understand the order in which things happen• Make it easy for the reader to identify all necessary steps in a process• Add blank space for easy reading• Are an ideal way to present items, conditions, and exceptions.

<insert a NOT Plain Language example>

<insert a Plain Language example>

Use Open-Ended QuestionsCommunication isn’t just explaining something — it’s about creating a conversation where people feel welcome. One of the secrets of great hosts is their ability to ask questions that get people talking. These are also known as open-ended questions, because there isn’t an implied “yes” or “no” response. Whenever possible, we prefer to use open-ended questions when we’re communicating with our customers so that they feel right at home.

Open-ended questions typically start with the words: • What• How• Why

<insert a NOT Plain Language example>

<insert a Plain Language example>

Writing Technique #2Continue to build out this section by illustrating each writing technique, like the Plain Language example above. Be sure to include concrete examples that relate to your organization.

Writing Technique #3Continue to build out this section by illustrating each writing technique, like the Plain Language example above. Be sure to include concrete examples that relate to your organization.

Writing Technique #4Continue to build out this section by illustrating each writing technique, like the Plain Language example above. Be sure to include concrete examples that relate to your organization.

Writing Technique #5Continue to build out this section by illustrating each writing technique, like the Plain Language example above. Be sure to include concrete examples that relate to your organization.

Common SituationsWhen we write, it’s important to consider our situation, or tone. Just like a child’s “inside voice” is different from their “outside voice”, our “social media voice” is different than our “finance voice”. We need to shift our tone depending on our circumstances, but always stay true to our brand theme of potential.

In this section, we’re going to look at some common situations you will encounter while communicating for our brand in print, online, or in person.

Operations

Product NamesDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Process NamesDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Finance/LegalTerms & ConditionsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Reaction to CompetitionDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Crisis ManagementDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Sales

Product PagesDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Elevator Pitches & PresentationsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Receipts and Order ConfirmationsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Community Building

About Us PagesDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Social MediaDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Here are some best practices to keep in mind when writing for social media.

• Keep text short (under 90 characters if possible)• Use features such as hashtags to make content searchable• Pictures and video are often more effective than words.• Emoticons are appropriate, but don’t go overboard.• Be a gracious host, think of this channel like an online party. Ask questions,

highlight others, and don’t bore people by talking about yourself too much. • Education is almost always a better tactic than direct sales.

BlogsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Content Pillars

We want to keep our content engaging and fresh, which means we have a variety of topics that we feature on our social media channels. (If you need help developing Content Pillars, check out the class Become a Better Blogger: Content Planning on Skillshare .)

• Pillar #1

• Pillar #2

• Pillar #3

• Pillar #4

ProductsProduct DescriptionsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Reviews & TestimonialsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

PackagingDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Customer ServiceDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Here’s a pattern that you can follow, regardless of which channel you are using to communicate.

1. Empathize — show the customer you understand where they’re coming from.2. Explain and, if necessary, apologize —  not every communication will require an

apology but be willing to offer one if we’re in the wrong.3. Make it Right — work with the customer to reach a solution that works.

Social Media ResponsesDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Internal/HRStaff and Culture EventsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Feedback and ReviewsDescribe why tone of voice matters here. Include an example relevant to your organization.

Your Brand House StyleIf the idea of grammar makes you want to breathe into a paper bag, don’t worry. You’re not alone. In this section we’re going to go over the thirty most common writing mistakes in American English When you read and apply these writing principles to your own writing, you’ll see the quality of your content increase — big time.

Structure and Composition

Subject/ Verb Agreement Explain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Consistent Verb TenseExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Sentence FragmentsExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Dangling participlesExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Parallel sentence structureExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Bullets and Numbered ListsExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Titles and SubheadingsExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

The Power of "You" (Write Using 2nd Person)Explain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format. Keep It ShortExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Choosing the Right Word

Double NegativesExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

PronounsExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

**Important Exception: He or she vs. They**One place where you may want to make an intentional exception to inconsistent pronouns is using the word “they” for gender neutral purposes. This may make your skin crawl, because chances are this flies in the face of what you were taught in English class, but it is an accepted style choice by many leading resources. Languages evolve and since we do not use formal language in our communications, it makes sense to move toward this conversational practice.

Singular agreement, formal style (good)A customer should clean his or her widget on a regular basis.

Inconsistent usage, informal style (better)A customer should clean their widget on a regular basis.

Plural agreement, informal style (best)Customers should clean their widgets on a regular basis.

Easily confused wordsEnglish is a tricky language. There are a number of words that sound the same, but have very different meanings. Here is just a partial list of word that you need to use correctly.

It's vs. Its It’s is a contraction for the words “it is” and its shows possession.

You’re vs. YourYou’re is a contraction for the words “you are” and your shows possession. There vs. Their

There demonstrates a location and their shows possession.

Affect vs. EffectAffect is a verb. Effect is a noun.

Splitting InfinitivesExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Avoiding QualifiersExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Stay PositiveExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Verbs are More Powerful than AdjectivesExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Jargon, Idioms, Clichés, and Other Sources of PerilExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

• Jargon - overly technical language used in an attempt to “sound” smart• Idiom - expressions that don’t have a literal meaning (ex: “a little bird told me”)• Clichés - overused expressions (ex: “at the end of the day”)• Slang - overly informal language (ex: “it’s totes awesome”)• Euphemism - milder words or phrases used to blunt the effectiveness of more direct

or unpleasant words or phrases. (ex: “vertically challenged” instead of “short”)

Write with CadenceExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

EmbellishmentsExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

• Alliteration - using the same letter at the beginning of each word in a sentence

• Onomatopoeia - words that act like a sound effect

• Metaphor and Simile - using one idea to express another idea

Grammar, Capitalization, and Punctuation

Using Commas correctly Explain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

ApostrophesExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Quotation MarksExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Spelling MistakesFamiliarize yourself with words that are difficult to spell — especially product names.

Spell checker is a good tool, but it can’t do everything. Here are some of the most commonly misspelled words that you should look out for.

• A lot • Believe• Calendar• Definite• Guarantee• Height• Jewelry• License• Maintenance• Minuscule

• Occasionally• Principle/Principal• Publicly• Receive• Referred• Schedule• Until• Vacuum• Weather/Whether• Weird

CapitalizationExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Dashes and HyphensThere are three different lengths of horizontal lines that work as punctuation:

1. Hyphen - 2. En-dash –

3. Em-dash —

Explain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

ColonsExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Semi-ColonsExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

Parentheses and Brackets Explain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.

EllipsesExplain how this will work at your organization. Use examples using the “good, better, best” format.