Chances are you’ve never even thought about it, right? You’re probably asking yourself, “Why would I need one of those? I’m not a newspaper or a publisher.” Or you may even be asking, “What’s a style guide?” Simply put, a style guide is a defined set of standards, or rules, put in place to create a uniform system for writing and designing documents.
Yes, chances are a style guide might seem like a strange thing to have for a business. Particularly since you’re not the New York Times, the Post (Washington or NY)…the Onion, or any other reputable industry of media publication.
So, again it begs the question, “Does your company need a style guide?”
Answer: Probably.
Unless your business is done entirely face-to-face, taking the time to create a style guide is anything but a waste of time. No matter what industry you’re in, reputation and quality of work are extremely important for you, and for your customers. Removing some of the sloppiness of formatting, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes can, and will, make a big difference when it comes to showing your customers what you’re all about. A style guide is about creating consistency. Maintaining a top-level of consistency throughout your work will demonstrate to your customers, and potential customers, that you’re offering them the same level of care, consideration, and attention that you offer all of your partners. Not only that, but consistency shows control. It is a subtle message to viewers of your content that you’re in control and know what you’re doing.
“Mistakes were made”
Even Nixon knew this one. Mistakes happen whether you intend for them to happen or not. It’s human nature; we all make mistakes. But these mistakes can be costly, just ask our quotable Mr. Nixon how that all turned out. The intent of a style guide is to cut down (hopefully, cut out) the errors and mistakes in your written content. Yes, everyone has their own style when writing, but I’m sure your business has its own style too. The intention of a style guide is to allow for a blending of these two voices, not to cancel out your own voice. Style guides provide a means to create uniformity throughout your content. Whether spoke, visual, or written; your presentation is incredibly important to get your vision and mission across.
That’s why a style guide.
