content-style-guide

name	content-style-guide
description	Creates editorial style guides covering grammar preferences, formatting rules, tone guidelines, and word lists. Use when standardizing content quality across writers, platforms, or team members.
allowed-tools	Read Write Glob
metadata	{"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"}

Content Style Guide

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create a brand style guide for written content (grammar, tone, formatting)
• Standardize how your business communicates across all written channels
• Onboard new writers or team members with clear editorial rules
• Document word preferences, banned phrases, and formatting conventions

DO NOT use this skill for visual brand guidelines (logos, colors, typography). This is for editorial and written content rules only.

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Core Principle

A STYLE GUIDE MUST BE SHORT ENOUGH TO REFERENCE IN 5 MINUTES AND SPECIFIC ENOUGH TO RESOLVE ANY WRITING QUESTION WITHOUT A MEETING.

---

Phase 1: Brief

Required Inputs

Input	What to Ask	Default
Business name	"What is your business or brand name?"	No default — must be provided
Content channels	"Where does your content appear? Blog, email, social, docs?"	Blog + email + social media
Existing style references	"Share 2-3 pieces of content that represent how you want to sound."	None — will build from scratch
Audience	"Who reads your content?"	Solopreneurs and small business owners
Tone keywords	"Pick 3-5 words that describe how your brand should sound."	Direct, friendly, confident
Pain points	"What writing inconsistencies bother you most?"	None identified

GATE: Confirm brief before building the guide.

---

Phase 2: Outline

Style Guide Sections

1. Brand Voice & Tone
2. Grammar & Punctuation Preferences
3. Formatting Rules
4. Word List (preferred terms & banned phrases)
5. Channel-Specific Guidelines
6. Common Mistakes to Avoid

GATE: Approve section structure before writing.

---

Phase 3: Write

1. Brand Voice & Tone

## Brand Voice

**We sound like:** [Concrete description — e.g., "A smart friend who runs a business"]
**We do NOT sound like:** [Concrete anti-example — e.g., "A corporate press release"]

### Voice Traits

| Trait | Description | Example | Anti-Example |
|-------|-------------|---------|-------------|
| [e.g., Direct] | [Get to the point fast] | "Here's how to fix it." | "In this section, we will explore potential solutions." |
| [e.g., Confident] | [State opinions, don't hedge] | "This is the best approach." | "This could potentially be worth considering." |
| [e.g., Conversational] | [Write like you talk] | "Let's break this down." | "The following analysis will demonstrate..." |

### Tone Adjustments by Context

| Context | Tone Shift |
|---------|-----------|
| Blog posts | Most casual — personality shines through |
| Emails | Warm and direct — like writing to a colleague |
| Social media | Punchy and concise — hook fast |
| Customer support | Empathetic and clear — solve the problem |
| Legal / policies | Professional and precise — no ambiguity |

2. Grammar & Punctuation

## Grammar Preferences

| Rule | Preference |
|------|-----------|
| Oxford comma | [Yes / No] |
| Contractions | [Use freely / Avoid / Context-dependent] |
| Sentence fragments | [Allowed in casual content / Never] |
| Em dashes | [Use for emphasis / Avoid] |
| Exclamation points | [Max 1 per piece / Never / Sparingly] |
| Numbers | [Spell out 1-9, digits for 10+ / Always digits] |
| Percent | [% symbol / "percent" spelled out] |
| Ampersands | [Never in body text / OK in headings] |
| Ellipses | [Avoid / OK in casual content] |

3. Formatting Rules

## Formatting

| Element | Rule |
|---------|------|
| Headings | Sentence case ("How to write a pitch") not title case |
| Bold | Use for key phrases readers should not miss |
| Italic | Use for emphasis or introducing new terms |
| Lists | Bullet points for unordered, numbers for sequential |
| Paragraphs | 2-4 sentences max |
| Links | Descriptive anchor text, never "click here" |
| CTAs | Bold, action-oriented, one per section |

4. Word List

## Word List

### Preferred Terms
| Use This | Not This |
|----------|---------|
| [e.g., "solopreneur"] | [e.g., "sole proprietor"] |
| [e.g., "revenue"] | [e.g., "income" or "earnings"] |
| [e.g., "customers"] | [e.g., "users" or "consumers"] |

### Banned Phrases
- "In today's world..."
- "It goes without saying..."
- "At the end of the day..."
- "Leverage" (as a verb)
- "Synergy" / "synergize"
- "Touch base"
- "Circle back"
- [User-specific additions]

### Industry Jargon Rules
- Define technical terms on first use
- Never assume the reader knows acronyms — spell out on first reference
- [Specific jargon allowances for this brand]

5. Channel-Specific Guidelines

## Channel Guidelines

### Blog
- Target: [word count range]
- Always include: meta description, internal links, featured image brief
- Heading hierarchy: H1 > H2 > H3 (never skip levels)

### Email
- Subject lines: under 50 characters
- Body: under 300 words for promotional, under 800 for newsletter
- Always include: preview text, one CTA, P.S. line

### Social Media
- Platform-specific character guidance
- Hashtag rules per platform
- Link placement rules

6. Common Mistakes

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. **Passive voice** — "The report was written by the team" → "The team wrote the report"
2. **Hedging language** — "We think this might help" → "This will help"
3. **Redundant phrases** — "Free gift" (gifts are free), "End result" (results are at the end)
4. **Nominalizations** — "Make a decision" → "Decide"
5. **Starting with "I think"** — Just state the opinion

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Phase 4: Polish

1. Style Guide Checklist

## Style Guide Checklist

- [ ] Voice description includes concrete examples and anti-examples
- [ ] Grammar preferences cover the 10 most common questions
- [ ] Formatting rules are specific and actionable
- [ ] Word list includes both preferred terms and banned phrases
- [ ] Channel-specific guidelines are included for each active platform
- [ ] Common mistakes section addresses real issues (not generic advice)
- [ ] Guide is under 5 pages (reference-friendly, not a textbook)
- [ ] At least 3 "Example vs Anti-Example" comparisons throughout

2. Quick Reference Card

Create a one-page summary of the most important rules for fast reference.

---

Example: Style Guide for a SaaS Startup

Voice: Confident mentor — we've done this and want to help you do it too
Not: Corporate PR team reading a script

Preferred: "Start your free trial" Not: "Begin your complimentary trial period"
Preferred: "dashboard" Not: "user interface" or "control panel"

Oxford comma: Yes
Contractions: Always in blog/social, avoid in legal docs
Numbers: Digits always (even 1-9) for scannability

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Anti-Patterns

• Too long — a 30-page style guide will never be read. Keep it under 5 pages.
• Too vague — "Be professional but friendly" is useless without examples. Show, don't just tell.
• No examples — every rule needs a "do this / not this" pair or it will be interpreted differently by every writer.
• Outdated references — style guides need annual reviews. Flag the review date.
• Ignoring channel differences — the same tone does not work on TikTok and in legal contracts. Address channel shifts.

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Recovery

• No existing content to reference: Write 3 sample paragraphs in different tones. Have the user pick the closest match and build the guide from that.
• Too many stakeholders with opinions: Focus on the 10 rules that cause 90% of inconsistencies. Defer edge cases to the editor's judgment.
• Guide is getting too long: Cut anything that duplicates AP or Chicago style. Only document deviations from standard practice and brand-specific rules.
• Writer keeps ignoring the guide: Add the top 5 rules to a pre-publish checklist. Make it a gate, not a suggestion.