Set Yourself Apart from the Pack with a Style Guide

If you want to make a great first impression with your marketing blog, pay attention to the details. If readers encounter typos, inconsistent voice, posts that are too long to read, and other deal killers, you’ll lose them. Not just once, but forever.

Blog Style Guide

Not only that, but if you have more than one person writing blogs in your company, those “blogs require a consistent style guide so that anyone who writes and edits posts will be able to adhere to the same rules. Some blogs choose to adopt the AP Stylebook and others prefer the MLA or The Yahoo! Style Guide.”

As Jonathan Bailey suggests, you’ll also want to decide up front how you address specifics such as:

• post length/frequency,
• post titles (length, capitalization),
• formatting (subheads, lists),
• images (sources, sizes),
• links (number, format),
• attribution (quotes, photos), and
• author information/bio.

The Band-Aid AP Stylebook

The Band-Aid AP Stylebook (by Dave Feldman, The San Diego Union-Tribune

and Stan Ketterer, Oklahoma State University) is a summary of the most commonly used items in the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. It includes helpful reminders, but it is not a substitute for it.

When in doubt, look it up in the AP Stylebook!

Does your blog have a style that sets it apart from the pack?

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com