A Personal Content Marketing Style Guide (Free Download)

Written By Melanie Broder

A Style Guide is a set of standards to write (and live) by.

As many creators start to branch out on their own, they will need to professionalize their working habits. Writers can’t rely on the muse to pay their rent. They need to be efficient, reliable, and consistently creative. Easier said than done.

A Style Guide holds you accountable. It reminds you to aim high and live up to your standards.

After working with and developing dozens of Style Guides in my career as a writer and content marketer, I decided to create my own. It’s by no means complete, but a good summary of learnings so far.

Read on for the Guide, or scroll down to the end to download the PDF.

Building a writing practice

Outlines give your story shape and coherence before you've even begun writing. Use outlines.

Do 2 drafts minimum of everything.

Do not do 2 drafts of the same article, post, or copy in one day.

Write hot, edit cool. Aka write drunk, edit sober. Pick your metaphor. Content generation should be uninhibited. Content refinement is where you have to get distance from the work and be objective* about its value.

When doing original research for a longform article, plan extra time (more than you think you need) for interviews and other dependencies. In fact, plan extra time for writing even when you don't have dependencies. It always takes longer than you think it will.

"Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance." —Plato. Do not write "takes." Write analyses, arguments, observations, profiles, reports. Assume there's always more to learn.

Conclusions are not just regurgitations. Say something new. Be inspiring to your reader.

Success = 70% something you're proud of, 30% it resonates with people (puts you mostly in control of your success).

Get bored. Don't look at your phone when you do. Listen to your thoughts, recognize your emotions. Get curious about your inner life.

Talk to different types of people. Be curious about their inner lives. Ask them questions without any goal in mind.

Go for a walk.

Paul Graham's essays are not the gold standard for writing about startups and technology (even if your founder says they are). Hemingway wasn't the only literary writer, and minimalism isn't the only style. Broaden your horizons. Follow the writers that resonate with YOU, the stories you're trying to tell, and the brand you're trying to build. Read widely and deeply.

When you read books or articles, listen to podcasts, or watch movies, write down your favorite lines. Ask yourself: what about this line speaks to me? How can I make my own creative work more like this?

Sometimes the difference between a good article and a great one is one line. Push yourself to follow through on a point to its full conclusion, which is usually not the first or most obvious one.

On the other hand, don't let perfectionism get in the way of deadlines. Always meet your deadlines. This is probably the most important skill a writer can have.

When interviewing, always choose to have a live conversation if you can. Next best is recorded video or audio answers. Third best is email/written answers.

*Nobody is ever "objective" about anything. Be suspicious of "objectivity."

Grammar and Formatting

Grammar, spelling, and formatting still matter. Copyedit your work. Use tools to do so if necessary. Ask a friend if especially important — cover letters, academic papers, etc.

Controversial statement: The length of your dashes does. not. matter. (I know, this directly contradicts the point about copyediting).

If you're writing for someone else, always provide alternative copy. 3 alternative headlines. 2 alternative social posts. 2 alternative CTAs. These options should all be WILDLY different from each other.

H2s on every doc.

If it can be bulleted, bullet it.

Adverbs are fine.

Short sentences are easier to digest than long ones. Complex ideas can be conveyed in short sentences.

If English is not your first language, it's okay to sound a bit "foreign." Language is alive and evolving, and your English is part of that living history.

Communication

Read through all communications 3x before sending.

Send more emails than you think you need to.

Communicate with people via their preferred platform. Whether that's email, Slack, DM, WhatsApp, or something else, reach them where they are.

If you don't get an answer within the week, follow up. Unless you're cold-calling and someone is intentionally avoiding your messages, follow-ups are usually appreciated.

Always assume good intention and take a positive, friendly tone in your communications.

AI

Like with any other emerging technology, you'll be a lot more successful with AI if you learn about it on your own terms before passing judgment. Give yourself a few hours or days to truly engage with the technology. Go directly to the source, read interviews from the founders, refer to research papers. Talk to others who are more informed about it than you are. Then, think critically about what AI means for your life and career.

Similar to going for a walk or talking to someone, AI is your friend when you are blocked. Use it as a sounding board, an idea machine, a thesaurus of ideas.

AI tools that are currently helpful to writers:

Don’t worry. I’m not making any money plugging these tools.

Posting through it

A personal brand is not a static thing. Don't flatten yourself to fit a role, image, or profile.

When it comes to social media algorithms, consistency is king.

Repeat yourself. People need to be told something several times over for it to sink in. Do not lose patience with them. They have lives.

Algorithms change all the time. Don't become dependent on a platform. When new platforms emerge, learn how they work.

Talk to other content marketers. Respond to their posts. Listen to what they have to say.

If you don't feel comfortable with something you've posted in the past or don't align with it anymore, take it down.

Be forgiving of yourself. Nobody's perfect, opinions change, and nobody's paying attention to your spelling errors.

If it isn't obvious by now, you can and should make friends on the internet. These relationships are more rewarding if you can meet IRL at some point.

Download the PDF

If you liked this guide and want to save it, you can download it here. And if you liked this post, why not share it?

Melanie Broder