Why you need a style guide

Give your writers a clear, shared way to write – and save hours of avoidable edits – with a style guide your whole team will actually use.

Clarity beats endless rewrites

If every draft triggers debates about hyphens, capitalisation or tone, you don’t have a writing problem – you have a standards problem. An editorial style guide fixes that by setting out simple, agreed rules your authors can follow first time.

What an editorial style guide covers

A good guide explains how to write about your organisation and audience, and spells out the nuts and bolts: spelling and -ise/-ize choices, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, numbers, sector terms, plain-English preferences, voice and tone, links and citations, metadata and accessibility notes. The result: faster drafts, fewer edits, consistent, trustworthy content.

Why it matters

Consistent, correct writing builds trust. Inconsistent writing – or avoidable mistakes – does the opposite. A style guide makes “right first time” the default, reducing cost and friction across content design, marketing and comms.

What the research says

Various studies and surveys report that correctness and consistency influence perceived credibility and purchase intent. The exact percentages vary, but the direction is clear: mistakes put people off; getting it right never does. See a selection of sources.

How I create yours

1. We scope the essentials. Who’s writing, for whom, and where the pain points are now.
2. I audit your content. I review representative pages and current guidelines to spot patterns and conflicts.
3. I draft the guide. Clear, example-led rules your team can apply immediately.
4. We refine. You give feedback on the draft, and I adjust within the agreed round(s) of amends.

Style guide packages

Open-access style guide

£0

Use my free generic editorial style guide to get started today. It’s an online resource you can copy and adapt – no sign-up required.

• Best for: teams that need a baseline quickly. VIEW FREE GUIDE

Custom style guide

£900 + VAT

A house style that fits your brand and sector

I compile a concise, practical guide tailored to your content and channels, with decisions on common dilemmas agreed up front.

• Initial Q&A call to understand your needs.
• Audit of main website pages plus one or two collateral pieces, and recent social posts (if any) – to gauge writing style, set consistent spelling/grammar/punctuation, and identify organisation-specific terminology.
• Documentation of findings and any queries.
• Draft editorial style guide for review and feedback.
• One round of amends.
• Finished guide you can treat as a living document.
• Output: a customised editorial style guide presented as a clean, ready-to-use Word document that you can adapt for your intranet, design template or PDF distribution.
• Typical turnaround: about 2–3 weeks.

Premium style guide

£1,600 + VAT

For larger teams or higher-visibility content

Everything in Custom, plus extended coverage where consistency matters most – including optional notes on voice, tone and terminology, with worked examples for common problem areas.

• Initial Q&A call to understand your needs.
• Comprehensive audit of your website(s) and other relevant collateral, plus social channels.
• Extended coverage: e.g. optional notes on voice and tone (where useful), sector terminology lists, illustrative examples for common problem areas, and practical tips for putting the guide into everyday use.
• Documentation of findings and queries.
• Follow-up call for early feedback.
• Draft editorial style guide for review and feedback.
• Up to two rounds of amends.
• Finished guide designed to be updated by your team as needed.
• Output: a premium customised guide presented as a clean, ready-to-use Word document that you can adapt for your intranet, design template or PDF distribution.
• Typical turnaround: 3–4 weeks.

Scope

These packages focus on clarity, consistency and speed to publish. All work is best-endeavours: results will vary depending on team size, channels and governance.

Why do this now?

• It removes bottlenecks and opinion wars – drafts move faster.
• It raises perceived quality and trust across all channels.
• It pays back quickly in fewer edits and less rework.

Let’s get your team writing with one voice

Contact me to discuss any of these services or your own special requirement.