---
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.

---

## 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
```

---

## 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
```

---

## 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.

---

## 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.
