Blogging is an essential part of digital marketing. According to Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report, 73% of B2B marketers have a content marketing strategy and 76% use the blog to distribute their content.

Source: Content Marketing Institute

You can also start building and scaling your inbound customer acquisition efforts by hiring multiple writers. However, your blog will flop if they don’t create top-notch content.

That’s where editorial style guidelines come in; you need a well-written one for your team to create content that meets your needs.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• The meaning of editorial style guidelines
• Its benefits
• The elements to include in your guide
• How to create good editorial guidelines
• Examples of awesome editorial guidelines

Let’s dive in.

What are Editorial Guidelines?

They’re rules that dictate how you create content for your blog. Blog owners and content marketing strategists often send their writers their editorial guidelines before they start writing. Here are some details marketers include in their editorial guides:

• Post style and formatting
• Grammar and punctuation rules
• Guest blogging requirements
• Considerations for different social media platforms
• The publishing process, etc.

Let’s pick a blog like Entrepreneur. They have several contributors. Their site would be so chaotic if they didn’t have rules that authors follow when writing content.

Bottom line: Editorial guidelines ensure consistency in your content in the world of distributed marketing.

4 Benefits of Having an Editorial Style Guide

Most companies don’t have editorial guidelines. Some think it’s a waste of time. Others don’t see its essence. But you’ll consider creating one today to complement your content strategy framework goals once you know its benefits below.

Maintain Brand Consistency

You’ll dump your favorite restaurant if they start cooking whack food. That happens in the digital world—your customers will choose your competitors over you if your brand is inconsistent.

If you work with multiple authors, you must maintain the quality of your posts. Your content will look like it’s written by one author, keeping your audience coming back for more. This is especially important for content marketing agencies that produce content for multiple brands and industries.

Ensure Seamless Collaboration with Other Brands

You have to work with other brands to scale your online business. They will request you for guest posting opportunities and vice versa.

But how will your partners write good content for your blog if you have no editorial guidelines? Tricky. But by creating one, guest authors will know your blog’s expectations like your ideal content length, formatting, link practices etc. They will use your instructions to create content that your readers love, converting them into customers. That’s what the best content marketing agencies strive to do for their clients.

Save Time for Writers and Editors

Editorial guidelines will make your life easy. If you give your writers the right instructions, you’ll offload some tedious tasks like editing and formatting your posts.

Say you accept guest posts on your site, you can save your writers time by approving their topics before they write—you won’t have to reject a whole post.

Also, the guidelines will come in handy to increase your posting frequency and meet your content calendar goals.

Keep Writing Fun and Straightforward

Writers are different. Imagine telling your new writers to create a high-quality post without giving them instructions. They will do it their way, which may not be what you want.

So, have a straightforward process for working with your team to remove ambiguities. You can provide your writers with industry SEO tips as well as have them mark off checkboxes in your guidelines to ensure they follow all instructions before submitting work. You’ll reduce the number of revisions by half.

Key Elements to Include in Your First Editorial Guidelines

Do some quick research; you’ll realize companies have different editorial guides, meaning there’s no one-size-fits-all format for creating the piece. Usually, it’s more specific and clear than just a list of SEO writing tips but it’s a good place to start with SEO considerations in mind. You’ll choose what to include to create a custom guide for your brand.

Remember: this content style guide is a living document that can change and iterate over time, so it’s not necessary to get it perfect at the beginning.

Next, we’ll discuss the main elements in an editorial manual.

Who You Serve Online

Your blog is about your readers, not you. They deserve to get content that meets their needs.

So, your editorial guide should mention your target audience for your writers to know who they will address. If possible, describe your buyer persona for your team to write articles your readers resonate with.

Your Content Requirements

Companies have different content needs. Maybe a certain type of content works well for your niche. It could be list posts, ultimate guides, etc. You have to mention that on your editorial page.

Here are other content requirements to include in your guide:

• Content length – 600, 1000 words or more?
• The number of images you want
• The intros you expect – short or long?
• The subheadings you prefer – plain or catchy?

Side note: Always tell your writers to submit unique content that hasn’t been published anywhere online.

Examples of Previous Successful Posts

Creating high-quality content is easier said than done. Sometimes you have to show, not tell to get top-notch posts from your team. That’s why good editorial guidelines have samples of the best posts.

If you have a guest posting page, include one or two posts from your guest authors. Your writers and business partners will then know the quality of work you expect.

Your Linking Best Practices

Your posts can’t be complete in Google’s eyes if you don’t link to internal and external resources. You must include at least two relevant links in your articles. You can do it yourself or outsource the task to your writers.

Here’s what your link section should cover:

• The number of internal links/guide
• The number of links guest authors get
• Credible resources writers should link to
• How to create hyperlinks – how many words can an anchor text be?

A good linking strategy will save you and your writers time.

Your Style and Formatting Best Practices

Your blog will look disorganized if you don’t follow a standard style and formatting procedure. That’s why the editorial pages of most blogs have a section for the format. Here’s what you can include in yours:

• Whether you align with the Chicago Manual of Style or Associated Press (AP) Stylebook
• Where authors should source images
• The number of bullet points to use
• Headers, abbreviations and capitalization
• Your desired spacing
• The font type and size
• The number of sentences per paragraph

Ex: If you run a self-improvement blog like Tiny Buddha, your writers can include a relevant quote below one or two subheads to support their content.

Your Preferred Brand Voice and Tone

Maybe you use a casual tone because your blog addresses teenagers, or stay formal for the sake of corporates. Either way, your audience will appreciate it if your brand tone and voice remain consistent throughout your copies. That’s why you need a section on your brand style guide.

Remember, writers have unique voices and tones but can adapt to different styles. So, highlight your requirements to avoid confusing your readers.

Pro tip: Give your writers some samples to show them your expected brand tone and voice.

Industry Jargon

Jargon is in all niches; we bet yours has many. Why not create a list of those terminologies and common words to show everyone how to use them? For example, if you run an online store, should writers use e-commerce or eCommerce? Clarify that to maintain consistency.

Alternatively, tell your writers to avoid using jargon.

Your Grammar and Punctuation Rules

Your readers will stop reading your articles with several grammar and punctuation mistakes—you’ll lose everyone after investing so much in your blog. Sad.

That’s why you need a grammar and punctuation section in your guide. Here’s what you can highlight here:

• How to use different punctuation marks like commas, semi-colons, and colons.
• Your unique rules. Ex: are you against starting a new sentence using conjunction?
• Your target geo. If your blog targets Americans, you’ll use terms like color instead of colour.

Pro tip: Your authors should pass their work through content editing tools like Grammarly before submission.

Your Work Process

Your team deserves to know your standard operating procedures; you must indicate them in your editorial guidelines. Here’s what a good work process covers:

• When your writers should submit their first draft – after 3, 5, 7 days or more?
• Your publishing frequency
• Submission format – Microsoft Word or Google Documents?
• Your payment method, etc.

Everyone will look forward to working with you if you’re straightforward.

Steps to Create Editorial Guidelines That Stand Out

It’s easy to draft editorial guidelines if you’ve picked the elements to include. Next, we’ll teach you how to write a good one.

Start with the Basics

First, mention what your blog is about and the audience you serve. For instance, if you run an eCommerce blog, are you targeting beginners or advanced marketers? Your team will create content that meets your buyer’s journey.

Next, pick the tone you’ll use. If you have a comic blog, it’s okay to use a fun tone. If you’re targeting professionals, stay formal. Also, your writers will also tweak their writing style to match your brand’s tone.

Choose Your Elements Wisely

Editorial guidelines can have different elements we’ve discussed above. You’ll pick the ones to include in your guide. Here’s what I’d choose if I were creating the guidelines for my brand:

• My work process – submit 2-3 content ideas before creating your first draft. Your post will go through 2-3 rounds of edits before publishing.
• Content requirements – all posts should be 1500+ words
• Image requirements – avoid royalty-free images
• Linking best practices – includes four internal links and two external links in your posts
• Grammar and punctuation rules – pass your copy through Grammarly before submission.

Add as many elements as you wish. We’ll give some inspos later.

Select Your Go-to Format

By now, you’ve written your first editorial guidelines. Nice. It’s time to make it go live. But first, you need a format for publishing it. You have these options:

• Microsoft word
• PDF
• Google Docs
• Other document publishing tools

Note: Choose one, then add the guide on your site for your contributors and writers to access it.

Examples of Great Editorial Guidelines From Top Brands

Companies have unique style guides. You’ll create a custom one too. We’ve cherry-picked the best editorial style guide templates to show you what a good one should look like.

Omniscient Digital

Omniscient Digital is a high-end premium agency for B2B SaaS to build and scale their content needs. They have a detailed guide that their team uses to create high-quality content for their clients. Here’s Omniscient’s editorial guidelines:

The key elements they included:

• Content requirements
• Voice and tone expectations
• Their work process
• SEO guidelines
• Guest blogging expectations
• Grammar and punctuation rules

The brand’s style and expectations are clear. They even give their writers examples in the grammar and punctuation section, e.g., how to use different punctuation marks like periods, commas, and dashes.

G2 Learning Hub

G2 Learning Hub’s blog targets marketers, sales professionals, and business enthusiasts. They have guidelines that writers, and marketing professionals follow when creating their content. Check out G2’s editorial guidelines:

The key elements included:

• Content length
• The content they want
• The technical details like how to cite statistics from third-party platforms

Also, G2 also has a FAQ section for clarifying issues arising during the publishing phase. For instance, their guest authors will know what to expect after submitting their pitch.

Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur is a top business blog that accepts new contributors. They’ve included their guidelines on their site. Here’s what it looks like:

The key elements they included:

• Content length
• Style and formatting
• Basic grammar rules
• Image instructions
• Link policy

Get inspiration from their process to create the next mega site like theirs.

Search Engine Journal

Last, Search Engine Journal is another marketing blog. They also work with a team of writers and contributors. Check out their writing rules:

The key elements they included:

• Content requirements
• SEO best practices
• Their publishing process
• Rules for republishing content

The brand’s editorial style guideline is well-organized. If you click their formatting and grammar section, you’ll find instructions on the right headings to use, how to write the numbers, etc.

Time to Create Your First Editorial Guidelines

An editorial guideline is a must-have if you work with multiple writers to scale your customer acquisition needs; it should be in your list of content creation hacks.

It’s easy to create editorial guidelines considering there’s no specific format we use. You’ll only have to highlight the basics we discussed above and pick the desired elements to include in your masterpiece.

So, create your first editorial manual today. Your authors will send you content that generates leads and sales than businesses without editorial guidelines.

If you found this article useful, please share it on Twitter using the link below:

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on September 5, 2022 and has been updated frequently since then for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

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The post How to Create Editorial Style Guidelines for Your Blog appeared first on 99signals.

It determines your ability to provide a great shopping experience. Plus, your ability to expand to international markets and reach your business goals depends on the features and functionalities that your chosen platform offers.

Two of the most recommended options are Shopify and WordPress. Both platforms offer a variety of features and tools to help you build and manage your online store.

But how do you choose which one is better for your business? That depends on your business needs, level of expertise, and budget.

A few factors to consider are:

• Does this ecommerce website builder have the catalogue and inventory management features you need?
• Can it be customized to your preferences?
• How flexible and scalable is it?
• Is it secure?
• Do you have the technical knowledge to set it up yourself or will you hire someone to build it for you?
• Can you afford the cost of design, development and maintenance?
• Does it have suitable payment integration options?
• Does it provide strong ecommerce marketing capabilities?

To help you decide which ecommerce website builder is the best fit, let’s take a look at the uniqueness and key features of both Shopify and WordPress.

What is Unique About Shopify?

Shopify is a comprehensive ecommerce platform that provides a complete solution for selling online.

A vast array of features set Shopify apart from other ecommerce platforms. Whether you’re looking for basic features like inventory management and payment processing or more advanced features like abandoned cart recovery and customer segmentation, Shopify has you covered.

Here are some of the most unique Shopify features:

• Shopify is one of the only ecommerce platforms that offers a fully customizable checkout experience. This means that you can create a unique checkout experience that is tailored to your brand and your customers.
• Shopify offers a standalone “Buy Button” that can be used to list your inventory on any online platform.
• Shopify also allows businesses to sell directly on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. This is a great way to reach out to new customers and make the selling process more convenient for existing customers.
• With payments, Shopify provides its gateway (Shopify Payments) and also supports up to 100 other payment options.

What is Unique About WordPress?

WordPress stands out for its flexibility and scalability. It runs an open-source platform (WordPress.org) which means you can modify all aspects of your code and have total control over your ecommerce environment. However, the alternative, WordPress.com provides plans specifically for ecommerce businesses and is fully hosted.

It also offers a content management system (CMS) with a host of excellent ecommerce plugins like WooCommerce or BigCommerce. These make it easy to add ecommerce functionality to your website.

A few unique features of WordPress ecommerce plugins are:

• The ability to display 3D Views of products
• Selling intangible products such as trials, downloads or subscriptions
• Partner management, contract pricing and product entitlement for B2B transactions
• Enable the same user experience in all browsers or browser versions.
• Allow developers to customize the platform using multiple programming languages

The Key Difference Between Shopify and WordPress

The key difference between WordPress vs. Shopify is that Shopify is a specialized ecommerce platform made for business owners. This means it has ecommerce features built-in.

On the other hand, WordPress is a content management system that can be transformed into an ecommerce site using a supported plugin like WooCommerce or Wix.

So, which platform is right for you? Let’s run a side-by-side comparison.

Shopify vs WordPress: Pricing and Fees

When it comes to pricing for ecommerce platforms, there’s more to it than monthly or yearly subscriptions. You must also consider extra costs like transaction fees or payment for added features, templates, and plugins.

The main pricing difference between Shopify vs. WordPress is that Shopify offers multiple plans for businesses at different stages of growth. Meanwhile, WordPress’ ecommerce-specific plans are limited to just two.

Also, Shopify might look more expensive upfront, but that’s because each Shopify plan includes a wide range of features such as an SSL certificate and marketing automation at no extra cost. WordPress, on the other hand, gets up to $69.78/year for an SSL certificate.

Shopify Pricing and Fees

Shopify offers three main pricing plans so you can find one that meets your business needs and fits your budget. There are also two alternative plans to accommodate smaller-scale businesses and much larger enterprises.

Each plan attracts a credit card fee which allows you to accept major credit cards as well as transaction fees for payments processed through third-party payment providers such as PayPal or Stripe.

Pricing Plans

The Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify plans range between $29/mo and $299/mo with a 50% discount for yearly plans or a 25% discount for up to three-year plans.

The $5/mo Shopify Starter plan provides you with a Buy Button that lets you embed unlimited products on an existing website, social media, messaging apps, and other sales channels like Amazon or Etsy. This is great for businesses that want to add ecommerce functionality to an already existing site.

The $2000/mo Shopify Plus plan, on the other hand, is used by 7-figure brands such as Heinz and Allbirds that require localized shopping experiences, AR product pages, and process automation.

Credit Card Rates and Transaction Fees

For the three main pricing plans, the additional fees for online transactions are:

• Basic Shopify: 2.9% + 30¢
• Shopify: 2.6% + 30¢
• Advanced Shopfiy: 2.4% + 30¢

Within Shopify Plus, you’ll only be charged 0.15% per transaction. Transaction fees are waived for businesses using Shopify Payments.

WordPress Pricing and Fees

To set up a hosted online store with WordPress.com, there are two pricing plans you can choose from.

The business plan costs $25/mo and includes custom plugins to enable you to add ecommerce functionalities to your business website. The ecommerce plan costs $45/mo and offers an all-in-one online store experience with premium integrations.

Alternatively, if you want to start with a simple store and accept payments via PayPal, you can explore WordPress.org self-hosted option with a hosting provider. This allows you to access a free shopping cart plugin, install an ecommerce enabled theme and activate online payments.

The only initial cost for this option will be the price of web hosting and domain name. When you’re ready for a more advanced store, you can upgrade to a managed hosting service, but it could cost you a huge sum.

Verdict

Shopify is far more transparent with pricing than WordPress, so you’ll be less likely to run into unexpected costs down the line when you need more plugins and customizations.

With Shopify, store owners can save costs by paying annually and using Shopify payments to process transactions. You also have the option of a free trial, so you can go for a test drive before you fully commit.

Shopify vs WordPress: Features and Ease of Use

Some of the top must-have features of an ecommerce platform are:

• Inventory management
• A shopping cart
• Multiple payment gateways
• Sales channels
• Shipping integrations
• SEO tools to drive organic search traffic
• Currency conversion
• Security
• Revenue reporting

Without access to these, you’ll likely struggle to scale and satisfy customers.

The main difference between Shopify vs. WordPress when considering features is that Shopify offers the above listed features across all its pricing plans Instead, your WordPress website features depend heavily on your selected ecommerce plugin.

This means that if you choose to use WordPress, you’ll also have to evaluate multiple ecommerce plugins to determine which one provides all the essential features you need to run your online business.

Shopify Features and Ease of Use

Shopify features are extensive and include customer segmentation, fraud analysis, seamless POS app, international market management, and custom automations. You also have access to an app marketplace where you can find solutions to upgrade your store’s functionality.

If you’re looking for a highly intuitive user-friendly platform to launch your online store, Shopify is the top choice. You can build your site in record time with ease using drag-and-drop elements directly from your dashboard.

A Shopify store is both simple and powerful with versatile customizations for beginners, growing small businesses and enterprises.

Online store features

• Add unlimited products to your store (both physical and digital)
• Add staff to manage products and orders
• Sell your products on social media and online marketplaces like Amazon or Etsy
• Track inventory and fulfill orders from multiple locations
• Run your ecommerce store from the Shopify mobile app
• Automatically send abandoned cart emails
• Offer gift cards and discount codes to customers
• Set local payment methods

Data-focused features

• Track important sales metrics with in-depth revenue reports
• Create customer segments and groups
• Build automations to engage customers at different buying stages

Business support features

• Discounted shipping rates (up to 77%) from the likes of DHL and UPS
• Automate manual tasks with a built-in automation platform
• Access language translation for customers in different markets

WordPress Features and Ease of Use

As mentioned earlier, the ecommerce features you get with a WordPress site heavily depend on the plugin you use to access ecommerce functionalities.

The WooCommerce plugin is the top ecommerce solution for many people who use WordPress hosting. It is open-source and fully customizable down to the code. It also offers similar capabilities to Shopify, like automated emails for abandoned carts, analytics tools for tracking profits, and coupon creation to entice customers.

Regarding ease of use, WordPress can prove to be a steeper learning curve that often requires basic coding knowledge at least.

Online store features

• Sell physical products, consultations or member-only digital products
• Offer single-item, bundles or subscription-based purchase options
• Add photos, videos and 3D views to your product catalog
• Set up promotions and time-based discounts
• Enable product reviews
• Access 140 payment gateways
• Localized tax calculations
• Expand store functionality with extensions from WooCommerce Marketplace

Data-focused features

• Robust SEO plugins such as Yoast

Business support features

• Enterprise solutions for when your business scales

Verdict

While Shopify is an easy-to-use all-in-one platform with impressive features, WordPress offers a collection of plugins that broaden the range of what you can access for your ecommerce business. However, this means that you’ll have to update and manage multiple plugins, which can quickly become a tiring chore and come at an extra cost.

Shopify, in comparison, delivers built-in essential solutions you need to grow and scale as an ecommerce business. It doesn’t require you to pay extra.

Shopify vs WordPress: Themes and Templates

Both Shopify and WordPress offer a wide range of themes and templates to upgrade the visual appearance and functionality of your store if you don’t want to build from scratch.

Shopify Themes

Shopify offers over 100 customizable themes that allow you to modify color schemes, widgets and other settings. All themes are packed with features such as language translations and stock counters to help you optimize all your online sales efforts and stand out from the crowd.

The theme library includes free and premium themes grouped into categories such as electronics, food and drink, or clothing so you can choose one that is specific to your business. Each theme offers additional features and an unlimited free trial until you’re ready to publish.

Currently, there are nine free themes and ninety-three paid themes on Shopify. The paid themes cost between $200 and $350.

WordPress Themes

One great thing about WordPress is that you can never run out of themes to choose from. There are multiple marketplaces selling themes for WordPress as well as countless articles featuring lists of best WordPress themes.

The only drawback is that it can be challenging to find the right theme when you have thousands of options. Regardless, you can always search for ecommerce-specific themes based on your type of business or industry.

Most WordPress ecommerce themes are mobile-friendly, and include commerce plugins and customer account management features. You’ll also get access to the theme documentation and support from the theme developer. WordPress themes are also generally more affordable than Shopify themes as you can find options for as low as $19 and up to $79, which is still significantly less than Shopify’s $200 price tag.

Verdict

When compared to Shopify, WordPress has a gigantic collection of themes both on its dedicated themes page and from an array of third-party platforms and independent designers. There are also countless unique design options to choose from. Shopify theme options, while not as robust, are adequate for brands that want to set up quickly, have a substantial budget and need a smaller selection of modern themes.

Shopify vs WordPress: Apps and Plugins

Besides the built-in features that come with Shopify and WordPress, some apps and plugins provide extra services you need for the success of your ecommerce website.

Shopify Apps and Plugins

Shopify offers over 1200 apps and plugins that integrate seamlessly, are mobile-friendly and easy to use. In Shopify’s app store, you’ll find apps like Klaviyo for email marketing, PageFly for building landing pages and Judge.me for product reviews. All these apps are free to use and have up to 11,000 5-star reviews.

WordPress Apps and Plugins

With over 60,000 WordPress plugins for SEO, conversion rate optimization and cart recovery, you have more than enough options to upgrade your site. These essential plugins come highly recommended by experts. Although they may not be free compared to Shopify options, they still are top-rated and provide key components for data-driven growth.

Verdict

Both Shopify and WordPress have outstanding app and plugin selections. So, at the end of the day, it will come down to choosing where you can find the best option for your needs and goals. Either way, both platforms offer options that will help you achieve success.

Shopify vs WordPress: Security and Support

Security in ecommerce means that your website is not exposed to potential hackers, your payment channels are protected against fraud and you have a backup of your customer’s data.

Between Shopify vs WordPress, you’ll find that level of security on both platforms.

Shopify Security and Support

Shopify provides a certified level 1 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) so customers can enjoy a secure shopping experience. It also provides infrastructural security for databases, servers and recovery backups. In addition, it offers a free SSL certificate and fraud analysis for online transactions.

Regarding Shopify support, you can get 24/7 customer support or research solutions at Shopify’s help centre.

WordPress Security and Support

With WordPress, you can install a security plugin, backup solution and application firewall. Unfortunately, even with the plethora of security plugins, WordPress is still a primary target for cybercriminals, so you have to engage in a lot of DIY security tasks.

WordPress Support is extensive considering its forums where faqs are answered and get helpful replies from the community as well as its live chat support.

Verdict

WordPress is known for being prone to vulnerabilities. This is because you typically set up a lot of the security options manually, from password protection to scanning for malware.

Also, due to the variety of independent plugins you might install, you’ll likely need to contact the support themes of each one. With Shopify, you get more comprehensive support on all issues you might have while using the platform.

Shopify vs WordPress: The Better Choice for Ecommerce

Shopify is all-encompassing when you need store management, shopping carts, payment integrations, revenue reporting and marketing automations in a single package. It is the most legitimate contender when it comes to ecommerce.

WordPress performs best when building a content-focused ecommerce website because it works excellently as a CMS and blogging platform with superb search engine optimization functionality.

If you want to go with WordPress, you also need to allocate a sizeable budget to hire a professional developer with expert coding knowledge to get the best result.

Shopify, on the other hand, is a relatively low-cost option that you can set up beautifully on your own or with a small team.

In the end, you decide.

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