In my last blog in this series, I covered why you need a style guide, and hopefully, it left you eager to implement this document in your own content strategy. But while ideation is all well and good, execution of a project this large can be overwhelming. Here’s how to turn a style guide from dream to reality in 10 simple steps.
1. Look at examples of those who’ve done it well.
Don’t go into this project feeling like you have to reinvent the wheel. There are infinite reference points on the internet, but try to seek out established brands producing stellar digital content. For the Bonfire style guide, a lot of my research revolved around MailChimp, The Economist, HubSpot, and The Guardian.
2. Establish your objectives.
Your needs will be contingent upon your company and industry. Your style guide should speak to those needs. Isolate your brand strengths (and weaknesses), focus on your audience, and determine what requires the most stringent guardrails.
3. Generate stakeholder buy-in.
Style guides take time to build, especially if they’re extensive. They require diligent research, cross-departmental collaboration, and significant revisions. All that manpower equates to an investment in the project. So before you embark on the journey, you need to prove to your boss and teammates why this project is worthy of that time. (Click the link at the top of this blog for helpful talking points.)
4. Lay out your wireframe.
Much like you wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, you shouldn’t initiate a first draft until you’ve mapped it out. This is your chance to analyze the flow and user experience before you start plugging in actual content to the design file. Readability is key to the success of your guide, so plan with your reader in mind.
5. Review it as a team.
The third step of your process was to discuss your project with any relevant parties and stakeholders; now, you need to sit down with them again to review your draft. Ensure the draft hits all objectives and meets all of your needs. If it doesn’t, go back to the drawing board and revise until it does
6. Turn your draft into the final product.
Have an editor (or two) take a final glance at the draft, then hit save. We have two versions of our style guide: the raw file to be used for updates, and the company-facing final draft saved as an interactive PDF. You can also use a view-only Google Doc as an alternative to the PDF.
7. Train every employee on the style guide.
“If you build it, they will come” is a phrase that does not apply to the style guide. The onus is on you to familiarize employees with the style guide’s content. Every new employee should be given access to the style guide on their first day; every existing employee should be referred to the style guide if they have questions about content.
8. House it in a company-wide location.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Dropbox or Google Drive or even physical copies: Everyone should have easy access to your style guide. The easier it is to refer to the guide, the more likely it is that people will actually use it.
9. Talk about it constantly.
By incessantly directing people to the style guide and enforcing its guidelines, you make it an innate part of content creation processes. Even the simplest questions about semantics should be an opportunity to champion the wealth of information (and answers) found in the guide.
10. Update it annually.
The best way to make a style guide null and void is to let it become irrelevant. This should be a living document that’s updated at least once a year. Crowdsource updates in between by asking writers to contribute to an equally accessible draft that will be applied to the annual revamp.
We’re in the midst of our inaugural annual update now, and it’s exciting to see how far our content has come in one year. I’ll tell you now that updating is much simpler than the creation stage. But that initial push is so very worth it. We’re stronger and better for it, and you will be too.
Good luck to you; if you’re working on a style guide and have any questions, feel free to comment below or send me a tweet!
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