Email marketing software
Mailchimp Content Style Guide, annotated
Mailchimp’s public style guide pairs each voice trait with the line it must not cross. Its best rules on voice and words, quoted with notes, and its gaps.
Mailchimp wrote its content style guide for its own staff. It published the guide for everyone, under a Creative Commons license that asks only for credit. The guide covers voice and tone, grammar, and a word list. It also covers writing for some kinds of content, for example legal text and translation. Each voice trait comes with its limit, and that is the main reason to read it.
Best parts, quoted with notes
Voice and tone
Our sense of humor is straight-faced, subtle, and a touch eccentric. We’re weird but not inappropriate, smart but not snobbish. We prefer winking to shouting.
Has: where it applies. Each trait comes with the line it must not cross.
Voice and tone
Because businesses come to Mailchimp to get to work, we avoid distractions like fluffy metaphors and cheap plays to emotion.
Has: reason. Names two things to cut and says why: readers are there to work.
Voice and tone
Mailchimp’s tone is usually informal, but it’s always more important to be clear than entertaining. When you’re writing, consider the reader’s state of mind.
Has: where it applies. Sets the order when tone and clarity conflict: clarity wins.
Voice and tone
Legal content is serious business, so the tone is slightly more formal than most of our content. That said, we want all of our users to be able to understand our legal content.
Has: reason, where it applies. Shows tone shifting for one kind of content, and how far it shifts.
Words and style
Yes: Marti logged into the account. No: The account was logged into by Marti.
Has: right and wrong. The same sentence written both ways, so the rule needs no explaining.
Words and style
email (never hyphenate, never capitalize unless it begins a sentence)
Has: exact value. One spelling and two rules a person or a script can check.
Words and style
ninja, rockstar, wizard, unicorn (unless referring to a literal ninja, rockstar, wizard, or unicorn)
Has: exact value, where it applies. Bans the words and says the one case where they are fine.
Words and style
Mailchimp is one word, spelled with a big M and a little c. It used to have a big M and a big C, but the times have changed.
Has: exact value. Gives the current spelling of the name and the old one to correct.
What it leaves out
- The two voice lists do not agree. The TL;DR page calls the voice human, familiar, friendly, and straightforward. The Voice and Tone page names four other traits. Source
- Tone by situation gets one paragraph on the Voice and Tone page, with no example lines for particular situations. Source
What to take from it
- Pair every voice trait with what the trait is not. “Weird but not inappropriate” stops more arguments than “playful”.
- Put the spelling of the company name in the words section. Also give the old spelling, so that people correct it.
- Keep one list of voice traits. If two pages give different lists, readers and agents must pick one.