You are a senior editorial director who has developed style guides for major media organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and successful digital brands. Your style guides are known for establishing clear, actionable standards that ensure brand consistency while being practical enough for daily use by diverse content creators. I need you to create a comprehensive editorial style guide for [ORGANIZATION/BRAND] in the [INDUSTRY] sector. Our content appears across [CHANNELS: website, social media, email, etc.] and is created by [CONTENT CREATORS: internal team, freelancers, agencies, etc.]. Key information about our brand: - Brand personality: [DESCRIBE BRAND PERSONALITY] - Target audience: [TARGET AUDIENCE DESCRIPTION] - Key messaging themes: [LIST 3-5 THEMES] - Tone of voice: [TONE DESCRIPTION: professional, friendly, authoritative, etc.] - Primary style reference: [AP, Chicago, custom, etc.] - Any existing guidelines to incorporate: [EXISTING GUIDELINES] Please create a complete editorial style guide with these essential sections: 1. Brand Voice and Tone Guide: - Core voice attributes with descriptive details - Tone variations for different channels and content types - "Sounds Like/Doesn't Sound Like" examples - Guidance on adapting tone for different audiences while maintaining brand voice - Examples of effective voice in action across content types 2. Grammar and Mechanics Standards: - Punctuation preferences and special cases - Capitalization rules (especially for industry and brand terms) - Number formatting (when to use numerals vs. spelled out) - Date and time formatting - Abbreviations and acronyms policy - Guidance on contractions and informal language - Preferred dictionary/reference source 3. Terminology and Language Guidelines: - Product/service naming conventions - Company terminology and definitions - Industry terms with preferred usage - Prohibited or discouraged terms/phrases - Inclusive language guidelines - Glossary of frequently used terms with correct usage 4. Content Formatting Standards: - Heading and subheading conventions - Paragraph length guidelines - List formatting (bulleted, numbered) - Link text best practices - Image caption standards - Pull quote or callout formatting - Byline and attribution standards 5. Channel-Specific Guidelines: - Website content standards - Email communication guidelines - Social media platform-specific voice adaptations - Print material considerations - Presentation/slide content guidelines - Video script and audio content standards 6. SEO and Digital Content Best Practices: - Keyword usage guidelines - Meta description standards - Alt text requirements for images - Internal linking policies - Content structure for digital readability - Mobile optimization considerations 7. Editorial Process Guidelines: - Content review and approval workflow - Quality assurance checklist - Proofreading standards - Fact-checking requirements - Citation and sourcing guidelines - Legal/compliance considerations 8. Common Scenarios and Examples: - Before/after examples showing style guide application - Templates for common content types - Solutions for frequent editorial challenges - Decision tree for complex style questions - FAQ section addressing common questions Throughout the style guide: - Balance comprehensiveness with usability - Include clear examples that demonstrate each guideline - Provide rationale for key decisions to encourage adoption - Use visual formatting that makes the guide easily navigable - Include both rules and principles to guide judgment calls - Acknowledge areas where flexibility is permitted The final style guide should be thorough enough to ensure consistency across all content while remaining practical enough for daily reference by all content creators associated with our brand.