Your Company Style Guides

Resources

Your Company Copy Style Guide 

Your Company Copy Style Guide has been created to save you time and hassle establishing rules about your business writing, ensuring a professional, high standard across all your company's written communications.

Written by Kelly Owen, this 40-page guide brings together the common rules of English grammar and punctuation that any business can use to ensure their writing is clear and accurate. 

Why do we need a copy style guide?
Your brand identity is one of the most important aspects of your business. Each business should have a brand, made up of a logo and rules about how marketing materials, such as brochures, are presented. A consistent image reassures your customers and helps them recognise your company amongst your competitors.

Many companies feel it is unnecessary to establish their own guide to using copy, or have the time to devote to compiling one. However, even a simple copy guide can help transform your brand to another level of professionalism.

Why buy this guide and not a book off the shelf?
The idea for the Ultimate Proof guide came about because many of our clients simply did not have their own. We love words and want to help make your life easier and your business communications better! 

We often receive documents (in a hurry) and when we need clarification on style... such as 'Your headings are inconsistently capitalised, which is your preferred style?' or, 'You use different number ranges, how would you like them written, as numerals or words, and is that with an em dash or an en dash?'... our clients don't know.*

(*Don't get us wrong, lots of our clients provide copy style guides and know their en's from their em's – this is for those companies that don't have the time or resource to do this.) 

When a client is up against it, they often ask us to 'use whatever you think is right'. While this is not a problem – we know our stuff after all – it can create further inconsistencies. For example, one client used double quote marks throughout their document, standard UK use is single quote marks*. When the proofreader changed this, the client later realised it was inconsistent with how it had 'always been done', which created extra work to correct. (*New Hart's Rules, OUP)

This is just one example of why having your copy style preferences nailed is so important. With our guide, you can rest assured knowing that it applies to YOUR business, not a general book that you have to wade through to pick out what you need, or by paying high training fees for a few members of staff.

What aspects of copy style does this guide include?
Our guide includes aspects of grammar that relate to your business. It provides standards for how your company:
  • punctuates bullet points
  • uses capitals in titles and job titles
  • highlights text
  • positions captions and credits
  • writes dates, numbers and ranges
  • punctuates abbreviations and quotations
  • uses ampersands
  • and many more...
It includes 'refreshers' about common grammar rules such as using apostrophes, brackets, dashes and hyphens and commas, to name a few! It also provides a handy Further Reading reference list for anything that comes outside of the guide.

Does this guide replace the need for an editor or proofreader?
No guide will do that; however, it will ensure that whoever is writing or checking the copy – either in-house or externally – will produce it to a high standard that is consistent with all your other communications. A professional proofreader will also use it to check the rules have been applied correctly, but, ultimately, it will make their job (and yours) much easier, quicker and cheaper!

What do we get?
In consultation with you, we will personalise the guide by making it relevant to your area of business, including all the key terms you use. We can also merge it with your existing copy style notes and advise you on how to develop your own style*, so that everything is in one place and presented consistently. (*Additional consultation charges apply at £30 per hour.)

We will create a linkable PDF and also send you the original Word file to update as you need at a later date. Then, simply share the document with staff or suppliers who need to ensure your branding is consistent.

The Your Company Copy Style Guide will save you hours of work and help ensure your business language is always presented to a high standard.
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Your Company Social Media Planner and Usage Guide 

Your Company Social Media Planner and Usage Guide provides invaluable tips and tricks to get you started on the road to consistent and engaging social media content.

I already use social media, how will this guide benefit my business?
Most of us know how to post to our social media accounts, share a photo of a product or add an offer, but do you know:
  • which photos to use on your profile or cover images?
  • when to post and how to plan posts?
  • what to post about?
  • how to encourage engagement with your followers?
  • apps and widgets that can help simplify your social media marketing?
  • what blog subjects should you write about?
A meeting with a client inspired this handy guide. Talking to this busy, growing business, we discovered that each member of staff struggled to find 'anything to talk about' online, yet, with our advice they soon realised that they had plenty to share that their customers would want to hear about!

Written by Kelly Owen, this personalisable guide is essential for any small business looking to increase its online presence through social media engagement with customers.

The Social Media Planner helps you quickly get up to speed promoting your business, while the Usage Guide provides tips on using appropriate language, sharing links, using hashtags, proofreading your posts, scheduling, and consistent branding.

What do we get?
We will personalise the guide for you by making it relevant to your area of business, including all the key terms and hashtags you use. We can also merge it with a draft social media guide you may have written so that everything is in once place and presented professionally. 

We will create a linkable PDF which you can use, along with the original Word file for you to update as you need at a later date. Then, simply share the document with staff or suppliers who need to ensure your online communication is consistent.

Your Company Social Media Planner and Usage Guide will save you hours of work and help ensure your social media networking gets you results – whether that's more likes, more feedback or more orders!
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Kelly Owen


Having established a successful career in publishing, design and marketing, Kelly set up Ultimate Proof Ltd in 2004 and quickly built a strong client base. With experience on both the supplier and the client side, Kelly understands the needs of businesses during the publishing process and the importance of accurate communications and marketing material.

As well as being an excellent proofreader, editor and copywriter in her own right, Kelly manages a well-established team of freelancers to provide a professional and continuous service to her clients. Kelly is the face of Ultimate Proof Ltd and is happy to answer any queries you might have. Simply contact us below.
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