Stylesheets
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While you might argue about the right spelling for your particular newsletter, you wouldn't argue that it's important to maintain the same spelling throughout your publication. Consistency implies diligence and reliability, all good attributes for building trust.
This consistency can be helped by keeping a note of how you deal with those gray areas where there is no established rule or consensus. You can refer to this set of notes when you meet the same gray areas in future newsletter issues.
In other words, create a style sheet for your publication, one which details how such things as bullet points should appear, or how to spell email / e-mail / E-mail. Here's a list of some of the elements that might be covered:
- Which language version to use for spelling, grammar and vocabulary.
- How to treat culture-specific references.
- Expressing dates, times and seasons.
- Preferred currencies.
- How paragraphs are separated. Do you indent?
- What special characters are permissible.
- URL structure.
- Line length.
- Layout of bullet points.
- Numbers (ten or 10).
- How many spaces after periods?
- Punctuation of quotes and brackets.
- Preferred spelling of particular words (a problem exacerbated by the jargon of the Internet).
The other advantage of having a style sheet is that you can give a copy to anyone contributing content to your newsletter, saving yourself editing hassles later.
To illustrate the importance of the style sheet, let's consider the first four elements in my list; language, cultural references, dates and times, and currencies.
Many languages come in different national "versions". Think of British English. And then there are regional differences. Think Scotland and Wales. And then there are differences based on other demographics, such as age and education.
Obviously, grammar, spelling, style and vocabulary are not consistent across all versions, so pick the one which best matches your audience and the personality of your publication.
Your audience will also determine how you approach cultural references. Here are some examples:
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hit a home run with that advertising campaign
Seemingly innocuous statements. But what about your readers in countries where baseball isn't played and Thanksgiving isn't celebrated? It's important to know your audience and adapt your cultural references accordingly.
Similar issues apply to references to seasons and dates, for example. Summer in the USA is winter in Australia. Saying a product is due for release in spring is only meaningful if you're sure all your readers share the same season as you.
The same applies to dates; 1.3.08 is March 1st, 2008, in Germany, but January 3rd, 2008 in the USA; it might be better to spell it out as Jan 3rd, 2008.
$150? Is that American or Australian dollars? If you mean US dollars, then say so; US$150, unless it's obvious.
I could go on, but the important point is simply be aware of the impact of your choice of words on your audience. Express yourself in a way that is consistent and which reduces the risk of misunderstanding or incomprehension.
It's not about being politically correct, it's simply about respecting the different values and knowledge your readers may have and ensuring that they understand the references you make.
It doesn't mean deleting any such references, either, which would restrict your ability to be personable in your newsletter. Just acknowledge the differences in your audience.
"Happy Thanksgiving" becomes "I'm off for Thanksgiving here in Wisconsin. Happy holidays to our US readers, and we'll catch up with the rest of you after our break."
It just shows a little respect for those readers who don't share the same reference points as yourself. They'll reward you for it.
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