In publishing, there’s a well-worn saying that editors often abide by: “Are we spying on our readers’ lives?” It’s not another smart home device scandal (though it is, admittedly, sinister sounding), nor a call-to-arms for literal spying. Thankfully Leveson put a long overdue end to that particular era. 

What the saying reflects is the granular nature of many editorial guidelines in the media. Editors and writers alike are constantly defining their audience, watching how it evolves over time, where, when and why readers are coming back, or why they’re turning away. And it gets detailed. The shape of an imagined reader is outlined as clearly as possible – who do they live with and where? What supermarket do they shop at? What motivates them, or stops their good intentions in their tracks? Why would they be spending time with your brand? 

Editorial guidelines: The (not so) sexy bit of the brief

Editorial guidelines aren’t exactly the most dynamic part of answering a brief but, done well, they form a crucial bridge between a brand and an audience. Trust is the aim here, and that comes from accurately reflecting the reader. That means the first step is listening – carefully. It’s not just about how you want to talk to your audience, but how they would speak to you, or each other. 

The second step? The five W’s can be a useful tool to kick off with. Who are we targeting? What are we saying to them? Where do we find them? When is the best time to communicate our messaging to them? And how do we tap into their world?

The more we know, the stronger the guidelines and the tighter the link between an audience and the brand advocating for them. 

What’s the narrative? 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of creating quite generic, tick-boxing guidelines that don’t fully reflect the unique position of a brand you’re working with. Language and style are important as a stand alone, but rules around it should all build towards a broader, more directional narrative. 

Decisions made at this stage can really help inform editorial and creative strategy, not only invoking shape, colour or edge, but often speeding up the process, too.

Tone of voice should naturally form during the process of creating editorial guidelines, and hopefully some overall narratives, too: an A story (what we’re saying in a cultural, social, commercial context) and a B story (how the audience will receive it and feel about it). 

Is it valuable? (Really?) 

A real advantage of spending more time defining rigorous editorial guidelines early on is that you’re immediately building a framework to bounce around in. Once the framework is built, there’s an opportunity at each milestone to take a short step back and hold the work up to our criteria: does the content or idea still match the tone and values of the audience? Has anything off-brief slipped through the cracks? Do the guidelines themselves still feel right?

Finding the right idea often means foraging through a load of not-quite-right ones and, usually, a good helping of “I think you’re going a bit too far with this” ones. Going off track, or getting too big, or too weird can be a really useful way of opening up a creative conversation. But how do you get back on track?

Using editorial guidelines at ‘checkpoints’ along the way can help nudge ideas back into focus, fine-tune the desired direction or simply ‘test’ copy to see if it works. Later, guidelines can be an efficient way to ensure as much consistency as possible, and an accurate reflection and representation of a brand, its needs and the audience, too.   

A running theme for developing editorial guidelines? Common sense 

Good copy isn’t only about writing. It’s about knowing who you’re writing for, and why you’re telling them this particular story. 

While your audience is defined, practical, ethical and contextual guidelines are there to show a deep level of insight, brand values and care for the audience. 

Good copy comes from thoughtful, strategic processes and, where necessary, going the extra mile here is pretty valuable in the long run. That might mean setting guidelines that implement certain processes, for instance, using expert voices to inform ideas concerning minority backgrounds. Or spending extra time on legal and social due diligence to make sure anyone featured also represents brand values.  

Ultimately, good campaigns – and good copy for good campaigns – comes from thoughtful processes. And knowing exactly who you’re talking to.