Creating a Bespoke Style Guide for Your Business Using AI

“Good prose is like a windowpane.”

– George Orwell

I remember reading this line as a teenager, and it has profoundly influenced my approach to writing since then. It’s from his essay “Politics and the English Language,” where Orwell emphasizes that good writing should be transparent, so the reader can see clearly through the words to the underlying ideas.

Today, when I start on client projects, I make sure to carve out time to create a micro style guide. While typically just a few pages long, this document serves as a crucial reference for the entire project team. It may include:

  • A list of preferred and prohibited words or phrases.
  • Examples of proper capitalization.
  • Common grammatical pitfalls to watch for during proofreading.

I highly recommend creating a bespoke style guide for your next project. You’ll likely find that it provides your team with much-needed direction. Having a go-to reference document fosters a more unified voice, reduces time spent on editing, and minimizes the number of review cycles.

AI is invaluable for this task. Whether you use ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Claude, you can quickly generate a foundational style guide and share it with your team. And, of course, you can update it when required.

In the following article, I’ll outline the process of defining, writing, and sharing your style guide. These steps can be adapted to most large language models (LLMs). Subsequent articles will go into the specific elements and structure of an effective style guide.

Why You Need a Bespoke Style Guide

In today’s digital age, where businesses interact with customers across multiple platforms—websites, social media, email, and more—consistent branding has become more critical than ever. A unified brand voice and visual identity not only enhance recognition but also build trust and credibility with your audience.

“A style guide is more than a set of rules—it’s the foundation of your brand’s identity. It ensures consistency, builds trust, and transforms your communication into a cohesive and powerful voice that resonates with your audience.”

For small businesses, maintaining this consistency can be challenging without clear guidelines. This is where a bespoke style guide, which you can create with AI, becomes an invaluable tool. By leveraging AI, you can efficiently create a tailored style guide that ensures uniformity across all communications, reinforcing your brand’s professionalism and credibility.

Benefits of a Bespoke Style Guide

A well-crafted style guide offers numerous advantages that contribute to the overall success of your business. Key benefits include:

  • Enhanced Brand Consistency: It ensures consistent messaging across all platforms, from website copy and social media posts to marketing materials and customer service interactions. This consistency reinforces brand identity and builds trust with customers.
  • Improved Efficiency: Clear guidelines streamline communication processes, reducing confusion and saving time for employees and clients.
  • Elevated Professionalism: A well-defined style guide enhances the business’s professional image, showing attention to detail and a commitment to quality.
  • Empowered Employees: It equips your employees to make confident communication decisions, fostering a sense of autonomy.
  • Superior Customer Experience: Consistent messaging across all touchpoints creates a seamless and positive customer experience, strengthening customer relationships.

Creating a Style Guide with AI Assistance

So, how do you create a style guide using Google Gemini, ChatGPT, or some other AI tool? Developing a style guide with any AI involves a structured process to ensure it meets your business’s unique needs. Follow these steps:

  1. Identify Key Style Elements: Use AI tools like ChatGPT to define essential style elements, including:
    • Brand Voice: Define the desired tone (e.g., friendly, formal, authoritative) and personality (e.g., innovative, trustworthy, humorous).
    • Writing Style: Establish preferences for sentence structure, word choice, and readability.
    • Visual Identity: Outline guidelines for logo usage, color palettes, typography, and imagery.
    • Formatting and Layout: Set standards for document formatting, including headings, subheadings, bullet points, and spacing.
  2. Gather Existing Materials: Compile current brand materials, such as website content, marketing brochures, and social media posts.
  3. Analyze Market and Competitor Data: Use the AI of your choice to analyze market trends, competitor branding, and customer demographics. This step helps identify opportunities for differentiation and ensures your style guide aligns with industry standards. I find Google NotebookLM is very good for this.
  4. Analyze and Refine: Use AI to evaluate existing materials, identifying patterns, inconsistencies, and areas for improvement.
  5. Draft the Style Guide: Submit the draft to the AI and ask it to offer suggestions for wording, formatting, and examples.
  6. Review and Iterate: Share the draft with your team, gather feedback, and make necessary revisions.
  7. Disseminate and Train: Distribute the finalized style guide to all employees and provide training to ensure proper understanding and implementation.

Applying the Style Guide

What next after you’ve created the final draft? Once your style guide is finalized, it’s time to integrate it into all aspects of your business. Key areas of application include:

  • Website and Marketing Materials: Ensure all website copy, brochures, and marketing collateral adhere to the style guide.
  • Social Media: Maintain consistent branding and messaging across all social media platforms.
  • Customer Service: Train customer service representatives to align their interactions with the style guide.
  • Internal Communication: Apply the style guide to internal communications, such as emails, memos, and presentations.
  • Regular Review and Updates: Periodically review and update the style guide to reflect evolving brand needs and industry best practices.

Next Steps

While it does take some time to craft a bespoke guide, once you have it in place, you’ll see the returns.

I’d also recommend that you look at AI Agents. Think of these as small programs that will run tasks for you: for instance, you can schedule updates to the style guide so it’s not out of date.

Did you find this useful? Let me know over on LinkedIn.