---
title: Style Guide
description: Wonder what formatting guidelines we use to pack all that awesomeness into the Post Planer blog? Wonder no more. These are our basic editorial guidelines.
image: https://www.postplanner.com/hubfs/featured__images_for_pages/style-guide.jpg
---

[![Post Planner](https://www.postplanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Identity_Assests/pp-logo-white.png?width=444&name=pp-logo-white.png "Post Planner")](https://www.postplanner.com)

[![Post Planner](https://www.postplanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Identity_Assests/pp-logo-white.png?width=444&name=pp-logo-white.png "Post Planner")](https://www.postplanner.com)

# Style Guide

These are the basic editorial guidelines for the [Post Planner blog](https://www.postplanner.com/blog).

Writers who wish to contribute articles or ideas for consideration should send queries: support@postplanner.com

## Guidelines for Guest Bloggers

### **Copy**

#### **General**

- speak directly to the reader — as if you’re writing her an email
- engage her in a conversation
- remember she doesn’t know what you know — you have to teach her
- don’t make her work hard and don’t make her feel like a dunce
- offer concrete, crystal-clear examples for everything you recommend
- let your passion & personality shine through

#### **Headline**

- base around a keyword
- aim for both virality (social shares) and SEO (search results)
- use proven headline formulas (resources [here](https://www.postplanner.com/content-marketing-lessons-top-10-most-viral-blog-posts/), [here](http://www.copyblogger.com/headline-writing-links/), [here](http://persuasivecopywriting.net/headlines/101-greatest-headlines-you-can-model-for-your-sales-copy/), [here](http://tweakyourbiz.com/tools/title-generator/index.php))
- expect editors to change it :)

#### **Intro**

- begin with a 1-2 line sentence/paragraph 
    - ask a question: [example](https://www.postplanner.com/check-your-facebook-privacy-settings-again/), [example](https://www.postplanner.com/video-for-facebook-pages-gets-overhaul-new-features/)
    - make a declaration: [example](https://www.postplanner.com/how-to-take-better-selfies-beginner-guide/), [example](https://www.postplanner.com/social-media-cheat-sheet-for-image-dimensions/), [example](https://www.postplanner.com/top-10-fatal-facebook-mistakes-killing-your-page/)
- should be 5-8 paragraphs (of 1-3 lines each)
- include a quote or list, if possible (to break up left-margin monotony)
- final paragraph should be something in the spirit of:         
    - “In this post I will…” ([example](https://www.postplanner.com/check-your-facebook-privacy-settings-again/))
- final paragraph leads to first H2 subhead (where headline is repeated)

#### **Subheads**

- the first H2 subhead should always: 
    - follow the intro
    - repeat article headline
- afterward, use as many subheads as possible (to increase scannability)
- H2, H3 and H4 should be enough for any post (H5 should not be used)
- format your subhead lists correctly: 
    - use a simple period after numbers: “1.” not “1)”

#### **Quotes & Lists**

- use as many as possible (to break up monotony of left margin)
- you can often turn long sentences with strings of items into lists (ordered or unordered)
- make sure list items are parallel in grammatical structure (all beginning with verbs in same tense, for example) — [example](https://www.postplanner.com/how-to-take-better-selfies-beginner-guide/)

#### **Conclusion**

- ALWAYS have one!
- begin with an H2 subhead
- subhead should be “Conclusion” or something clearly indicating an end to or summary of post
- end with a “What about you?” question to reader and a CTA to leave a comment

#### **Style**

- speak directly to the reader, like you’re writing her an email 
    - use “You” and “I” as often as possible
- write short paragraphs 
    - most common = 1-2 sentences
    - rarely longer than 3-5 lines
- use “in other words” a lot 
    - then restate your idea another way, for clarity
- use “for example” a lot 
    - then offer concrete examples, for clarity
- use lots of double dashes: “word word word — word word word” 
    - replace commas with them, where appropriate
    - always replace semi-colons (NEVER use semi-colons!)
    - also use ellipses, but favor double dashes
- use lots of parentheses
- use contractions 
    - they’re how we speak (and think)
- shorten words when possible 
    - "info" not "information"
    - "ads" not "advertisements"
    - "Jan 1" not "January 1"
    - "9am" not "9 o’clock A.M."
- use numerals instead of words 
    - "3" not "three"
- don’t use boldface or italics 
    - use all-caps instead — to emphasize & anchor reader’s eye

### **Images**

#### **Content Images**

- align right by default – never align left!
- align center for full-width images/screenshots — [example](https://www.postplanner.com/3-shocking-discoveries-about-facebook-ads-optimization/)
- images should be sized to 580 pixels before entering them
- images should be sharp and clear (no low quality images)
- images should be named with a 4-5 word jpeg name including keyword (separate words with dashes)
- remove image links
- add right-justified images to break up monotony of full-column text and create narrower columns for easy reading
- for screenshots referred to in text, place screenshot below reference – [example](https://www.postplanner.com/find-every-social-profile-for-anyone-in-seconds/)

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{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "Organization",
  "description" : "Social Media Engagement App",
  "logo" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 112,
    "url" : "https://www.postplanner.com/hubfs/v2/global/pp-logo.png",
    "width" : 400
  },
  "name" : "Post Planner",
  "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/postplanner", "https://twitter.com/postplanner", "https://plus.google.com/+PostPlanner", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/post-planner", "https://www.youtube.com/user/PostPlanner", "https://www.pinterest.com/postplanner/", "https://www.instagram.com/postplanner/" ],
  "url" : "https://www.postplanner.com"
}
```