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ecomagination.com

Writer’s Style Guide

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Table of Contents

What The Site Stands For

Content

Part One: Start out Strong

Part Two: Get Down to It

Part Three: Wrap it Up

Part Four: Formatting Like a Pro

In Conclusion...

Author Checklist

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What The Site Stands For

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What The Site Stands For

Our Approach

• Adopt a peer-to-peer tone

• Maintain a human perspective on every issue

• Infuse every story with optimism

Our Goals

• Establish GE as a thought leader in clean technology

• Communicate the real-world benefits of ecomagination products, services and cross-business solutions

• Inspire a following of our content

Our Audiences

• Business leaders

• Policy makers

• Innovators

• Engineers

• Architects

• Students

• Thinkers

Doers, making and inventing the things that drive us forward

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Content

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Content

Our Content: Highlighting groundbreaking

global innovation in energy efficiency and clean

technology, with a positive outlook on the

implications for business and the environment

Analyze

Analysis of the latest clean technology industry news and the effects of public policy on energy-efficient infrastructure

Focus: business and politics

Invent

New developments and fresh approaches from entrepreneurs, startups, and major players

Focus: innovation and technology

Commit

In-depth look at what adoption looks like around the world and new ways to shape consumer sentiment

Focus: lifestyle and perspective

Content lengths: 500—1000 words

(please see your SOW)

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Part One: Start out Strong

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Part One: Start out Strong

TitleStrike a balance between fun wordplay and SEO optimization.

Lead/OpenerSay something interesting to draw them in and set the stage for the rest of the piece and keep their attention by getting right to the point.

Begin positivelyEven if you have to start with a negative piece of information, present it in an optimistic light.

Play up the human elementWrap the story around the people in it. Even if you’re covering something that seems dry and technical, find a way to personalize it.

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Part Two: Get Down to It

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Part Two: Get Down to It

Call in the subsA lot of people skim articles on the web—how can we make it easier for them to find the most important content? Keep your SEO keywords in mind when you’re creating titles, but maintain a sense of fun.

Take lots of breaksParagraphs need to be short and sweet: five sentences, tops. When you’re done writing, go through and put in a lot of line breaks. Give people room to breathe while they’re reading.

Go global or go homeWe’re talking about issues that affect everyone on the planet. Make sure to include a global perspective when it’s relevant—and it usually is.

Present all sides of an argumentShow the tension between differing points of view before you make your case.

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Part Two: Get Down to It

Link inInclude links to relevant content within ecomagination or other GE sites like Txchnologist. It’s always a good idea to get familiar with the content on our other sites so you’ll know the global topics we’re covering.

Let people talkPepper your story with lots of good quotes and great details—try to include at least 3 quotes that would be good to “pull” or highlight outside of body copy.

Humanize itShow the people behind a new technology or how a new technology/policy is changing real lives. Use peer-to-peer “we” and “you” language whenever you can. Just keep in mind that “we” doesn’t mean “the people of GE,” nor should it ever be interpreted that way.

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Part Two: Get Down to It

About listsLists sometimes make information easier to digest, but not when your piece is full of them. Limit your lists to no more than 2, and keep the number items in each list below 5.

Link outBe sure to include links to relevant content throughout your piece. Each piece should contain at least 5 links from 5 different topline sources (not just Wikipedia!). Please see Part Four of this document for proper link formatting instructions.

Use keywordsWe’ll usually send you a list of keywords for SEO, or you can find them yourself using Google AdWords. Try to use them as much as you can, in section titles as well as body copy, but don’t let SEO make your language stiff or stilted. Keep the balance between real language and searchspeak.

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Part Three: Wrap it Up

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Part Three: Wrap it Up

Make your caseWhat’s the big takeaway? After you’ve explored all the angles, it’s time to add a little perspective. Don’t be afraid to make a big statement.

End on a high noteFind a way to end your story on a positive, human note that leaves people feeling optimistic, even if the story itself has negative information in it or highlights a problem. Point the way toward possible solutions, and try to make people feel good—there’s enough gloom-and-doom out there.

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Part Four: Formatting Like a Pro

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Part Four: Formatting Like a Pro

Start with a summaryInclude a 25 – 35 word summary at the top of the document. This should be descriptive of your article, but also designed to grab the reader’s attention.

Format your linksEmbed your hyperlinks into the text. To add hyperlinks in Word:

• Select the text that you want to display as a hyperlink.

• On the Insert tab in the Links group, click Hyperlink.

• Copy and paste the website URL in the Link To form and then press OK.

Highlight your headingsHeadings increase the readability of your article. When formatting, make sure they are bolded and in sentence case.

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Part Four: Formatting Like a Pro

Pull out your quotesHighlight your pull quotes by placing them on a separate line in italics. Clearly label them with brackets: [pull quote]. Positioning these quotes is important; do not place them too closely to headings and keep them evenly spaced throughout the document.

Check your sourcesInclude reference information including interview notes, research, and contact information along with your article. We may ask for this information after you’ve filed your story.

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In Conclusion...

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In Conclusion...

SummaryInclude a description (25-35 words) of the article

All about youPlease send us:

• a description (3 sentences max) of yourself

• a high-res image (to be circle cropped)

• your Twitter handle

Making good decisions and using your words

“Green” is a tired word. It’s also hard to avoid, but try to find a better way to say it .

“Innovative” is also worn out. What’s fresh and different about the thing you’re trying to describe?

For other word choice and style questions, we follow the Chicago Manual of Style.

Oh, and a tiny little editorial pet peeve: please put just one space after punctuation. Thanks!

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Author Checklist

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Author Checklist

Please make sure your piece includes:

At least 5 hyperlinks formatted in Microsoft Word using the hyperlink feature

Subheadings throughout, clearly identifying sections

A 25-35 word summary at the beginning

Plenty of line breaks

High-res photos if you’re featuring a product or company

Please make sure you’ve submitted:

All signed contracts, forms, and SOWs

A bio, Twitter username, and high-res photo

An invoice for the piece

Your reference information including interview notes, research, and contact list

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