Be human

We write like a person, not a robot. So when you’re writing for PowerDMS, say it the way you’d say it in a conversation with a customer. 

Be natural

We read everything we write out loud to ourselves. If it doesn’t sound natural or read naturally, then let’s revise it until it does.

Be conversational

Our brand voice is professional but not formal. In other words, we sound more like two friends at work talking to each other than a research paper or dissertation. We never want our copy to be too technical or over complex.

Be relevant

We speak appropriately for our audience, so we only use jargon when it helps us relate to a prospect in a particular industry (i.e. using the term “survey” in healthcare-related content). We avoid jargon when it comes to policy and accreditation software, since our audience is new to it. 

Be clear and concise

We value clarity over cleverness, especially in headlines. If something can be said in fewer words, we take the time to condense it. Our audience shouldn’t have to decipher our meaning or navigate content. It should be as clear as a simple diagram.

Be humble

Avoid talking about ourselves too much. Everyone wants to know WIIFM (what’s in it for me?), so we address the problems and needs of our audience first. This means we avoid over using “we,” as this makes the content about us.

When talking to customers, we use pronouns like you and your. We refer to ourselves as us, we, and our. We try to limit how much we talk about ourselves in the third person (i.e. PowerDMS simplifies your accreditation process).

Keep it simple

We keep copy simple and personal by using words like use instead of utilize and talking instead of communicating.

Provide value

We avoid wandering sentences, repetition, and fluff. Everything we write on a given page should provide real value. Repetition should be used sparingly and only for the sake of resolving the “story” or summarizing key points.

Follow MECE

MECE stands for mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive. Following this principle, we do our best to write content that doesn’t overlap (within clusters and pillars) and has no obvious gaps in addressing the topic at hand.

Avoid copycatting

Before creating new blog posts or topic clusters, we’ll often use the skyscraper technique to assess what’s already out there. But it can be tempting to take the easy way out, to paraphrase articles from other companies, competitors, or even ourselves that are performing well. Instead, we work hard and do the research to create content that’s significantly better and more valuable than what’s already out there.

When working on campaigns or lead magnets, consider your audience before reusing content from other campaigns, assets, etc. If there’s overlap between audiences from the two campaigns, for example, don’t reuse the content. If there isn’t overlap and the content is still applicable, feel free to use it.

Copycatting waters down the valuable information we provide to prospects and customers. While we want to avoid it, this is different than maximizing content across various mediums, which we encourage.

Transition well

We always transition between points, so our visitors have a complete understanding of what they’re reading and what’s coming next.

Tell stories

Whenever possible, we tell stories with our content. We focus on our audience, address their problem, position ourselves as the guide, provide a solution, call them to action, and lead them to success. This seven-part framework was coined by StoryBrand.

Hook the reader

Engage visitors immediately by starting articles (and website content where applicable) with short, punchy sentences and relevant content. Overly long sentences and intros, especially those that aren’t super relevant, force readers to work harder to understand WIIFM (what’s in it for me) and, ultimately, act as a barrier to engagement.

Introduction to PowerDMS Product Naming Conventions

Our official product names, prefixed with "Power" (e.g., PowerPolicy), are chosen for brand synergy, copyright clarity, and SEO benefits. To complement these, we've introduced shortened versions (e.g., Policy) for ease of communication and alignment with NEOGOV's HCM products.

This guide outlines when and how to use each version, ensuring our brand remains consistent and impactful across all touchpoints. By following these guidelines, we'll maintain a unified brand presence that's both distinguished and accessible.

Official Name Usage:

• When to Use: Official names (e.g., PowerPolicy) should be used in all initial formal communications. This includes press releases, legal documents, official correspondence with partners and customers, and, most importantly, throughout the website to optimize for SEO. Official names should also be used the first time a product is mentioned in any piece of content to establish the full name before using the shortened version.
• Importance: The official names are used for legal protection, brand recognition, and search engine optimization. Using the official names consistently helps in trademarking and copyrighting our products, ensuring they are easily identifiable and distinguishable in the market.

Shortened Versions:

• When to Use: The shortened versions of our product names can be used in informal or internal communications where the context is clear, and the audience is familiar with the products. This includes internal meetings, internal documents, and in follow-up references within a document or conversation after the official name has been used.
• Guidelines for Use: Shortened versions of our product names are acceptable in many less formal contexts; however, they should not replace the official names in any customer-facing or external communications where full brand recognition and SEO are crucial or unfamiliar. The shortened versions should be avoided entirely in legal documents or in any external communications where a misunderstanding could occur.

• Contextual Clarity: The choice between the official name and the shortened version should consider the audience's familiarity with the products and the context in which the name is being used. The first reference in any piece of content should always use the official name, followed by the shortened version if appropriate for the context.

SEO Considerations

• Website and Official Materials: Official names should be used in all online content to strengthen SEO. The official names should be used in product descriptions, headings, and meta titles to improve search engine ranking.
• Keyword Strategy: The official product names and their shortened versions should be incorporated into our SEO strategy. While the official names should be primary keywords, the shortened versions can also be included as secondary keywords in our website's content to capture a broader search audience.

Use Contractions

We use contractions when it sounds natural. It’s the way we talk after all. Without contractions, copy can sound too formal.

Use Conjunctions

We start the occasional sentence with conjunctions, but only if and when it sounds natural. Over doing it makes copy sound too casual.

Headlines & Titles

For headlines and headers, use sentence case without punctuation, except for question marks. A headline is the title of a blog post or the H1 of a landing page. A header is a clear, compelling sentence or phrase introducing the content of a landing page, content block, or section of an article.

For titles, we use title case without punctuation. Examples of titles include meta titles or the name of a module, capability, or feature (i.e. Public-Facing Documents, Version Control). In the case of titles with hyphenated words, we capitalize the first letter of every hyphenated word (Public-Facing Documents), except for prepositions of three or less letters (Side-by-Side Comparison).  

Punctuation

We seldom use exclamation points and semicolons. We often ask questions in body content and even in headlines.

Ampersands

Ampersands can be used for titles (Workflows & Review Cycles). They shouldn’t be used for headlines or headers (Organize your policies and procedures).

Dashes

For web, use an en dash (–) with a single space on either side, as opposed to a regular dash or em dash. See below for the keyboard shortcuts for the en dash.

Mac: option + -

Windows: Alt + 0150 (with numlock on)

Adjectives and Adverbs

We limit our use of adjectives and adverbs, especially in sentences that are already long. In shorter sentences, they sometimes help a sentence sound more conversational. In longer sentences, it only adds to what a visitor has to read without providing additional value.

Active voice

While passive voice isn’t necessarily wrong, we prefer to write in the active voice when possible and use verbs that pop off the page. Learn more about active vs. passive voice here.

Active voice example:

PowerDMS simplifies the accreditation process for your organization.

Passive voice example: 

Your organization’s accreditation process can be simplified by PowerDMS.

Capitalization

Capitalize the title of PowerDMS tools/elements like To Do List or Accreditation Dashboard. When used in body copy, capitalization and grammar should reflect what they see in the app. If something is written incorrectly in the app, discuss it with the dev team.

Default style

If you have a grammatical question that isn’t addressed in these guidelines, default to APA style rules.

How do we describe PowerDMS as a whole?

We refer to PowerDMS as a platform (i.e. policy management platform) for two reasons: 1) it’s the most accurate description of our product, and 2) the term differentiates us from our competitors. Synonyms like software, system, and solution can be used in the right context or for SEO purposes, but we should always come back to PowerDMS as a platform and explain the difference when possible. 

We like conveying that we are laser-focused on doing one thing well, but that one thing is multi-faceted. Here’s an example: At PowerDMS, we only have one product – our policy, training, and accreditation management platform.

Policy management platform

We default to describing PowerDMS as a policy management platform – not document, compliance, content, etc. While these other terms are okay within certain contexts (use common sense) or for SEO purposes, we always go back to policy.

Tools & Solutions 

When talking about our premium modules (i.e. policy, accreditation, training) to customers, we refer to them as tools or solutions. With module being a more specific word, the exception to this rule is when we’re talking about our platform specifically – how it works, which modules they need, and potential costs. We avoid referring to them as products, as this could create confusion.

Example: Our accreditation solution lets you crosswalk your documentation to standards electronically.

Living connection

The phrase “living connection” requires context. Only use it after introducing our platform.

The word “crucial”

We often use some variation of the phrase “crucial content for crucial situations.” While this is a decent phrase, it’s been overused, so use it and its many variations sparingly.

Who vs. That

Refer to people as who, not that. It’s easy to make this mistake if you’re not careful, so make sure to double-check your copy (i.e. we serve people that…).

How do we talk about our customers?

We refer to them as customers (not users or clients), which we define as our primary point of contact or the organization as a whole. If we’re talking about their employees, then the term “end user” is okay to use.

Write definitively

We write definitively and confidently. This means we try to avoid words like can, may, might, hope, etc. since they are softer words that feel less decisive and confident. But of course context matters and they may need to be used on occasion.

Ensure

We use the word “ensure” a lot, and while it’s a fine word to use occasionally, we don’t want to overuse it. 

Examples:  

PowerDMS creates a living connection between policies and accreditation to ensure everyday survey readiness and compliance for healthcare organizations.

PowerDMS creates a living connection between healthcare policies and accreditation so your organization is always compliant and survey-ready.

Non-compliant

We say non-compliant and non-compliance (with a hyphen), not noncompliance or 

noncompliant (without a hyphen).

Acronyms

The industries that we serve have tons of acronyms. Here’s the list of common acronyms.

Healthcare

Crosswalk

This term is used in the healthcare industry to mean mapping policies to accreditation. We only use this term in healthcare-related content.

Example: With the PowerDMS accreditation tool, you can crosswalk documents to standards electronically.

Survey vs. Assessment

The healthcare industry uses the term survey instead of assessment, and so do we.

Example: PowerDMS helps you prepare for unannounced surveys.

Corrections

Audit

Corrections customers use the term audit instead of assessment, and so do we.