Not all organizations have an editorial charter adapted to their emails. Even when a charter does exist, it is often designed for global communication, without taking into account the specificities of emailing. Just as it's common to have a separate graphic charter for emails, it's crucial to have a frame specifically designed for write your email communications. This framework should reflect who you are and how that translates into the writing and structure of your emails.
Definition: What is a writing frame?
The writing framework is a document that defines the rules of language, sentence structure, vocabulary to be used, and recurring editorial mechanics for the main elements of your emails (subject, title, CTA). It guarantees the consistency and effectiveness of your communications.
Why do you need an editorial charter for email marketing?
To fight fatigue and disinterest:
Recipients are often faced with email overload, which can lead to email fatigue, a drop in open and click-through rates, and an increase in unsubscribes. It is therefore essential to work on editorial content to rekindle interest, much more than on design.
To ensure consistency :
Often, several people within an organization are responsible for writing emails. With different editors, it becomes crucial to establish a frame of reference that everyone can consult to maintain message consistency. How do you greet your readers? How do you close your emails? Do you use emojis? What about inclusive writing? These aspects need to be standardized.
Steps for defining your email editorial charter
Step 1: Start with your DNA and raison d'être
It may seem obvious, but it's always useful to remember the origins of the company, its evolution over the years, and its current mission. The company's primary mission, as well as its secondary missions, should guide the way it communicates via email.
Step 2: Define your communication topics
Determine the themes on which your brand wants to express itself. To avoid getting stuck in overly promotional topics, ask yourself some questions:
- What annoys you about your competitors or your market?
- What lies are common in your industry?
- What sets you apart from your competitors? What makes you unique?
- What are you most enthusiastic about? What are you most proud of?
- What problems do your products or services solve?
Although the chestnut is often used to inspire email content, it's rarely original. Integrate these topics into your sending schedule and use them to fuel the content of your marketing automation emails, be they welcome or post-purchase scenarios.
Step 3: (Re)define your values
Values are the principles you're willing to fight for. A true value must meet the following criteria:
- It is independent of the company's activity, market or size.
- It is shared and experienced daily by a large proportion of employees.
- It arouses general indignation when it is transgressed.
- It is defended even when it becomes a competitive disadvantage.
- In concrete terms, this translates into behavior at every level of the company.
Don't exceed five values, or you risk diluting their impact.
Examples of values : Cooperation, Social and human progress, Equity, justice, integrity
These values can be integrated into the reassurance blocks of your emails, reinforcing their perception by your readers.
Step 4: Define your organization's personality traits
Your organization's personality traits represent the characteristics that define how your brand is perceived. By identifying these traits, you can establish a consistent and distinctive identity in all your communications.
One effective method is to use the muse technique: If your brand were a famous person, who would it be? By choosing 5 or 6 muses who best represent your brand, you'll naturally define their personality traits. By asking yourself, for example, if a muse is "too much like this" or "not enough like that", you'll specify the qualities or flaws to adopt or avoid.
Examples of personality traits : Rigorous, Accessible, Reliable, Straightforward, Enterprising
These personality traits will be translated into consistent graphic (colors, typography, choice of pictograms) and editorial choices, reinforcing your brand identity in every email.
It's also a good idea to define the character traits you want to avoid.
Step 5: Define brand positioning
Brand posture is the way you want to be perceived by your audiences. It's the type of relationship you want to maintain with your targets. Your brand needs to position itself clearly: is it a caring sister, a trusted friend, a motivating coach, an enlightened guide, or a recognized expert?
Examples of possible postures:
- The Coach Encourages and motivates, helps overcome challenges.
- L'Ami Offers support and a listening ear, creates a strong emotional bond.
- The Guide : Gives sound advice, shares his expertise with a pedagogical approach.
- The Expert Holds undisputed knowledge, and transmits it with authority.
It's also crucial to define the limits of this posture. For example, you may want to avoid positioning yourself as an aloof speaker who talks without listening.
Step 6: Define your tone of voice
Tone of voice is the stylistic expression of your brand. It derives directly from the personality traits and posture defined above. The tone of voice must be in harmony with the image you wish to project, and must be consistent across all communication media.
Examples of tones according to posture:
- If your posture is that of a motivating coach, the tone will be energetic and engaging, with clear words of encouragement and calls to action.
- If your posture is that of an enlightened guide, the tone will be reassuring and educationalwith clear, detailed explanations.
- If your posture is that of a friend : the tone will be warm and friendlywith simple greetings and casual formulas.
It's important to document this tone of voice precisely, so that all copywriters can get to grips with it and apply it consistently.
Step 7: Define your key targets, their concerns, their challenges
Understanding your targets is crucial to effective communication. It enables you to determining the right editorial angle to address the specific concerns of your recipients.
Example:
| Targets | Challenges / Concerns | Key times of year |
|---|---|---|
| DAF | Digitization of processes Adoption of new regulations | April to July Approval of financial statements September Budget preparation - Monthly Tax and social security returns |
| RH | Process automation - Putting people back at the heart of business - Concerns about AI - Recruitment difficulties | January Plan alternance - May Summer vacation planning - October/November : Training plan - December Social Security Financing Act |
| Notary | Necessary modernization - Decline in real estate sales - Dealing with the economic crisis | September: Congress of notaries - January: Finance law - June: Real estate transactions |
Writing an editorial framework for emails
Once you've completed these steps, translate them into concrete guidelines for writing your emails. Create a reference document that guarantees consistency of style, tone and content structure, in line with your corporate identity.
Defining communication principles
Set clear rules for how you communicate with your readers:
- Address form Determine how you address your readers. Do you use "you" or "you"? What are the specific rules according to the type of recipient (customers, prospects, partners, students)?
- Company reference Clarify how you talk about your company. Do you use "we", "the brand", "us", "the team" or some other formulation? This choice influences the perception of closeness or distance with your audience.
- Style Tone of voice: In conjunction with your tone of voice, define whether you prefer to use quotes, humor and recurring figures of speech to reinforce your brand's identity, or whether you opt for a more serious, formal or relaxed style.
- Inclusive writing Determine whether you adopt inclusive writing and, if so, what specific rules you need to follow (e.g., avoid the midpoint).
- Lexical field Identify which lexical fields you should and shouldn't use to maintain a consistent tone and reflect your values.
Translating personality traits into writing practices
Here's how certain personality traits can be applied to your emails:
- Rigorous Precise information, clear structure, precise wording (no "..." or "etc.").
- Accessible : Simplify complex messages, explain acronyms.
- Driving : Action-oriented language, clear CTAs, use of imperatives
- Optimistic Positive turns of phrase, confident projections into the future.
- Engaging Create a sense of belonging by using inclusive phrases like "We're a collective" and structuring your CTAs in a personal way ("I'm committed", "I'm involved").
Integrating the editorial framework into the email system design
Because your editorial framework directly influences the design of your emails, it's essential to integrate your editorial framework into the design system of your emails.
- If listening is one of your values : Systematically include a block in your newsletters inviting your readers to give their opinion. Highlight contact sections including FAQs, phone numbers and email addresses, to show that you're attentive to your customers' needs.
- If sharing is one of your values Encourage the distribution of your messages by adding sharing buttons in your email headers or by including a dedicated sharing block in your newsletters.
- If accessibility is one of your values Make sure your email code is accessible, especially for screen readers, to ensure an optimal user experience for all.
- If ecology is one of your values Adopt good eco-design practices by making sure your e-mails are lightweight, optimizing image size and reducing superfluous elements to minimize their environmental impact.
- Define rules for color use Respect your graphic guidelines, while ensuring that the colors you choose offer sufficient contrast for good legibility. Identify colors to avoid to maintain visual consistency and accessibility.
- Define rules for image use Specify the type of images to be used, provide references for editors, and specify the number of images per email. Make sure each image has a useful function, and define rules regarding the use or prohibition of animated gifs.
- Defining rules for the use of emojis Emojis: Determine if and how emojis should be used. If you allow them, specify which ones are acceptable, where they can be placed (in subject lines, email body), and how many can be used to avoid detracting from the clarity of the message.
Create a table of specific reference points
To ensure maximum consistency, define specific rules for different email elements. Here's a table illustrating how these rules can be organized, with examples and counter-examples:
| Element | Explanations | DO | INCLUDING |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greetings | Adapt the greeting to suit the audience (e.g. "Dear Master" for the legal profession). Greet only in certain types of emails (newsletters, marketing automation emails). Do not salute in more commercial emails. | Dear Master Taquet | Avoid generic greetings such as "Dear Prospect". |
| Address form | Prefer to use the formal form of address, except for students, for whom the formal form of address is authorized. | "Madame Berton | "Mrs Berton |
| Company reference | Use "we" and "us" to refer to Lefebvre Dalloz | "We believe that..." | "The team believes that " |
| Sentence style | Use short sentences, the present tense and accents on capital letters. | Edition | "Edition" without accent |
| Anglicisms and adverbs | Avoid anglicisms and "-ment" adverbs, which weigh down the text. | Avoid "really", "definitely", etc. | |
| Acronyms | Explain acronyms when they are first used, so as not to confuse uninitiated readers. | "NAO" (Compulsory Annual Negotiations) | Don't assume that all readers know the acronym |
| Punctuation and typography | Use question marks to liven up the text | "The aim? To give you all the keys... " | Avoid suspension points and semicolons |
| Figures and numbers | Spell out numbers except in objects or titles | "Here are three advantages | "Here are 3 advantages |
| Emojis | Limit the use of emojis to commercial highlights | Do not use systematically | |
| Inclusive writing | Favour inclusive formulations without using the midpoint | "Users and users" | Avoiding the middle ground: "the users |
Include examples of reference emails
Well-written and designed email examples that respect the framework as a reference example for copywriters.
Conclusion
Defining a framework for emailing is essential to ensure the coherence and effectiveness of your communications. By structuring your messages and aligning them with your brand's values and personality, you reinforce the impact of each email. With a well-established framework, your emails will become powerful tools for engaging your recipients and asserting your brand identity.
