Writing

Never use em dashes or en dashes.

Use commas, periods, or a plain hyphen in a range ("3-5").

Never use semicolons.

Never use hashtags in company copy outside social media: web pages, email, documents, press.

A social media post may use hashtags if the writer wants them.

Never use emoji in company copy, except in social media posts.

Never use exclamation marks in company copy.

Never use markdown or asterisks in published copy: web pages, email, social, anything pasted into a CMS.

A document such as a proposal or a one-pager may use sentence-case headings. Working documents and internal tools that render Markdown can use it.

Never use constructions like "not just this, but also this."

A factual contrast that carries information is fine.

Avoid metaphors and cliches.

Approved brand lines (see Messaging Toolkit) keep their form.

Never use setup language in any sentence, including "in conclusion," "in closing," or "in today's world."

Finished copy has no notes to the writer and no unfilled placeholders.

In published copy (website, case studies, posts, press, email campaigns), leave an unknown fact out or write around it ("before their old platform's security coverage ended"), never a guessed date or quarter. In working documents (a one-to-one email, a proposal, a ticket), say plainly what is still open ("the launch date is not set").