We personify our brand as the team working behind the scenes. Together, we are PressReader.

This means we always write in the first person plural and use “we” instead of “I”. We want to show our customers, partners and publishers that PressReader is the sum of our team — and it doesn’t exist without us.

It’s important that we have one, consistent voice — but it’s boring if we never fluctuate. Humans express highs and lows when they speak, and we want to achieve the same natural flows in our voice. Here’s how that comes to life across an asset:

Clear, helpful, searchable

For titles and product or feature names, we focus on what will make most sense to our target audiences. We think creatively about how we can avoid literal naming conventions or overused titles that don’t set us apart, but we prioritize being clear above all else. Especially, when writing a title for a digital asset that benefits from SEO, like a blog post, we want to ensure we aren’t sacrificing searchability for creativity.

Clear, editorialized, engaging

The supporting copy we occasionally include beneath a title or a headline is meant to bridge readers from our titles into the purpose of the given asset. It should provide a clear hook of what’s to come, but can be a bit more creative and clever than our titles to continue building interest.

Creative, evocative, clever

Subheadings are among the best places for us to show we are creative. We use metaphors, paint a picture and incorporate plays on words to put a smile on our readers’ faces and draw them in to consume more.

Conversational, friendly, confident

Body copy makes up the majority of words on a page, so that’s where we really want our calm and approachable voice to come through. We keep sentences clear and concise, show humble confidence in our claims and communicate as equals with whoever we are addressing — never top-down and never self-deprecatingly.

Our body copy really forms the basis of a conversation with our various audiences. It should be casual, friendly and warm.

Direct, compelling, inviting

Our subject lines in emails and our CTAs across assets are designed to drive a specific next step, so we want to keep them simple. We never want to sound pushy or salesy, but these short snippets should feature the most direct language we use. We are confident that readers will want to follow our cue.