How to Adapt Your Editing Style for Different Clients: 7 Examples
Navigating the complex terrain of editorial demands requires a chameleon-like ability to adapt. Fortunately, this article distills the wisdom of seasoned editors who excel in tailoring their style to suit diverse client needs. Gain practical strategies from industry experts to master the art of versatility in editing, ensuring every piece resonates with its intended audience.
- Adapt to Client's Unique Voice
- Switch Between Multiple Style Guides
- Align with Healthcare Industry Standards
- Create Elegant and Minimalistic Campaigns
- Embrace Conversational and Playful Tone
- Simplify Technical Jargon for Broad Audience
- Focus on Concise, Data-Driven Content
Adapt to Client's Unique Voice
Every client has a unique voice, and our job is to seamlessly adapt to their style, ensuring their content feels like an authentic extension of their brand. One client might want punchy, action-driven copy with no fluff, while another leans into a more conversational and engaging tone. We don't just write - we listen, learn, and fine-tune every word to match their expectations.
For example, one of our clients prefers highly structured, to-the-point content with no passive voice, em dashes, or unnecessary adjectives. Every sentence must be precise, actionable, and direct. To align with their style, we refine our editing process to remove ambiguity, focus on clarity, and ensure every word drives the message home.
On the other hand, another client loves a witty, casual, and engaging tone. Their content should feel like a conversation, so we adjust our approach - adding humor, breaking the fourth wall, and leaning into a more relaxed writing style.
Beyond tone and voice, we also adapt to each client's formatting, punctuation, and sentence structure preferences. Some prefer short, snappy sentences, while others embrace longer, more narrative-driven content. These nuances make all the difference in producing content that feels truly customized.
Ultimately, our goal is to be an extension of our client's team. We study their brand voice, review past content, and take note of every preference - whether it's avoiding certain words, structuring headlines a certain way, or even adhering to specific stylistic choices. Adapting our editing style isn't just part of the job; it's what makes great content truly feel like theirs.
Switch Between Multiple Style Guides
We currently edit for about 30 active clients, each with their own style guide. Editors frequently have to switch between style guides, and we've seen where certain customers have 4+ style guides for their brand, each for a different part of the website. We store them centrally in our custom software, called the EditorNinja portal, and the editor knows which website the article is for, and thus which style guide to use. Sometimes, the client doesn't have a specific style guide, so we'll create one for them based off the content they've already produced. This gives us and them the chance to codify their styles moving forward.
Align with Healthcare Industry Standards
As a content writer at an infographic design company, I once worked with a client from the healthcare industry who required a more formal and data-driven tone compared to the usual vibrant and conversational style we often use for marketing infographics.
To adapt, I thoroughly researched industry-specific terminology, ensured that data points were presented with clarity and precision, and refined the copy to maintain a professional tone while still being engaging.
I also collaborated closely with the design team to ensure that the text complemented complex visuals without overwhelming the audience, ultimately delivering content that aligned perfectly with the client's expectations and industry standards.
Create Elegant and Minimalistic Campaigns
In my digital marketing agency, I had a client in the luxury skincare industry who wanted their ads and landing pages to feel elegant, sophisticated, and minimalistic-a stark contrast to the high-energy, direct-response style I typically use for eCommerce brands. Instead of pushing bold headlines and aggressive CTAs, I adapted by focusing on storytelling, using soft, refined visuals, and incorporating subtle persuasive elements that aligned with their brand voice.
To make this shift, I studied their audience's behavior, analyzed competitors, and refined the tone to match the premium feel they wanted. The result? A campaign that still drove conversions but felt authentic to their brand without being overly sales-driven. The key to adapting editing styles is understanding the brand's identity, respecting the target audience, and balancing persuasion with tone-because what works for one brand might turn off another.
Embrace Conversational and Playful Tone
One time I had to adapt my editing style was when working with a client who wanted their brand voice to be highly conversational and playful, whereas my usual editing approach leans toward polished and professional. Their content included humor, slang, and informal phrasing, which initially felt counterintuitive to traditional editorial standards.
To adjust, I first studied their past content and brand guidelines to understand their tone. Instead of enforcing strict grammar rules, I prioritized maintaining their personality while ensuring clarity and readability. For example, I let certain sentence fragments and casual expressions remain if they aligned with their brand voice but tweaked phrasing when clarity was at risk. I also introduced a consistent structure for informal elements, such as keeping a balance between humor and key messaging.
By embracing their unique voice rather than rigidly applying formal editing rules, the final content felt authentic to their brand while still being polished and engaging. The client appreciated the flexibility, and the project reinforced the importance of adapting editing styles to suit different audiences and brand identities.
Simplify Technical Jargon for Broad Audience
One example that comes to mind is when I was tasked with editing a client's content for a highly technical industry - something I wasn't initially familiar with. The client needed their website copy to be both accessible to a broad audience and reflect their expertise in the field.
To adapt, I shifted my editing style by focusing on simplifying complex jargon without sacrificing accuracy. I made sure the tone was approachable yet professional, balancing technical detail with clarity. I worked closely with the client to understand their key messaging, ensuring I didn't oversimplify or misrepresent their expertise. This required a lot of collaboration, asking specific questions to refine the language while maintaining the credibility of the subject matter. The result was a piece that resonated with both industry experts and non-specialist readers, striking the right balance for the client's needs.
This experience reinforced the importance of understanding both the client's audience and their voice to tailor my editing approach effectively.
Focus on Concise, Data-Driven Content
When working with a technical SaaS client, we discovered their audience of IT professionals responded better to concise, data-driven content rather than our usual conversational style. We adjusted our editing approach to focus on technical accuracy and measurable outcomes, resulting in a 40% increase in time spent on page. This meant replacing descriptive language with specific metrics and restructuring content to lead with technical specifications.
