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Content Guidelines

Overview​

This is a brief introduction to writing content that faithfully represents our brand and answers some common content questions. :NEEDS REVISION: Does content style guide need to be moved? However, we recommend that you download and follow the complete Manheim Content Style Guide. You can also email content@manheim.com with questions.

See below to review formatting rules for date, time, distance, phone numbers, etc.

Copywriting​

  • Be brief and clear.
  • Be accurate. It is more important to be accurate than compelling.
  • Address users as you, and refer to Manheim or COX Automotive as we.
  • Avoid long or complex words and jargon.
  • Break up long blocks of text with informative headings.
  • Use bulleted or numbered lists instead of paragraphs when possible.
  • Use active voice (The dealer bid on the car.), not passive voice (The car was bid on by the dealer.)
  • Aim for a fourth-grade reading level as measured by the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Scale.
  • Use second person (you, your) when addressing users, and first person (we) when referring to Manheim or Cox Automotive.
  • Only use one space after sentences, with single spacing for paragraphs, and no spacing between bulleted or numbered lists.

Grammar​

  • Abbreviations and Acronyms - If the reader may not recognize an abbreviation or acronym, spell out the first reference. Further references do not need parenthesis.
  • Brands - Observe the trademark conventions (including ®, ™) found on a brand's official website.
  • Capitalization - Do not use all caps except for acronyms, labels, or calls-to-action.
  • Contractions - Use contractions when a message is positive (You're the winning bidder.), and avoid them when it is negative (We apologize, but you can not bid right now.).
  • Compound Words - Use hyphenation when a modifying adjective precedes a noun (e.g. used-vehicle market).

Punctuation​

  • Apostrophe - Use in contractions or to indicate possession (Dave's car), not to indicate multiples of something (CRs or the 1980s)
  • Ampersand (&) - Do not use unless part of a brand or product name.
  • Asterisk (*) - Use in-context to denote an annotation at the bottom of page.
  • Colon - Use in body text to introduce a list.
  • Comma - Use to separate items in a list, but do not use the Oxford comma. (e.g. I bought milk, eggs, chicken and bread.)
  • Exclamation Points - Do not use unless part of a brand name.

Calls-to-Action (CTAs)​

  • Use a descriptive verb/noun label (e.g. Start Claim, Open Workbook, Make an Offer).
  • Do not use generic CTA labels like “Click Here” or “Go”.
  • CTAs should be 2-5 words. Aim for clarity and brevity.
  • See the Manheim Content Style Guide for a list of common CTA verbs and when they are used.

Formatting Rules​

Currency​

  • Use the dollar symbol and two decimal places for non-whole-dollar values (e.g. $1,234.56).
  • For Canadian currency, use C$ and the number without a space (e.g. C$1,234.56).
  • For other international currencies, reference the AP Style Guide.

Date​

  • Never use ordinals with dates (e.g. July 23rd).
  • Do not use a period when abbreviating days or months (e.g. Sun, Jan 24).
  • Use a comma between a date and year (e.g. Jan 21, 2015)
  • Spell out a month when used by itself in a sentence, or when paired with a year.
  • Do not use a comma between a month and year (e.g. January 2015).

Distance​

  • Use lower-case abbreviations with no spaces or periods. (e.g. 150mi or 150km)

Location​

  • Cities - Always spell out city names (e.g. Flint, MI).
  • States - Spell out states when they appear by themselves (e.g. Michigan).
  • Auctions - All Manheim auction names must be preceded by Manheim.

Numbers​

  • Spell out one through nine (except in tables and charts), and any number that is the first word of a sentence.
  • Spell out first through ninth, not 1st through 9th.
  • Only use ordinals to indicate sequence in time or location (e.g. first Friday, 11th vehicle)
  • Do not superscript the ordinal (e.g. 23rd, not 23rd).
  • Do not use numerical fractions. Use decimals or spell out fractions (e.g. one-half, not ½).
  • Use a hyphen with no spaces to indicate a range (e.g. 20-30 days).

Phone Number​

  • Use ten digits with hyphens and no spaces. (e.g. 800-123-4567)
  • If you must use a vanity number, put the numeric number after it in parenthesis: 1-866-MANHEIM (626-4246).

Time​

  • Use numerals and lower-case “am” or “pm” without a space. (e.g. 10:05am)
  • Do not use minutes for on-the-hour time. (e.g. 7am, not 7:00am)
  • Use a hyphen to indicate a time range (e.g. 7am-10:30am).
  • Use 12am (midnight) or 12pm (noon).
  • Abbreviate continental U.S. time zones as follows:
  • ET (Eastern Time)
  • CT (Central Time)
  • MT (Mountain Time)
  • PT (Pacific Time)