General Editorial Rules
Language
- Australian English always — colour, organisation, favourite, centre, licence (noun)
- Warm peer tone — not corporate, not preachy
- “You” for the reader/subscriber. “We” for GIL
- Enthusiastic but grounded. Practical over aspirational
- Assumed reader: home gardener or aspiring gardener
Banned language
Never use: “innovative”, “cutting-edge”, “game-changing”, “revolutionary”, “best-in-class”, “world-class”
- Never approximate pricing — use exact figures from the products database
- Never invent product or bundle names
- Always verify expert names: Costa (no surname needed), Paul West, Mel Logozzo, Hannah Moloney, Connie Cao, Kate Flood
- Don’t mention competitors by name
File naming
- Kebab-case for all files:
feb-awards-final-push.md
- Campaign files:
{month-abbrev}-{campaign-name}.md
- Deliverable files:
{campaign-slug}--{channel}-{descriptor}.md
- Use double-dash
-- to separate campaign slug from deliverable type
Last verified: 4 March 2026
Email Copy Rules
Subject lines
- Under 50 characters
- Clear benefit or curiosity — no clickbait
- No ALL CAPS (except single words for emphasis: “FREE trial”)
- No emoji in subject lines
Preview text
- Under 90 characters
- Extends the subject line, doesn’t repeat it
Body
- Use
{{first_name}} merge tag
- One clear CTA per email
- Short paragraphs (2–3 sentences max)
- Conversational — write like you’re talking to a neighbour over the fence
- No more than one exclamation mark per email
Sign-off
- “Happy growing,” or similar
- Never “Best regards” or “Sincerely”
Segmentation
- Flag where subscriber/non-subscriber/tier-specific versions are needed
- Consider Base vs Grower vs Pro messaging where relevant
Last verified: 4 March 2026
Social Copy Rules
Instagram
- First line is the hook — must stop the scroll
- Under 2,200 characters
- 5–10 relevant hashtags at the end
- Use line breaks for readability
Facebook
- Can be slightly longer than Instagram
- More conversational tone
- Include a question to drive comments
General social
- Feature community language: “your patch”, “your garden”, “what you’re growing”
- Include CTA where appropriate (link in bio, comment below, share your story)
- Emoji is encouraged in social copy (unlike email subject lines)
Last verified: 4 March 2026
Primary text
- 125 characters max for above-fold visibility
- Lead with value proposition
Headline
- 40 characters max
- Action-oriented
Description
- 30 characters
- Supporting detail only
Testing
- Always include 2–3 variant options when generating ad copy
- Test different hooks, CTAs, and value propositions
CTAs
Use funnel-appropriate CTAs:
- Top of funnel: “Learn More”, “Get Started”
- Mid funnel: “Start Free Trial”
- Bottom funnel: “Shop Now”, “Join Now”
Last verified: 4 March 2026
Website & Blog Copy Rules
Titles
- Under 60 characters for SEO
- Include the primary keyword naturally
- 150–160 characters
- Summarise the value of clicking
Structure
- Use H2 and H3 subheadings
- Short paragraphs
- Include at least one bulleted list
- Aim for 800–1,200 words for standard posts
Internal links
- Cross-link to GIL+ trial page
- Link to relevant product bundles
- Link to related blog posts
Evergreen focus
- Write for ongoing relevance where possible
- Include “Last verified: [date]” on reference content
Last verified: 4 March 2026
