Voice & Tone
Ridgewood has a distinct voice that creates an emotional connection and builds trust with our audience. We are mindful of both what we say and how we say it.
Writing Best Practices
Copywriting Guidelines
Speak directly to the reader.
Copy is warm and conversational, but not too informal.
Get right to the point.
Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Use bullets to describe key points.
Focus on the customer’s needs.
Talk about real-life benefits, not just product features.
Give practical advice in plain language.
Avoid unfamiliar acronyms, bank jargon and legalese.
Examples:
- For those memorable moments, planned or unplanned, let financing be your easiest decision.
- A busy schedule shouldn’t keep you from making the most of your money – or taking steps to safeguard your account.
- You want your loved ones to be financially secure if you’re not there.
HEADLINES
Keep headlines snappy and focused on the main benefit to the customer.
Examples:
- The Freedom to Thrive.
- Your First Home. Our First Priority.
- Credit Cards as Dynamic as Your Business.
- Powerful Banking Tools. Available Anytime, Anywhere.
CALLS TO ACTION
All marketing materials invite the reader to take the next step by calling, clicking a link or visiting a branch. Especially for website content and digital ads, keep CTAs short and consistent.
Examples:
- Learn More
- Sign Up
- Open Online
- Click Here
Editorial Standards
Ensure that internal/external communications adhere to these key style rules. See the Associated Press Stylebook for additional guidance.
| Category | Note | Use This | Not This |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Name | Use our complete name on the first reference. Shorten to Ridgewood after that. Whenever possible, Ridgewood Savings Bank should appear on one line. | Ridgewood Savings Bank Ridgewood | Ridgewood Bank Ridgewood Savings |
| Serial Commas | When listing out items with commas, don’t use the final serial comma before the conjunction in most simple series. | Checking accounts, savings accounts and CDs | Checking accounts, savings accounts, and CDs |
| Dashes | When an em dash is needed, use an en dash with a space on either side. | Use this – for an em dash. | Don’t use this—for an em dash. |
| Email Addresses | All lowercase. | jsmith@ridgewoodbank.com | JSmith@RidgewoodBank.com |
| Phone Numbers | Use parentheses and hyphen. | (123) 456-7890 | 123.456.7890 123-456–7890 |
| Website Address | Lowercase and do not use www. Our website address must appear on all printed materials. | ridgewoodbank.com | RidgewoodBank.com www.ridgewoodbank.com |
| Times and Days | Write am and pm with no periods, spaces or caps. For ranges, separate times with an en dash with spaces or the word “to,” and use am/pm for both times. Spell out days of the week when space permits. | 6:15pm – 7:45pm Monday – Friday: 7am – 7pm (preferred) OR Mon. – Fri.: 7am – 7pm | 6:15 – 7:45 p.m. 11 AM to 1 PM |
| Headlines | Headlines are written in Title Case or ALL CAPS, typically with no punctuation. We do not use initial caps (i.e., starting all words with an upper-case letter). | Start Saving at Ridgewood OR OPEN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT | Start Saving At Ridgewood. |
| Subheads | Subheads should appear in sentence case when directly below a headline. Short subheads can also appear in ALL-CAPS to introduce new sections in longer materials. | You can open your account in minutes. OR COMPARE ACCOUNTS | You Can Open Your Account In Minutes. |
