Akimbo Style Guide & Content Writing Tips
Akimbo Subject Line Formats:
Artist Name: Exhibition Title @ Organization or Venue Name, City
Event Type: Event Title @ Organization or Venue Name, City
Call for Submissions: Project Title @ Organization or Venue Name, City
Call to Artists: Project Title @ Organization or Venue Name, City
Job Opportunity: Position Title @ Organization or Venue Name, City
Akimbo will consider a requested subject line, and may make adjustments and/or recommendations for better structure, length, and engagement with subscribers.
A subject line is only required for Akimbo email service (standalone Akimbits and Web Postings do not require one).
Do not use all capital letters in cases where title case should be used.
All caps is viewed as yelling at people, is not persuasive, and reduces readability and accessibility.
Write in third person (they/their). Please do not submit content written in first person (we/our/I/my).
Third person perspective provides a professional tone for the content that is being promoted. When your content appears on Akimbo’s platforms, using third person makes it clear who is being spoken about and why.
Please use the words “exhibition” and “exhibit” correctly:
Each object being shown within an exhibition is an exhibit.
An “exhibit” is a public showing of one object or a small collection of objects.
An “exhibition” is a public showing of a large selection of items, often unified by a theme.
Avoid exclamation points.
Exclamation points lose their impact when overused, and often make a message appear less professional. Using exclamation points doesn’t make content exciting – detailed text that highlights the most important, unusual, and engaging aspects of what is being promoted makes content exciting and enticing.
Use short sentences.
Short sentences reduce grammatical errors and are far easier for the reader to understand quickly. A sentence that is half as long is twice as strong.
Remove filler words and repetition.
Remove repetitive or redundant text. Delete filler words that water down the text or make it harder to understand. This will make your text stronger, clearer, and more impactful.
Use active verbs in present tense.
Avoid using the words “seeking” or “aims to” – use active language instead. This will indicate that your organization is actively doing the action – not seeking to, aiming to, or hoping to.
Date Format:
September 1, 2024
October 1 – November 30, 2024
December 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025
Note: Avoid using ordinal indicators such as “th”, “st”, “rd”, or “nd” in dates.
Time Format:
am / pm = lowercase, no periods, no space before.
ex: 11am or 6pm
Only include start time of an event, unless the end time is necessary information for attendees.
Note: We recommended the lowercase am / pm format. However, the most important detail is to use one consistent format throughout your content.
Time Zones:
Always include the time zone, especially for online programming. Akimbo readers are located in many different time zones across Canada. Generalized time zones are recommended to avoid errors and confusion: PT, MT, CT, ET, AT.
Combining Dates and Times:
When formatting dates and times, a comma can be used as a separator. Examples:
July 1, 2024, 10am ET
September 1, 2024, 6pm PT
Use a comma when including dollar amounts over one thousand. Do not use change/cents less than $1 unless applicable.
Yes: $20,500
No: $20500.00
For formatting support, please use our helpful Akimbo Content Templates when compiling your content.
If you would like to learn about our new copy editing/shaping services, please contact our team at info@akimbo.ca. We are happy to discuss your needs and help you craft professional and enticing content.