Grammar And Mechanics

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GuidancelatestRetrieved 2026-05-16

MailChimp — Grammar and Mechanics

Capitalization

Sentence case (first word + proper nouns only) is the default for most content.

Title case (first letter of every word except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions) is used for titles of publications, named features, and branded terms.

Specific rules:

  • Never capitalize "website," "internet," "online," or "email" mid-sentence
  • Capitalize branded terms: plan names (Premium, Standard, Essentials, Free), "Mailchimp Presents"
  • Do not capitalize descriptive product terms: "templates," "mobile app," "email"
  • Capitalize departments when referencing them specifically: "the Marketing team"
  • "Mailchimp" — first M uppercase, lowercase c — never "MailChimp" or "mailchimp"

Abbreviations and acronyms

Spell out unfamiliar abbreviations on first mention, then use the shortened form. When the connection is unclear, add the abbreviation in parentheses: "Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)."

Well-known terms (API, HTML, URL) need no explanation.

Voice

Prefer active voice. The subject performs the action. Use passive voice when emphasizing the action over the actor is genuinely more useful.

Contractions

Use contractions. "They're great! They give your writing an informal, friendly tone." Write "don't" not "do not," "it's" not "it is."

Numbers

  • Use numerals for all numbers (not spelled out), except when beginning a sentence
  • Numbers over 3 digits take commas: 1,000; 150,000
  • Spell out large round numbers in body copy; abbreviate only when space is constrained (1k, 150k)
  • Ordinals: use numerals (1st, 8th, not "first," "eighth") — exception for common expressions ("first impression," "third-party")

Dates: Spell out month and day — "Saturday, January 24." Abbreviate only if space-constrained.

Fractions: Spell out — "two-thirds" not "2/3." Use decimals when precision is needed.

Percentages: Use the % symbol, not "percent."

Ranges: Use a hyphen — "20-30 days."

Money: "$20" or "$19.99" for US currency. Other currencies follow the same format.

Time: Numerals + am/pm with a space — "7 am," "7:30 pm." No minutes for on-the-hour times. Hyphen for ranges: "7 am–10:30 pm." Default to ET; abbreviate US zones; spell out international zones.

Punctuation

Apostrophes

Form possessives normally: "Sam's donut," "Chris's donut," "managers' donuts."

Colons

Use to introduce a list: "Erin ordered 3 kinds of donuts: glazed, chocolate, and pumpkin." Capitalize the first word after a colon if it is a complete sentence.

Commas

Use the serial (Oxford) comma in all lists of three or more: "parents, Oprah, and Justin Timberlake."

Dashes and hyphens

  • Hyphen (-) without spaces: links compound modifiers, indicates ranges — "first-time user," "Monday-Friday"
  • Em dash (—) without spaces: offsets asides — "just one of our new features—it can help with this"
  • Do not use two hyphens (--) as an em dash substitute

Ellipses

Use sparingly for trailing thoughts. Do not use for dramatic effect or in titles. Bracketed ellipsis [...] shows omitted material in quotations.

Exclamation points

Use sparingly. "They're like high-fives: well-timed ones are great, too many annoying." Never in failure messages or error alerts. Only one exclamation point per piece of content.

Periods

Inside quotation marks. Outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence. Inside parentheses when the parenthetical is standalone. One space between sentences.

Question marks

Inside quotation marks if part of the quote. Follow period rules for parenthetical usage.

Semicolons

Use sparingly. Prefer em dashes or separate sentences.

Ampersands

Do not substitute "&" for "and" unless it is part of a company or brand name ("Ben & Jerry's").

Pronouns

Use "they/them/their" for a person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant. Use he/him/his or she/her/her when referring to a specific person whose pronouns are known.

Text formatting

  • Italics for: long work titles, technical emphasis, in-app element citations, button labels when referenced in copy
  • Avoid combining italic, bold, caps, and underline
  • Left-align text only (no centering in body copy)
  • One space between sentences

Positive framing

Write positively. Instead of "You can't get a donut if you don't stand in line," write "To get a donut, stand in line." Avoid constructions that lead with negation.

Slang and jargon

Write in plain English. Briefly define technical terms at first mention. Minimize jargon. Avoid slang that may not translate across cultural contexts.