{"id":2928,"date":"2012-04-03T11:01:46","date_gmt":"2012-04-03T01:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordconstructions.com.au\/blog\/?p=2928"},"modified":"2012-03-30T12:52:52","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T01:52:52","slug":"are-templates-cheating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wordconstructions.com.au\/blog\/2012\/04\/are-templates-cheating\/","title":{"rendered":"Are templates cheating?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes people talk about templates as if they are cheating, inferior and inappropriate as a business tool.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A blank page can be hard to fill<\/p><\/div>\n

I don’t agree – there are times a template is not the right answer but they can be very useful in business.<\/p>\n

Using a template doesn’t mean everything is exactly the same \u00a0– adjustments are made to suit the purpose.<\/p>\n

Templates for letters, emails, style guides, procedures, web pages and other business materials can help your business in three key ways.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Consistency
    \nIf every letter sent from your business has the same format, it looks professional, builds your brand and shows attention to detail<\/li>\n
  2. Time saving
    \nUsing a template saves a lot of time. An email or webpage template can reduce the time needed for formatting, setting meta data and remembering the necessary details (phone, ABN, disclaimer, etc), and so on.<\/li>\n
  3. Getting started
    \nA template can provide a starting point and can be much easier to work from than a blank page – this saves mental energy and time. If you don’t know where to start with preparing a style for your business, a     corporate style guide template<\/a> can get you started and inspire you to ask the right questions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I think templates are\u00a0suitable for many things (e.g. procedures and standard information) although they can be misused and abused.<\/p>\n

    What templates do you use (or have you used) in your business? What advantages do you get from them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Sometimes people talk about templates as if they are cheating, inferior and inappropriate as a business tool. I don’t agree – there are times a template is not the right answer but they can be very useful in business. Using a template doesn’t mean everything is exactly the same \u00a0– adjustments are made to suit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1425,60],"tags":[310,864,1488,1721],"class_list":["post-2928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-communications","category-writing","tag-consistency","tag-style-guide","tag-templates","tag-writing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t