Voice

The voice in four lines

1. Headline energy. Write like it belongs on a billboard, a stage screen or a festival poster. Short, rhythmic, confident.
2. Doing, not dreaming. Move the reader from inspiration to action: "learn how to grow your business", never "hear stories about growth". Name the outcome and the next step.
3. Curated, not crowded. Sell the right people in the room and the quality of the conversations. Never sell size.
4. Personal, not generic. Write every piece for one audience. If it could be about any event, rewrite it.

Rules

• No emojis, no exclamation marks, no em or en dashes. Use full stops, commas and colons. Let design and photography carry the energy.
• Names. Never "Climb" on its own. Write ClimbUK (the brand and the festival), ClimbGroup (the company name, for legal lines and corporate pieces) or the edition: Climb27, Climb26. The app is the ClimbGroup Event App. Never "Climb UK" with a space, and never "CLIMBUK" in running text.
• No numbers we have not published. No audience sizes, attendance claims or counts of partners or meetings. Figures from a past edition appear only as ClimbUK publishes them, cited to that edition ("at Climb26").
• No promises we cannot keep. No guarantees, and never a promised number of investor meetings, introductions or funding. Saying investors come looking for deal flow is fine: "Find investors looking for real deal flow", never "meet investors". Partners are sold "meetings with the right people", never a number of meetings, a percentage or an audience size.
• Scarcity only when it is true. Ticket releases really do close, so name the release, its price and its state (open now, next, final), and say the price goes up when it is gone. No invented scarcity, no "last few" unless it is so, no "premier", no superlatives we cannot prove, no trademark symbols in copy. Prices are round numbers people remember: 250, not 252.
• No hedges. No "TBC", "coming soon", "subject to" or "we hope". Say what happens, or leave it out until it is confirmed.
• Real people only. Quotes and testimonials come from named, real people who agreed to them. Never invent a quote, a name or a company.
• No company structure. Do not explain who runs or owns ClimbUK ("ClimbUK is run by ClimbGroup", "ClimbGroup runs ClimbUK"). It means nothing to the reader; say what they get instead.
• No vendor names. Do not name the tools and platforms behind the scenes. Say what the reader can do ("Book your meetings before you arrive"), not what powers it.
• Other events. Being named alongside other events is fine when it helps both sides. Never copy their formats, and never knock them.

Clear for everyone

Good copy is easy to read for everyone, including people reading in a second language, people with dyslexia and people using a screen reader.

• Plain language. Aim for a reading grade of 9 or lower: short sentences, everyday words, one idea per sentence. Partner, press and investor pages need this most.
• Summary first. Any long page starts with a two-line summary of what it offers and what to do next.
• Abbreviations in full first. On each page, write an abbreviation in full the first time, with the short form in brackets: "small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)". After that the short form is fine. Very familiar ones such as UK, VIP and FAQ need no spelling out.
• Unusual words link to the glossary. The first time a page uses a word a newcomer may not know (scale-up, exhibitor tiers, deal flow), link it to the ClimbUK glossary page, or say what it means in a few words.
• Keep the glossary up to date. Whenever text goes on the website, including blog posts, news, newsletters and text a client or partner supplied that is published word for word, check it for terms a newcomer may not know. Add any that are missing to the glossary, each with a one or two sentence definition in this voice. Supplied text keeps its own wording; the glossary does the explaining.
• Links say where they go. The link text names the destination or the action: "See the Climb27 lineup", "Read the partner terms". Never "Click here", "Read more", "Learn more", "Find out more", "More info" or a bare "here". If a link opens a new tab, say so.

Where the name comes from

"Climb" comes from the Investor Ladder. A business climbs the ladder to reach the next rung, an investor who fits where it is now, and investors pass businesses up and down the ladder to the rung that suits what they need. Use this story when someone asks about the name, in an about page, a press line or an opening from the stage.

ClimbUK is a business event, never a sport-climbing or outdoors event. People do mistake it for one, so:

• "Climb" and "climbing" are fine when the business meaning is clear in the same line: climbing the Investor Ladder, the next rung for your business.
• Never use climbing-sport words or images: ropes, walls, harnesses, belays, outdoor gear, "climbers" for attendees, or a photo or icon of rock or wall climbing.
• When a piece leads on "climb" with nothing around it, add the business words: growth, investors, the next stage.

Words and lines we own

• Tagline: The Festival for Business Growth.
• Climb27 headline: Your business. Bigger stage.
• Climb27 themes: Find Your People (the people you meet are the reason to come) and Main Stage Moments (short, big moments: sets, announcements, awards, our own formats). Big moments, not keynotes.
• Programme names, always written this way: Investor Speed Networking, Busk Your Business, the ClimbAwards, ClimbHealth.

Words we use

Drop "with your eyes open", "in their patch", "at least three" and "unmatched". Every heading carries a benefit: "Why Climb27?" alone says nothing.

Answer the question

• Every claim gets its answer on the same page. If a line makes the reader ask something (two days of what, which ticket, who will I meet, what happens after), the same page answers it.
• Answer first, then explain. "When is the agenda published?" opens with when.
• Write questions as the buyer would ask them. "I want a one-day ticket. Which day should I pick?"
• Say when something happens in the event app.
• Be specific about who is in the room, for this audience. A list that fits any event is too generic.
• Talk about the community: people who share what they learned and send each other work.
• End every page well: a real closing line and one next step. Partner calls to action say what they are for: "Interested in partnering? Book a call with the team."

Who we are talking to

Every piece is written for one of these audiences. Use their tone, and talk about what they need. Pages for people coming with a ticket and pages for partners are separate: do not sell a package on an attendee page.

What every audience can hear:

• Two days, every session, the grand opening and the after parties.
• Business that feels like a festival: Find Your People and Main Stage Moments.
• Close and personal: the right people, not the most people.
• A community: people who share what they learned and send each other work.
• Practical growth you can act on the next morning.

How to write a piece

1. Pick the audience and the channel.
2. Write the headline first: 3 to 8 words, one idea, ideally in two or three beats ("Iconic moments. Real advice. No fluff."). On designed pieces, one word goes orange and one goes italic.
3. Write the body as short, complete paragraphs, each a small pitch: what happens, why it matters to this reader, what to do next. Strong verbs, varied sentence length, no filler.
4. End with one call to action that names the action: "Get your ticket", "Book your meetings", "Apply to pitch". Never "Click here" or "Submit".
5. Read it back against the four lines and the rules above.

Channels

Lines that work

• Your business. Bigger stage.
• Find your people. Then do business with them.
• Iconic moments. Real advice. No fluff.
• Two days. The right rooms. Conversations that move your business.
• Deal flow you can filter. Founders you choose.
• Business that feels like a festival.

Climb27 is two days built around the conversations that move a business forward. Founders, investors and the advisers who back them, in rooms designed for meeting, not milling about.

Main Stage Moments are short and big: the announcements, the awards, the sets that turn a business event into a night people talk about. Then it is back to the work, with the people you came to meet.

Rewrites

Before it goes out

• It follows every rule above, including Clear for everyone.
• It names one audience and gives them one reason and one next step.
• Nothing in it would still be true of any other event.
• Every fact (date, price, format, speaker) comes from ClimbUK's published information, not from memory.