Think back to your freshman year of college. (Understandably this might be a long ways back for some, so I’ll give you a few minutes to dust off those memories and reminisce a bit.) Freshman year probably conjures up flashbacks of cramped dorm rooms, crappy food from the dining hall, and going to your first college game day. These are all great memories, but I’m going to pull you away from those halcyon days and remind you of your dreaded 8:00am - English 101.
For some, just the thought of English Comp. makes you quiver. I promise there’s no pop-quiz, and I definitely won’t make you diagram any sentences, but pull yourself together for a few moments and let me explain why I’m bringing up these horrid memories. The elements of composition and style you learned in English 101 were not meant to be forgotten after you passed the final. (For some people they may have never been learned in the first place to be forgotten.) These principles, believe it or not, can help grow sales, increase and retain your clientele, and boost the public image of your company.
This sounds crazy right? I assure you it’s true. Charles Duncombe, an online data analyst, explains that a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half – IN HALF. Spelling mistakes and blatant grammar errors severely damage your credibility. These blunders will definitely put off customers and potential clients who will automatically question how thorough you are, and the quality of the work you perform.
This is incredibly important in the eyes of William Dutton of the Oxford Internet Institute who argues, “When a consumer might be wary of spam or phishing efforts, a misspelt word could be a killer issue.” Your website and your business’s social media pages are often someone’s first impression of your company. Having a page riddled with errors is like giving the limpest handshake in the world. It doesn’t send a good message, and they probably won’t shake hands with you anymore.
What then, is the best way to stop yourself from falling victim to perilous grammar mistakes? I’m not suggesting you go back to college and retake English 101…although some of you may love the idea of going back to college. My suggestion is to familiarize yourself with some very important tips and rules to avoid making any grammatical gaffes.
A few to consider:
• Reread – I feel like an SAT-prep teacher saying this, but it’s very important to reread your work. That means all of your work, including emails. You may be thinking: “I’m way too busy to take the time to reread everything I write.” But, like I mentioned before, the dangers of spelling mistakes can ruin your sales; and I’m sure you have time to save yourself some money. Simply reread it when you’re finished writing. For some people saying it out loud can be helpful. If it’s a very important document, have someone else read it too. It can often be difficult to catch your own mistakes, especially when you think you’re never wrong and everything you write is perfect.
• Commas – Some writers have begun calling for a war against the comma. While wars have been fought over stranger and more insignificant things, I’m a strong advocate of the comma, and would gladly go to war to defend it. The comma is tremendously useful in writing and has a great ability to convey tone and capture the pace of your message. All it really takes is a quick internet search of “funny comma mistakes” to get the gist of how important they really are. For example, let’s take the common street sign that’s written: “Slow children at play.” I’m sure you’ve all heard the jokes about this one, but for anyone unfamiliar consider this – is the sign telling you that the children at play are moving slow? Or for you to drive slow because there are children playing? Pretty simple right? None of us actually believe the children are playing in slow motion. We all know the sign should read: “Slow, children at play.” Commas really define context. Don’t get taken out of context.
• They’re, There, Their - You’d be surprised how many times I’ve witnessed someone make these mistakes. Smart, bright people with important positions in their company. Knowing the difference between these words and when to use them can save you quite a lot of embarrassment. It’s really important that you don’t get caught making these simple mistakes. Nothing says “I didn’t put in the effort” like these homophone errors. The same thing goes for – where, were, and we’re, and your and you're. Know the difference; I promise it will prevent a lot of laughing and finger pointing in your direction.
• Short and Concise – It can be really easy to get carried away when you’re writing. Especially when you’re really passionate about your business and your brand. Just because your thoughts formulate a mile-a-minute, doesn’t mean your sentences should. Let’s go back to English class for just a second. You may, or may not, remember the rule about using quotations in your writing, but I’ll remind you. The rule is: if you’re using a quote, and it takes up more than three lines on your page, it needs to be a block quote and stand alone, separated from the paragraph it’s in. Follow a similar rule if you’re a long winded writer. If your sentence is longer than three lines, it’s time to cut it down to size a bit. You don’t want to confuse your audience, and nothing throws a reader off balance like forcing them to reread a sentence because it was too long for them to remember what it was about.
These are just a few easy tips to produce better written content and help maintain a respectable image of your company. Even if you’re not a fantastic writer, and even if you had to retake English 101 (possibly several times, who’s judging?), these are simple to follow aids that can really make a noticeable difference in your written content.
By following them, it doesn’t mean you get an A+ in English 101, but you’re off to a good start. Once you feel like you’ve mastered these four practices, I urge you to try and learn more. People will associate strong well written material with an intelligent and competent leader. Writing really shouldn’t be an overlooked tedium in the business world anymore. It can, as we’ve discussed, make or break sales for companies.
You don’t need to re-enroll in college, you really don’t need a master’s degree in English, and you definitely don’t need to invest in a library of dictionaries, thesauruses, and writing manuals to make your writing more professional and more business friendly.
Trust me, I’m a writer.