Why grammar matters
Why grammar matters
I know that my profession is all about working with words, but surely I cannot be alone in wondering why grammar matters?
Online shops trying to sell me their products are just not going to win my business if their website is littered with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Why? Not just because it is my profession but because I feel that if they cannot take the trouble to present their online shop window professionally, how are they going to treat my order?
I know some of you will be wondering why I am getting steamed up about it, so in this blog I am going to explain why grammar matters to potential customers!
Looking professional
You have around four seconds to engage visitors when they find your website, so it should reflect a professional approach to your business. If you don’t pay attention to how you present your business online, it can negatively affect their perception of your company, and you may lose out to a competitor.
It is all about creating the right impression. Sloppiness leaves a poor or even negative impression in the reader’s mind. They will think that if you really can’t be bothered, why should they? Furthermore, if potential customers are put off doing business with you because of the negative effect of bad grammar or spelling mistakes (something that can easily be corrected), it will affect your bottom line.
Correct Spelling
If you are not sure or confident about spelling, there are online spell checkers to help you. However, you should make sure they are set to the correct spelling for the location of your audience! For example, if your target audience is mainly in the UK, check that your spell checker isn’t set to US spellings.
A second option is to ask someone to read it for you. I have a client who writes really well, but is dyslexic, so they employ me to proofread written content before it is published.
Another thing to be aware of is that spelling and grammar checkers cannot always identify the use of an incorrect word, especially if it still makes sense in the sentence. But using the wrong word may completely change the focus or meaning of what you are trying to say.
Example: A common problem I have seen on many websites is using the word ‘complimentary’, when they mean ‘complementary.’
Complimentary means free of charge (or expressing a compliment)
Complementary means to enhance, add to or work with something (e.g., the colour of the scarf complemented her dress; or, they have different fields of expertise that complement one another.)
Although both spellings work in a sentence, the meaning is totally different. I am sure the websites I found using ‘complimentary’ instead of ‘complementary’ did not intend to supply their products or services free of charge?
This is a prime example of why grammar matters.
Punctuation
Punctuation exists to make things clear. It helps the reader to both read and understand your intention. As with an incorrect word or spelling, the wrong punctuation can change the whole meaning of a sentence.
There have been many books written about the correct use of punctuation, so I am not going to go into it more deeply here. If you are unsure how it works, it may help you to invest in a book that explains how to use it properly.
Okay, this next section isn’t strictly about why grammar matters, but it is also important to keep in mind when writing online content.
Structure
When writing a blog, it is important to get the structure right. When we read something, we want the words to take us on a journey. Therefore, blogs should have a beginning (introduction to the subject); a middle (explaining more and outlining the benefits/advantages); and an end (a conclusion to sum up the main points).
My tip is to firstly write down a set of bullet points for your blog. Move them around until they are in a logical order. Use the bullet points as a plan to help to keep you relevant and on track, and expand on each point, up to a couple of hundred words. They will enable you to write information in a logical and engaging way to capture the attention of your target audience.
Artificial Intelligence
If you are using AI to write blog posts, there are a number of caveats to think about, rather than simply copying what it has churned out into your content management system. Remember that AI is generating content from what is already online, so you may be copying someone else’s words!
If you are short of time or just need some ideas you can write about, AI can be a useful tool. However, be wary of just regurgitating AI generated content! If you want to build a lasting relationship with your customers, it is important that you are authentic and your business communicates in the right tone of voice, that is consistent across all platforms, whether printed brochures, social media platforms, websites or advertisements. This is not easy for AI to generate, and customers can soon lose trust in a brand that loses authenticity.
You can read more about using AI for writing content in my blog ‘Can AI replace copywriters?‘ However, here are a few tips:
- Read it! Does it sound like you or your brand voice?
- Does the copy reference certain information as fact? It is amazing to me how many people trust what they read, without questioning it. Don’t put your trust in AI – always double-check that facts are true before publishing!
- Does the AI copy quote sources? Make sure that they are up=to=date and relevant, and reference them or link to them in your copy.
- Is the copy written in US English, but your audience is based in the UK? Double check for American spellings.
- Does the copy just look like a list of facts? Personalise it, make it relevant to you and your business.
Above all, remember that Google searches for original content and its algorithms can filter out AI generated copy from search results. Website rankings could suffer from repeated use of AI generated copy, so it is important that you take the time to personalise it and make it your own.
Like it or not, Google plays a very important role in making sure your website can be found by potential customers.
Your website is an online shop window, and just like having physical premises in a town, customers need to be able to find you. This is where Google comes in.
Writing online content requires a different approach to writing hard copy brochures or documents. Your website depends on potential customers finding it, so your writing should be less about what you do, and more about how your business or service solves their problems.
Think about it for a minute. When you type something into Google, what do you type? I would guess that nine times out of ten, you type in a question because you are searching for an answer to a problem. Am I right?
This also applies to your potential customers. Put yourself into the minds of the customers you want to sell to. It may help you to build a profile of your ideal customer and talk directly to them.
You need to think about the questions your customers ask and provide answers in the written content of your website. Stating that you offer cost-effective solutions won’t mean a thing to someone who has a problem and is searching for a gizmo to fix it? However, saying that your gizmo will fix this, this and this, certainly will.
As well as a different mindset, there are also certain tricks for writing online content. You need to make your text easy for Google to understand, so it can find and return your website to relevant searches. For example:
- Simple sentence construction
- Use long sentences (more than 20 words), sparingly
- Make sure your content has subheadings (like in this blog!)
- Bullet points are a good way of getting information across simply and directly
- Incorporate primary and secondary key phrases to improve search results
- Be direct – use the active rather than the passive tense
- Employ transition words
Hopefully, this blog will have outlined why grammar matters when writing content for both online and offline marketing materials, but if you are not confident, don’t have the time, or simply cannot be bothered to write stuff yourself, then why not talk to a copywriter?
We know why grammar matters and will have provided written content for a number of different businesses and a variety of projects. It may not cost as much as you think, and obtaining a quote is normally free of charge. If you find writing for your website difficult or would like help with any type of written content for your business, why not contact me for a free, no-obligation chat about your project?