The writing on your website or in your marketing material sends subtle messages on how your publics should perceive you. If your site is full of grammatical errors or copy that doesn’t speak to your market, the reader will lose interest, or worse, will stop considering you an expert.
Just a few weeks ago, a friend of mine received an email from his gym that was full of typos, grammatical errors and word choice problems. Because the email is so poorly written, it is hard to take the gym seriously, let alone grasp the message it is trying to send.
Take a look for yourself:
Dear clients and members,
We regret to inform you that the [Gym] will no longer in operation effective October 10th,2011 due to economy. Thank you for your support, it has been a pleasure serving you.
Treatments that has not been completed by the this time will be performed in a different location,additional information will be fort coming. All items that are left in lockers will need to be removed by Monday October 10th 5 pm. Executive members with key phobe will need to be returned by the same date and time. For further questions please call us at the [Gym] [123-456-7890]
Thank you for 2 years and 3 months of support, it was great knowing all of you.
Sincerely,
[Gym Manager]
All the short comings of this email make you question who wrote it and if they aren’t able to write an email, are they able to run a business?
Aside from the typos and punctuation errors, the word choice and flow of the email don’t do much to encourage the reader to trust the business. For example: “Executive members with key phobe will need to be returned….” Wait, gym members with a fear of keys must be returned to the gym?
While most people don’t realize it, when they read a website, brochure or even an email, they are looking for clues that tell them about the writer. They can tell by the language and word choice if the message is formal or casual. They can tell by the grammar if they are reading professional material or something done by an amateur.
Of course, your public is more likely to take you seriously if they perceive you as a professional expert. Your writing is one of the best ways to prove that you can be trusted and are able to provide the solution your reader is looking for.
Quality content demands respect. It tells your publics that you know what you are talking about and are worth listening to. Content that is error free is easy to read and people deem it worth their time.
Copy that is formatted correctly and in an appealing manner makes it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for. Content needs to speak to your audience’s niche and help them find answers to their questions. This way, when it comes time to make a decision (to buy your product, to attend your event, to try your service, etc.) there are few things standing in your reader’s way.
Someone who reads well-written content with the correct message and tone will be more likely to be converted to your cause. Keeping your content on message and professionally written means your organization will be more successful.