Credibility. It’s hard-earned and easily lost – which might explain why so many people feel a little self-conscious about their writing.
Whether you’re penning a key thought leadership blog, an important product page, or just an internal email, a basic grammar or spelling error can instantly erode your authority and undermine the message you wanted to communicate.
It’s easy to think this kind of thing will never happen to you, but mistakes and sloppy writing habits catch all of us out at some point – marketers, managers and, yes, even copywriters too.
Here are 10 of the most common – with some tips to help you avoid them.
10: The comma splice
The comma is a powerful tool, but it’s easy to overuse it. When you start splitting unrelated clauses with a comma, rather than a full stop, that’s a clear case of comma abuse. It even has a name: the comma splice.
While many might consider this a stylistic choice in creative writing, it’s not something you want to be leaning on in traditional copy as it is technically incorrect. After all, a comma should be for splitting clauses, while the trusty full stop is left to separate unique ideas.
If you have any doubt, check your style guide to see if it allows for comma splicing.
Sloppy: We are an experienced HR company, we won the award for best HR provider in 2017.
Better: We are an experienced HR company. We won the award for best HR provider in 2017.
[Editor: alternatively, see Kieran’s excellent blog post about semicolons.]
9: Apostrophe catastrophe
We’ve all done it. There’s no shame in admitting you accidentally put an apostrophe in the wrong place (or added one unnecessarily). It was just a typo, right?
Just keep a good eye on it so you don’t accidentally make something a plural possessive again.
Sloppy: We have a range of employees’, all skilled in different industries.
Better: We have a range of employees, all skilled in different industries.
8: It’s not “its” unless it’s possessive.
This one is a rare example of when an apostrophe doesn’t signify possession. In this case “it’s” is a shortened form of “it is”.
Confusingly, “its” is used to signal that a particular thing possesses something.
Sloppy: Today’s businesses struggle with tight budgets. Its a real problem.
Better: Today’s businesses struggle with tight budgets. It’s a real problem.
7: You’re getting your words mixed up
Two ways to say “your.” This is pretty basic stuff, but easy to miss, especially if you’re wrestling with a longer document like an ebook or white paper – and spellcheck won’t always help you out.
Unfortunately, if one does slip through the cracks, it can do serious damage to your credibility – and to the message you’re trying to convey.
Just remember:
- Your: Something you own
- You’re: Short for “you are.” Something you are doing
Sloppy: Don’t forget to check you’re applications work after migrating them to the cloud.
Better: Don’t forget to check your applications work after migrating them to the cloud.
6: When they’re not quite there with their “theres”
Another common mix-up between three similar words that mean very different things. Unfortunately, this is also another easily-missed blunder that can undermine even the strongest of arguments.
- There: refers to a place, or is used as an abstract to introduce a phrase – “there is no solution that compares to ours”
- Their: refers to plural possession – “their solution is unproven compared to ours”
- They’re: shortened form of “they are” – “Customers love our solution. They’re using it to optimize all their processes”
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