Skip to main content

Web Copy – The Importance of Correct Use of Language.

A recent freelance project informed potential bidders - "... I don't need creative. I write web pages and articles but my spelling and grammar are atrocious. I need an editor who will work with me on a page by page basis..."

Full marks for effort here. High marks too for confidence. The writer is very much into the - I believe, therefore I can - method of self image boosting. It's a ten to one bet he repeats a mantra every morning before rising. Repeating "I can, I will, I can I will..." five hundred times, just as all the best self improvement manuals say.

Or does he? Let's not forget - this guy is successfully selling his work.

What is puzzling is HOW he can do creative writing when he doesn't have a grip on the basic rules of language?

Don't misunderstand this. It can be done. You only have to read the opening pages of the novels on the bestseller shelf of the local bookstore to appreciate that it can be done and is done. What is elusive - is how?

This is marketing, right? Every word counts in marketing copy. How do you know which words to use if you have no grasp of grammar?

Do you use instinct? Voodoo? White magic?

Unless you're a firm believer in the magic arts you have to conclude that it must be instinct. An innate sense of what to say and when to say it. A talent for using words that will press buttons to inspire in the reader a want to buy.

This being the case, we have to award even higher marks to the guy who posted the freelance project. Not only does he give his talent free rein, he also recognizes that he has a weakness and seeks to overcome it.

What does this all say to the average business person who wants to commission web copy or business promotional articles?

Quite simply marketing copy should be as near perfect for its purpose as it can be. Not only does it need to press the 'must buy' buttons, it must also be beyond reproach in its delivery. Spelling, punctuation and sentence structure errors have a negative impact, giving the potential buyer a reason to doubt and back away from the purchase.

At ffox we deliver articles and web content specifically designed to penetrate your market.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The New Computer Age: Office 365 Vs Google, Dropbox and Others

Differences in Software as a Service ( SaaS ) This is the 21st century, the New Computer Age. Cloud services and SaaS are available for all to use. Word on-line, Excel on-line and Power Point on-line are just such services. They are available to all who want them, they are free, if taken via One Drive Live, and they enable the creation, editing and viewing of Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PP presentations on ANY device that has a browser installed. This without any need to install software on the device used. The on-line software that is used to create the files is the same on-line software used to view them. There can be no incompatibilities and no missing fonts. Open Document Standards, to which these most office applications conform, requires that any document file should contain the properties of style, layout, font etc. These elements are the property of the document file and will travel with it wherever it is stored or sent. However, issues can still aris...
Post a Comment
Read more

O365: Mobile Apps - the easy way

 O365: Mobile Apps - the easy way See also -  Other Office 365 Posts Anyone following these posts will now know how easy it is to create data stores in SharePoint for documents and files and for listing data, such as customer details. We've also looked at making this data easily findable, how to flag items for the attention of individuals and teams within the Office 365domain and moving work through the system in a controlled manner. We've also seen how we can access this content when away from the office via mobile apps for Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. Occasionally the standard apps aren't really convenient and fail to lend themselves to mobile use. I'm thinking here of functions like stock lists, customer contact lists and the like, when the standard app delivers too much detail for a small screen, or where links and buttons are small and difficult to use. For these functions it would be better to deploy an app that is designed for fast, effective use on a mobile. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

O365: SharePoint Searching in Office 365 and Teams

 O365: SharePoint Searching in Office 365 and Teams See also -  Other Office 365 Posts Earlier posts have discussed the huge advantages of centralising documents, files and communications in SharePoint and Office 365. One of the strongest functions in Office 365 is the ability to search all content so that locating data is easy. However, the search tools in Office 365 are not always obvious. Teams Search Teams is becoming really popular, not least due to the fact that it makes SharePoint very easy to deploy, use and control. At the top of each Teams General Tab is a search box This is multi function. Type / into the box and you will see a list of commands that will perform all sorts of Teams functions    The /Files option will return files you have recently accessed. Great, if the file or document you are looking for is actually in the recent file list. What if the information you require is in an older file, or in a different location? Location Search Also in Teams ...
Post a Comment
Read more