You work hard to promote your business, providing your clients with the best services and customer experience possible. However, in order to develop a loyal customer base, it’s necessary to first attract potential clients who may be interested in the services that you offer. This often begins with their first glance at your webpage. Not only is web content important for these same visitors to reach your site, it’s instrumental in keeping their attention on your company.

No matter how wonderful the products and services your business provides may be, one look at your webpage can make or break a potential client’s commitment to the company. For example, improper grammar, punctuation, or spelling not only makes you look foolish, it ultimately detracts from the overall credibility of the organization itself. That’s why copyediting is important to everyone, whether you specialize in legal services or auto repair.

While there are hundreds, or even thousands, of words that are misspelled, misused, and generally abused regularly in sales copy, here are a few particularly common mistakes to look out for:

Words to Watch:

1. Effect/Affect
In general, effect is used as a noun, while affect is used as a verb. E.g.
“The effects of water damage in your home can be severe.”
“Mold and other toxins can greatly affect the air quality in your home or business.”

2. Premier/Premiere
If your services are the highest quality in the area, you are the “premier” service provider. A “premiere” is the opening night of a film or production. E.g.
“We are the premier carpet cleaning service in the state, providing affordable rates and guaranteed customer satisfaction.”
“Did you catch the premiere of ‘Game of Thrones’ last night?”

3. Lose/Loose
This is a common typo, yet can make such a bad impression on a potential client. For example, an educated consumer may think twice about enlisting the services of a lawyer who guarantees no fees in the occasion that you “loose your case.” E.g.
“You have nothing to lose when working with us, because we offer a free case evaluation, and charge no fees unless you are compensated for your losses.”
“If your plumbing fixtures are loose or in need of repair, trust the skilled professionals at our company.”

4. Insure/Ensure
In the same vein, informed customers would never choose to purchase a flood protection policy from a company who “insures complete customer satisfaction.” Insure is used exclusively in limiting financial loss or liability; that is, providing or obtaining an insurance policy. Ensure, on the other hand, means to guarantee a condition, term, or event. E.g.
“We insure boats, trucks, cars, and ATVs.”
“We will work hard to ensure you are satisfied with the quality of our products.”

5. Team/Staff
Team, staff, and other collective nouns are always singular. E.g.
“Our team is dedicated to providing high quality service and repairs.”
“The staff at our company is highly trained, and capable of handling any job you need completed.”

As you can see, there are a number of linguistic pitfalls that should be avoided when posting content to your website. Make sure to carefully look over your page, or hire a team of competent copy editors to ensure the quality of your content matches that of the product you work so hard to promote.

I am terrified to write this post. As anyone who has ever corrected someone else’s grammar in writing can tell you, I’m going to make a mistake. I have no doubt that someone will notify me of my horrendous grasp on the English language via irate (hopefully misspelled) comments. I assume the ensuing grammar rage will look a little like this:

Bring ’em on, I say (reluctantly)!

So, on to the main event! I have chosen a job that has me spending whole days explaining the differences between dependent and independent clauses, your and you’re, which and that, etc. We’ve already gone over why clear content is so important, so this means that the edits are sometimes extensive. I have noticed that I end up saying the same things over and over.

The two things I tell writers everyday:

1. Read over your work….. out loud

I cannot express enough the importance of proofing your own work. It even helps to let some time go by between writing and reading it. But sometimes, you need to go even further. Yep, get your vocal cords involved.

Web copy (and all writing, really) should sound like people sound when they speak. Sure, it can be a more polished version of what you would say, but it still needs to follow natural speech patterns and syntax. I’m certain that most of the awkward sentences I come across when editing would have been caught by the writers if they would have heard them and not just read them. Reading aloud can also help you feel out where the natural pauses are, showing you where you need to add commas. And that brings me to my next constant correction…

2. Commas! Commas! Commas!
(aka LOOK IT UP!)

Though you should always use some type of spell checking program, do not rely on it to fix all of your grammar errors. Most people know whether comma usage is a weakness for them. If this is the case for you, there is help. Fortunately, all you need to know about grammar (and everything else, I guess) is online. Seriously, if you question what you are writing or whether that comma is in the right place, LOOK IT UP! Purdue has a great online resource you can refer to for comma questions, and Grammar Girl is super helpful when you have a quick question about almost any writing topic.

Being a copywriter can often times be stressful. If you’re developing content for your own business, you often have to consider the impact of what you’re saying and tweak your wording to sell your product in the best light possible. Developing the art of copywriting takes times and involves developing compelling content that get people to take action. Whether you’re updating your company’s blog or creating an array of new product pages for your sales endeavors, you have to take the time to craft something that is informative, original and authoritative. The following are a few tips to keep in mind when you’re copywriting.

Write With Clarity

Each piece of content you write should to be absolutely unique and absolutely clear. When a person visits a website to get information on a business or product, they want as much information as possible without filler or hype. All of the copy should pack as many details about the product or service into the smallest amount of space possible.

Your copy should tell the reader why they are here, emphasizing a main idea and purpose that supports why they should take advantage of your business. Don’t bog it down with adjectives like “fantastic” or “great” — superlative words are cheap, but they’re not what your reader is there for. Keep it simple, concise, and to the point so your product’s message is front and center. For example, don’t just say “My spa’s fantastic services are the best in the area” — your reader has nothing to go on but your word for that. Instead, say “Our Shiatsu-trained masseuse can address each and every pressure point in your back to relieve the aches and pains of sports injuries.”

Be Enthusiastic, Not Gimmicky

While brevity is the soul of effective copy, genuine enthusiasm about the product is the force that drives it. We’ve all seen infomercials: the promoters on don’t simply stand behind a product and rattle off a list of features in a bland, monotone voice. They are passionate and exited, driving consumers to take action.

While enthusiasm is good, gimmicks are not. At some point, everyone hits the “wall” where they feel like they’ve used up all their ideas. Rather than throwing up your hands and pulling a “Wait, that’s not all!”, take some time to come up with something original and professional. Keeping a variety of interesting words in your mental toolbox can really help with this — a strong verb or interesting metaphor will always be better than a bland list of product features. Also, don’t veer too far in the other direction and use language that just sounds impressive without conveying meaning. Fancy specialized jargon will obscure your message and even leave your readers cold. If they’re wondering why you had to resort to obscure wording instead of explaining your point in plain language, your credibility has just taken a hit. Online purveyor of all things nerdy Think Geek is especially good about this, selling their high-tech gadgets with a style that’s accessible to the common reader.

Don’t Push, Persuade

Using general statements that are unsupported typically cause a reader to question authority. Build your credibility and authority by offering insight and referencing statistics or facts. Don’t simply push your statements on a reader: back them up with the research you’ve taken time to perform. Integrating facts and figures into your work is surprisingly easy (hint: everybody loves a list), and your customers will be wowed by objective data that supports your claims.

However, it’s a fine line between being persuasive and pushy, so do your best to let the service or product sell itself. Often the best way to engage a reader to take action is not by telling a reader what to do, but rather telling them what a service could do for them. Always remember WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?): you’re speaking to potential clients, trying to convince them of the company’s worth. As Bing Crosby said, you have to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. The reader knows their situation: what they want is to be assured that the problem will be fixed, and that they will be treated well in the process. Rhetoric on subjects other than that main crucial one is unnecessary.

If You Don’t Have Something Nice to Say, Don’t Say It At All

Negative language will turn readers off quickly. Using negative language can cause issues in communication and readers base their perceptions of you or the businesses you’re writing for on the way we say things to them.

Focusing your writing on positive language. Rather than constantly writing what competitors can’t do or don’t offer, focus instead on what can be done and the services provided. By eliminating words like “don’t” and “won’t,” you can avoid negative expressions and focus your copy on the positive, therefore projecting a more positive image and communicating more clearly. For example, if you’re an attorney that’s writing a blog post about local DUI policies, you don’t want to elaborate on all the negative consequences that come with a conviction: chances are your readers are already depressingly aware of these facts. Instead, talk about the concrete methods and techniques you can apply to make the process as smooth as possible, and the positive results you’ve gotten in the past.

Give It a Final Polish

Last but not least, read over your copy before it goes live. It seems simple enough, but most writers often overlook this quick and easy final task, and nothing destroys your credibility faster than an obvious typo on the page.. Don’t just rely on spell-checker to find your mistakes: take the time to give your copy a quick read through to discover any errors you might have overlooked. Often times reading your work out loud will allow yourself to catch awkward sounding sentences and help you hear if everything flows smoothly and coherently.

It takes time to develop quality content. After all the English language isn’t exactly easy to understand sometimes. However, by keeping these simple tips and tricks in mind, you can craft highly effective social media updates, product pages, press releases, advertising copy and more!