Content is Nothing Without Proper Grammar and Spelling - 8 Tips

I have not been a member for very long. However, I have been here long enough to review several member's websites. The most glaring mistakes I see members making are spelling and grammar errors.

I believe that in order to have a successful online business, it is imperative that your website looks professional. It must have content that attracts customers, but more importantly, the content needs to written using proper grammar and spelling.

Personally, if I go to a website and see blatant spelling and grammar errors, I instantly have trust issues. No offense, but my first thoughts are that the person is unprofessional and ignorant. It totally turns me off to purchasing any of their products.

By now you may be thinking "Who does she think she is?" or "What makes her qualified to speak on this subject?" The short answer to that is I majored in English in college. I have had several jobs in the past that required excellent written communication skills.

I could write a book on this subject, however, my purpose of this blog is to give you a few quick grammar and spelling tips. I do not want draw this out or make it more complicated. You do not have to be perfect. My desire is to help you make your site more professional so you will attract customers.

TIPS:

1. When typing content, instead of using contractions such as "can't" or "won't" or don't", type out the words cannot, will not, does not. If you insist on using the word can't, make sure you put the apostrophe in the word.
2. The common grammar mistakes I see are misuse of words or using words that do not exist. Examples: (1) "You have nothing to loose." It should be you have nothing to lose. You would use loose as in "I have loose clothing." (2) "I have learnt a lot." Learnt is not a word. It should be learned.
3. Their, there, they're. This is a biggie! Their is possessive, meaning it owns something. Example: "Their website has great content" not "There website has great content." There refers to a place or an idea. Example: "Look over there!" not "Look over their." They're is a contraction for they are. Example: "They're going out to eat" not "There going out to eat."
4. Your, You're. Another common mistake! Both use the same rules as their and they're. Example: "Your new baby is cute" not "You're new baby is cute."
5. Its, It's. It's is a contraction for it is or it has. Example: "It's awesome that you are making money with your new website" not "Its awesome that you are making money with your new website." Its indicates possession. Example: "Its fur is soft" not "It's fur is soft." That would be like saying It is fur is soft. TIP: Whenever you have trouble with words that have contractions, spell out the contraction and see if it makes sense.
6. Affect, Effect. Most of the time effect is a noun and affect is a verb. Example: "As a child, he was affected by his parents." If you are unsure, try substituting another verb and see if it works. "As a child, he was affected eaten by his parents." A verb works here, so you should use affected.
7. Shorten your sentences and avoid run on sentences. Content is so much easier to read when a person writes concise sentences. Look at the sentence you just wrote and break up the sentence into smaller sentences. Example: "I love dogs and want to share my knowledge of dogs with you and sell you products that are good for dogs so your dog will be healthy and happy and I hope you check out what I have to offer" should be changed to read: "I love dogs. I want to share my knowledge of dogs with you. I sell products that will make your dog happy and healthy. Please check out what I have to offer."
8. Finally, before you publish any pages on your website, type your content into a Word program and then do a spelling and grammar check. The check will not catch everything, but it is a good start.