How do you tell someone that when they put their thoughts down in writing they sound foolish to the reader because their grammar and spelling is so bad? Its a lot like trying to tell someone you just met that they have food stuck between their front teeth. You don't want your new associate to look foolish, but at the same time you don't want to embarrass or anger them. This is the situation I find myself in every day when I look at the advertising copy that is being put out on the net. Businesses and individuals are trying to convince buyers that they are smart enough to handle their finances, show them how to get rich, or just which hand lotion to use and there are so many errors in the ad copy that the target audience is quickly convinced they are dealing with uneducated con artists.
Your advertising copy is your first and perhaps last opportunity to impress a client. Ad copy is your job interview. Would you wear torn jeans and a dirty T-shirt to an job interview or important sales meeting? Of course not. So why are you letting your ad copy go out filled with spelling and grammar errors? Your message is going to meetings in torn jeans and a dirty T-shirt! Worse yet, your ad may not be saying what you intended it to say.
I recently received the following message from a so called advertising company regarding an ad slipping from front page placement:
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For this razon we invite you to renew "Totally free" with only a click, obtaining to appear again in front page with your image and to improve in more than 300 % your sale
While this is still decipherable it is hardly professional and certainly does not inspire confidence. I did not renew. Had the copy been written as follows the outcome may have been quite different.
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For this reason we invite you to renew Totally Free with only a click. This will put your ads back on the front page and improve your sales
potential by 300%
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The message is the same but the edited version is clean, crisp and concise. It conveys a feeling of authority and professionalism that inspires confidence that the writer knows what he or she is doing and is worthy of the client's trust. The edited version is wearing a business suit.
Rates start for as little as $5 for 500 words. For a comprehensive quote please email your ad copy to hobsonkevin@ymail.com
