EchelonOne Consulting

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m all about words. How we communicate and the words we choose to do so speak volumes about who we are and how we do business. Nothing contradicts a strong message more than sloppy writing, poor grammar and typos.

It’s difficult to visit a website, blog or online post today without finding at least one mistake, front and centre, for all to see. It’s not uncommon to find many.

You don’t need to be a professional writer to keep your text clean and crisp. A little care and attention can make a world of difference to the online face that you present to the world.

Outlined below are a few of the most common typos and grammatical errors I’ve witnessed on the many websites and online posts that I’ve visited.

The Most Common Mistakes                                      

Its or it’s? Its means “belonging to it,” such as “XYZ company announced its first quarter results.” It’s is a contraction (the joining of two words using an apostrophe) of the words it and is. For example, “It’s the best value for your dollar.”

Your or you’re? Your means “belonging to you,” such as “Your blog article was great!” You’re is a contraction of the words you and are. For example, “You’re my first choice for a business partner.”

There, their or they’re? There involves a position or place. For example, “Put it over there.” Their means “belonging to them,” such as “Their idea offered the best value.” They’re is a contraction of the words they and are. Example: “They’re my best type of client.”

Then or than? Then involves a place in time or a progression through time. For example, “First write, then edit.” Than means “in comparison to”, such as “We bring greater value than our competition.”

Run-on Sentences: Most people find it difficult to grasp and retain more than one main idea in a sentence. Run-on sentences are often as much as a paragraph long. They happen when multiple ideas are linked with the word and or a comma. A quick fix is to replace the word and or the comma with a period and then begin a new sentence.

Here is an example of a run-on sentence: Give your client the best value for their dollars spent, which doesn’t mean the cheapest price…but first, understand your client and what they value and need, then design your product or service accordingly and do your homework to know what price your market will bear and then stay competitive.

Here’s how it looks when you separate your ideas into short informative sentences: Give your client the best value for their dollars spent. This doesn’t mean the cheapest price. First, understand your client and what they value and need. Design your product or service accordingly. Do your homework to know what price your market will bear. Then stay competitive.

Tip: If you’re going to publish what you’ve written, have someone else proofread it first. It doesn’t need to be a writer or an editor, just someone with a good command of the language and an eye for detail. Even professional writers take this step before showing their work to the world. Why not you?

Question: Do you have any pet peeves about typos on websites and online posts?

Image credit:Freedigitalphotos.net Photographer: Filomena Scalise