Spelling and grammar

[KarriDaltonHull]

Hi everyone. My name is Karri and I am new to these boards. Very happy to be here as I absolutely love this concept. I've always enjoyed forums but have never seen a combination of forum/mailer before. LOVE IT!

 

In reading some of the threads I do want to remind people how important spelling and grammar is. For a marketing board I was shocked to see how bad so many of the comments are. I am really big on branding and believe that peoples' impression of you can be greatly formed by your grammar. If I read someone's comment and it is full of errors, I am going to assume they are either:

1. not very smart, or
2. they don't care

Either way I would not join them because I don't wish to be on the team of someone who doesn't care about their own image.

 

This may be harsh but if we are business people we should appear as professional as possible.

 

I say this hoping to help and in love. This advice could make a huge difference in the success or failure of your online business.

[foodstr]

Having been a proofreader for many years, I heartily agree!

 

Bruce

[LifeTransformation]

Definitely agree with you Karri!  I think that for a lot of internet marketers in the world, English is their second language.  So, I generally give them forgiveness as they are at least trying.  Native English speakers with bad grammar, however...

[market101]

My grammar is usually better than most. Alright, not 100%.  My wife and I are always amazed at the simple mistakes that we hear on radio and TV.  The mistakes are not only from newscasters, but you hear them from persons in all walks of life;  teachers, doctors and the persons who represent us in congress.

 

I find it interesting that persons in the 60 to 70 age group seem to have learned more in high school than today's college  grads.

 

Now that I am a senior, I have reached a point in my life where I am more forgiving of others mistakes.  I keep reminding myself that not everyone is fortunate enough to go to college.  I think of all the people I know, who had to take care of sick parents or had to raise their siblings because their parents died at a young age.  Maybe they had to work two jobs to take care of their family and had no time to go to school.

 

That doesn't mean that they are stupid.  There are lots of smart people who had no formal education.  One does not have to be a college grad to be successful.  I have a good friend who never had a formal education, but he owns  a business and employs a lot of people. 

 

I'll get off of my soap box now.  Just want to close by saying the following:  I believe that although first impressions are important, there are a few attributes that are more important - honesty, integrity and how you treat other people.  A famous person once said, "People don't care how much you know. They really want to know how much you care".

 

O.K.  I'm done.  Some of you may have noticed that I used the words 'persons' and 'people' as if they were interchangeable.  They are not.  Do you know the difference? 

 

P.S.  Great forum!

[Rahimah Sultan]

Hello all. I do agree with you, Karri. We all make mistakes from time to time,
and it just may be due to being in a hurry and not double checking ourselves.

Market 101, an interesting note regarding persons vs people. I do not have

time at the moment, to check it out. An example of persons is "persons of interest"

as opposed to a group of people.

Speaking of time, I don't have much of it to spend here. That is why I have not

participated here for months.

[Steve Jones]

I'll have to go with Karri, it's hard to trust someone that doesn't understand grammar, especially if English is a second language.  There are a multitude of affordable options that they could use including Fiverr. If in doubt, why not Find Out if it reads right in the market that you're starting your campaign in?  Common sense.  

[st3v3]

I agree 100% Karri, something as simple as commenting on a forum post is often the "first impression"...

[John Priestley]

Hi there!

 

One thing that I have noticed is that there are both UK and US English used on most sites, but what is really confusing is when they are mixed, often in the same paragraph. I am not going to lecture here, but always using either one or the other consistently in the same text is what I tell my students (smile).

 

Have a grand day, John.

[market101]

Kari, Bruce, & John,

 

We all have to remember that now that there is a  "worldwide Web',  we should be aware that there are people from all over the world who are interacting.  Many of these people are doing the best that they can using English as a 2nd language.    I think we should cut everyone a little slack.  After all, the important thing is to be able to converse with each other.  If you get the general idea from the other person, then who cares if the sentence structure is grammatically perfect.

 

Regards to all,

 

Martin

[KarriDaltonHull]

Hey Martin,

I agree about cutting people slack and don't wish to sound harsh. I actually do try to not judge and to consider the possible reasons why there could be mistakes, before rushing to judgement. But in reality, it is imperative that an internet marketer always take the time to proofread their content, otherwise they will be

• a)losing sales
• b)adding a subliminal message to their brand that they don't wish to add

This is obviously a competitive industry and people want to follow intelligent, professional leaders. Grammar and spelling are the first indicators of whether or not such is the case. Thus, in most cirmstances grammar can, and will, have a huge impact on a marketer's success or lack thereof.

 

Summary... it's very important not to make booboos lol

[Margot Lawrence]

I might be a little more tolerant of errors in forum posts, but I do expect perfect spelling and grammar in email ads and on website pages. When I see errors, alarm bellls start ringing. Scammers often deliberately insert errors into their emails and websites so that people who spot those errors won't sign up - the people the scammers really want are those who won't spot that it's a scam until too late! So, if you don't want to look like a scammer, get a proofreader if you can afford one, or at least use your spellchecker.

[captkirk]

Hi Guys and Gals,

 

I hear you loud and clear but, I would rather join a program from a person who use bad spelling/grammar offering me what I need and want than from someone with perfect spelling/grammar offing me what I don't need or want.

 

The name of the game is to promote, promote and promote!

 

In fact, I think that if you do use bad spelling/grammar you will seem like a real down to earth person.

 

Here's a case in point:

 

It was this new salesman  that could hardly speak english and he could barely read the sale script, He when out on Thanks Giving day and make 2 huge sales... I MEAN HUGE SALES! 

 

As they saying goes... Don't Judge The Book By It's Cover!

 

Anyway, that's my 2 cents!