Jul 25th, 2011 | Advertising, Communication, Marketing, Writing | 1 Comment
Sorry all you texters, Writing Counts!
Business and communication professionals could learn a thing or two from the Typo Eradication Advancement League. We need to communicate in writing effectively — and without error — to keep our customers and readers happy.
Spelling vigilantes, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, make up TEAL. And they roam from misspelling to misspelling around the country on their personal crusade. They find misspellings on door signs, advertisements, menus and anywhere else they come in contact with the written word. Benjamin, a religion major, even spotted a mistake in a Biblical passage.
The two use a sharpie and white out to correct errors in writing of all kinds — mostly those highly visible public signs. You may even have seen their story on television.
Watch the ABC News Video.
Business and communication professionals have more advanced tools like spell check. But we mangle words anyway because spell check application will not catch everything. And so we usually get caught when we misspell a word. There are plenty of people who think of themselves as spelling eradicators who love to point out mistakes in our work.
And let’s face it, grammatical errors and misspellings in our writing make us look sloppy and incompetent.
They detract from our Brand.
They cheapen our product.
Our service appears less professional.
Instead of always clinging exclusively to your computer’s spell check function, you should learn to spell a few often-misspelled words on your own, too. This will ensure that you’re a more competent speller — not just your computer.
Here’s a list of hard words to spell that you may use in promotion or advertising copy.
- Immediately
- Indispensable
- Judgment
- Believe
- Grateful
- Special
- Success
- To / too / two
- Tomorrow
- Their / they’re / there
And, yes…there will be a spelling test…
from your clients and customers!
By Stacey McArthur, smcarthur@s3cg.com
May 20th, 2011 | Communication, Crisis Communication, Public Relations, Writing | Comments Off
Press releases build credibility for your cause, are a means of free publicity and a secondary endorsement.
A well written one will expose your company to the masses, increase sales and greatly enhance the image of your organization.
But did you know that 10 percent or more of releases get canned? That’s because → continue reading
Nov 24th, 2009 | Marketing, Sales and business development, Writing | 10 Comments
Making it all about the other person—that seems to be one of the marketing flavors of the month.
I’m talking about the marketing premise that great salespeople have known, accepted, and practiced forever. (Think Dale Carnegie.)
So, how do you do that? How do you put the spotlight on your clients, customers, prospects, and anyone else who matters? → continue reading
Nov 2nd, 2009 | Writing | Comments Off
It all started with Walter Langsam, one of my art history professors many years ago. One day, in the midst of the Romanesque Revival, he scribbled two words of editorial advice on the blackboard.
BE THEMATIC
They changed my life. Where I once had chaos, I now had precision and organization. Where I had bombast, I now had vigor and clarity.Walter gave me something that day that I use every time I write. He gave me a tool that gets me thinking about what I write or edit before I write.
What Walter explained
Being thematic is a writing discipline. It demands that every document, paragraph, sentence and word serve a purpose.My challenge as a writer is to find it.
How do I find it?
I start by asking myself Why am I writing this letter (or whatever)? Then, Who’s reading it? Et cetera.
By the time I’m finished, I’ve put every word, sentence and paragraph through the wringer. I’ve examined their right to exist and their proper place in the landscape of the page.
Sometimes, it’s easy. Sometimes, I merely go back to a basic I learned long before Walter Langsam. I use or introduce topic sentences…which are, by their nature, thematic!
Finally
I use other tools, too. I’ve learned that readers use both hemispheres of their brains. So, there are voices I summon to better earn the right to get read and remembered. Humor, rhythm and imagery are three.
But being thematic is on top. By far.
Try it. Send me your re-write of this article. Or, edit something you’ve written and send me both versions.
Eventually, being thematic will be second nature. You’ll see that the less effort you consciously put into it, the easier it becomes.
