Should imperfect English keep you from even trying to write?
That's the question that Enerflower Healing's Amelie St Pierre, one of my lovely newsletter readers, asked me recently.? She was worried because English wasn't her native language. She wondered if that would make? her readers would think less of her, because: "I want to speak my message, but I can't afford to hire a copywriter for every single post and email I write!"
I've tidied up and copied my reply to Amelie here in this post because it's a question I've heard before, and I think the answer is kind of important. Just be aware: what follows is simply my opinion, should not be considered as the final word on anything. Your mileage may vary.
First off: yes, some people will judge you
I would have been judgemental, for example, back when I started Crystal Clarity.? Back then, I would have told Amelie, ?Yes. You need to write clear, grammatically correct blog posts (and everything else!), or you?ll look completely unprofessional to your readers.?
I would have been very black and white about it, and I would have argued loudly with anyone who said differently.
I have a confession to make, though? now I?m not so sure.
I've changed my tune over my past year of business
Y'see, I?ve learned that yes, it?s important for someone like me - someone who makes their living writing for others - to be typo-free.
After all, if my potential clients see major grammar issues or misplaced punctuation on my site, they'll (rightfully) wonder if I'm actually any good at what I do.? So trust me, every time I see a mistake slip through in my own work, I cringe.
BUT? writing isn't what most of my clients and online business friends do. They?re healers or yoga teachers or coaches or art therapists.? Their clients don't give a damn about how perfect their language is. They're far more concerned about whether my friends can help them.? The odd typo? Probably not a huge deal in the cosmic scale of things.
Plus, writing online comes in several different flavours and formality levels
Even amongst the fussiest writing professionals, there's a recognition that not all writing is alike.? Writing a business plan for your bank uses different language to writing an email to your newsletter tribe.? A static webpage is usually more formal than a Facebook post.
So the odd spelling or grammar mistake on an informal blog post, social media update or email?? Again... probably not a big deal.
NOTE: I'm NOT saying that anything goes for informal writing
After all, you write to communicate, right?? That means your writing needs to be clear enough for your reader to understand without having to work too hard.? If readers constantly misunderstand, or shut off because figuring out your meaning is just too hard, you have a problem.?
And that's why many grammar and punctuation rules exist in the first place: to help make your meaning crystal clear. To quote one dodgy example, we all know the difference between "Helping your cousin, Jack, off his horse", and "Helping your cousin jack off his horse", right ;-)?? Two tiny commas, two VERY different sentences!
Occasional typos, however, probably won't confuse people. And for what it's worth, Amelie's website reads pretty damn clearly to me.
Plus, even if your English skills aren't 100%, you still don't need to pay a copywriter to check every blog post or email.? Why not just find a friend whose English you trust, and get them to glance through what you've written for you??
It's a little different for more permanent documents
I think it's different if you're writing static web pages, ebooks, e-courses, and opt-in reports, however. In those cases, working with a professional writer may well be a good idea.? Then again, I'd say that to anyone: native speaker or not.
Here's why: those are all more permanent documents. That means people tend to expect more from them. And they're generally bigger, which makes them harder for most people to write clearly.?
That said, you still don't need to make them super-formal. And sometimes it's even good to break traditional grammar conventions. Sometimes you want to be conversational. Or grab people's attention. Or do something for effect.? Kind of like I just did there with sentence fragments.
As long as you're still clear, you can sometimes relax on the grammar.
But those documents need much more than just clear English
Clear English is a starting place for well written ebooks, web pages, etc.? But they also need a very clear, logical structure that makes intuitive sense to their reader. They need to be easy to nagivate, and easy to scan.
Plus, if a document's going to work, it needs a single, clearly-defined purpose: usually teaching the reader something specific that they needed to know.? Everything in the document needs to work towards that purpose - anything that doesn't can weaken it.
Now. Identifying a document's specific purpose (and the best way to make everything in it contribute) is something many people have trouble with.? That's not about language skills, it's about copywriting skills. So if that's not an area you're strong in, you'll probably benefit - a lot - from talking to a professional.
If you're just writing a blog post though? There are probably better uses for your money!
OK, over to you now - what do YOU think?
- How confident are you in your own English and/or writing skills?
- How important is perfect English to you when you read a website?? A social media post? What about an ebook?
- Do typos jump out at you and distract you completely from a writer's message?? Or are you much more concerned with what they say than how they say it?
- Where's the line between where you'd want to bring in a copywriter vs where you're happy to go it alone?
Please to be hitting me up and letting me know in the comments!
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