Grammar School
Published 05 May 2012
You know whats real anoying for youre readers? Grammatically incorrect content (see? Didn’t that first sentence irk you?). If you’re composing your own newsletter content (especially if you’re drafting long-form articles), adhering to proper grammar and spelling standards is an absolute must. Unedited, mistake-laden content can not only affect the impact of your newsletter, but hurt your professional credibility as well.
When drafting your next email newsletter, use the following tips to make sure your sending clean content:
Use the right tools. Most modern text editors include automated spelling and grammar check tools. However, if you’re not creating your content in a text editor with updated correction tools, a quick internet search will produce plenty of links to free online grammar check utilities. Dropping your copy into any of these programs could illuminate a few easily avoidable errors.
Read aloud. Once you’ve finished writing, read your copy aloud. Even if you’ve used a grammar check tool, this should help you identify any overlooked gaffs.
Ask a friend. Or a colleague or family member to read your copy aloud. A fresh set of eyes on your copy will almost always help. Hearing your article read by another person should also give you a feel for the natural cadence created by your word choice and punctuation (which might be very different from what you hear in your head). Sometimes, a sentence or phrase might make perfect sense to you, but very little sense to your readers.
Bottom line: If you’re writing your own copy, taking a little extra time to make sure it’s grammatically appropriate will always pay off. Don’t distract your readers with sloppy copy!