** A few months ago, I was interviewed for a local radio program about copywriting and women in business. One of the co-hosts asked me about the quality of business writing today, intimating that the rise of email, IM and texting should be producing an abundance of folks able to communicate effectively via the written word.

"No", I said. "Actually, it’s probably worse than ever."

** My eldest daughter, a bright and precocious teen who reads voraciously and writes well (like mom, like daughter) had me review a recent paper for school. I caught more than a few errors in spelling and  construction. I saw a lot of email/IM influence throughout what was supposed to be a formal essay.

"Yikes, not good." I thought to myself. The Washington Post recently covered this same topic in this article, IM Shorthand Slips Off Computer Screens And Into Schoolwork

** As a copywriting coach, I review a lot of assignments from copywriter wanna-bes. I’ve probably reviewed hundreds of assignments at this point. Many times, too many times, the spelling and grammar are frankly so awful that it’s a complete distraction to the copy and I can’t read it at all.

What’s up with that?

I’m not talking about what I call "business conversational" copywriting — where copywriters can take some liberties with formal literary style, like the occasional incomplete sentence or one-sentence paragraph. I am talking about not knowing how or when to use a comma or how to keep the same voice/tense within a paragraph.

An ellipses (…) or em-dash is not an equivalent substitute for a period.

At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, I think the dash-off quality of email and texting is negatively affecting our ability to think and write in complex and thoughtful terms. Woe is us if true.

I’ve had the grit, talent and good fortune to make a living as a writer. I’m pretty good at it, too, but sometimes I think "as compared to who?" If everyone around me can’t form a simple cogent sentence, my stuff will read with the eloquence of the Gettysburg Address … unless you’ve actually read the Gettysburg Address.

Read it once and then read it again, this time out loud. Notice how it uses the "we" voice, how spare its use of words, and how it acknowledges grief and packs resolve in tight, concise yet poetic terms. Deconstruct the piece and you’ll notice how it sets the stage, acknowledges the listener/reader and then delivers its message in a clear, unmistakable voice.

As technique driven as direct response copywriting is, you still can’t afford to ignore the basics. (Want to  break the rules for emphasis? That’s fine, but you still need to know the rules first. Otherwise your stuff — and your client’s message — will read like crap.)

Write enough crap and you’re out of business.

Perhaps some of this is generational. If so, it’s even more important that you understand the principles because the older the target market for your product/service, the more they’ll expect to be addressed in "proper" English.

Unlike many of my middle-aged peers, I’ve been online since the mid 1980s. (I tell my kids I helped to invent LOL and BRB.) So I "get it", or at least like to think so, perhaps better than most. But all of that doesn’t preclude the necessity of good grammar and sentence construction in traditional direct mail or email.

Bottom line? Make sure you have a strong handle on the basic mechanics of plain old, nothing fancy, good writing. If you need a little help, add a few grammar and usage guides to your bookshelf. (Check out this personal favorite: Spunk & Bite: A writer’s  guide to punchier, more engaging language & style) … and don’t forget to spellcheck your work AFTER your PC has done the first pass. Your PC can’t tell the difference between your and you’re but you can.

Maven’s Maxim
Rule breaking with a feather light touch can add flair and texture to your marketing message. (Occasionally I’ve even made-up words to get exactly the right effect!) But we can’t just dismiss the basic foundation of subject/predicate and word usage in our efforts to be different and creative. Quiet your technique and you’ll up your response rate.

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