It's Easy as ABC...

Remember when you were little and you had those ABC building blocks to have fun while still being "educational"? For most of us, it's been a long time since then, but those basic fundamentals of the English language are still intensely important in our day to day activities. So what happened?

While design is often the most important element in creating effective advertising, most businesses fail to appreciate the power behind simple, basic language. Copywriting isn't merely an additional add-on that advertising and design firms tack on to raise the price of our work. It actually has a merit and a purpose. Poorly written copy does a number of things for your business. It decreases your professionalism, it encourages skepticism of your capability and it can even lower your page ranking with major search engines like Google and Yahoo.

Bad grammar and spelling has become a standard for a majority of websites which plague the internet, looking unprofessional and quickly made. In order to avoid having your business fall into this category, it is important to scan the following basic grammar and spelling suggestions. While some of these may seem simple and perhaps silly, it is amazing how often they are neglected.

Humor me for a moment.

1) To, two and too. These three little words are so often confused that it isn't even funny. Please take note of the following:

"Jimmy goes TO school."
"I have TWO brochures."
"You should come along TOO."

2) They're, their and there. Once again, they sound the same, but mean different things.

"THEY'RE in love."
"Look at that logo designer over THERE."
"THEIR presentation folders are gorgeous."

3) Its and It's. This is an annoying one. It's is a conjunction and stands for "it is." Although you may be inclined to assume "it's" is possessive, ignore that inclination. Its is possessive.

"It's sunny outside."
"The dog is scratching its leg."

4) Alright is not a word. The words are actually all (SPACE) right.

5) Alot. Also two words... a (SPACE) lot.

Copywriting (and hiring a professional copywriter) has a different importance when working on designing a professional website. Even if you have the grammar and spelling down pat, you may not realize the importance of choosing the right words. As SEO and keyword analysis continue to remain a heated issue, copywriting ensures that your website maintains all of the words it needs to keep your business at the top of the search engines. Perhaps one word is ranking better than another, or you'll need a full page of copy instead of merely a few sentences. These sort of things have an implication on the success of your online branding and should always be taken into consideration before venturing into any design project.

In the end, the most important thing to keep in mind is that copywriting is not merely something that can be throw into design quickly by the employee who brings you coffee in the morning. It should be taken seriously and it should be written well.

If you'd like to know more about the benefits of copywriting for your business, both offline and online, feel free to drop me email at info@logotree.com

Happy Independence Day to all of the Americans out there!