Roxilla

Maybe it’s because I’m paid to be, but I am something of a copy snob, and tend to cringe when I see bad writing, typos or other sloppy mistakes on websites. I have even emailed a site I recently saw to point out some major issues (and offer my services… free of charge though, the site is run by a local animal rights group).

I just think that if you want something to be put up on the web, you should at least be arsed to make sure it’s correct and written properly.

So, here is a quick list of the most annoying copy sins…

1) Your vs. you’re
I see this all the time, and every time it pisses me off all over again. I blame sms speak and chat entirely for bringing the shortcut ‘ur’ to the table and effectively making the two words interchangeable.

2) Pretentious use of simple words
‘Whilst’ and ‘amongst’ mean exactly the same as ‘while’ and ‘among’, they are just written pretentiously. The most basic rule of writing for web is to use simple language, and avoid fluff at all costs; a spade is a damn spade, not an earth digging instrument.

3) Clumsy writing
Using lots of big words to get your word count is just going to backfire on you when it comes to editing. Again, simplicity is key in writing, and if you can’t find a simple way to put something, don’t bother adding the point at all.

4) Apostrophe abuse
Apostrophes and other punctuation should be used as the sentence requires such punctuation, not when you sort of think it should have a dash or comma. These little characters are there for ownership, emphasis, order and point, and by using them incorrectly, you are effectively buggering up your sentence. While we’re on the topic, there are other punctuation marks that work just as well as apostrophes – like dashes, semi-colons and even trailed off …’s. Go easy on them, and learn how to use them before you throw them around.

5) Over-abbreviation
Abbreviations should be used sparingly, and only in certain circumstances. Using ‘etc.’ and ‘i.e’ should only really be done in notes, lists, manuals and reports where the content is not in essay format. Sentences that trail off with blah blah blah etc. are just wrong and look sloppy, like the writer couldn’t find any other points to add so just threw in an etc instead.

6) Inconsistency and jumbled formatting
When I am editing, nothing pisses me off more than having to reformat and unify chunks of copy that have just been randomly put together for ‘variety’ to look pretty. Not only does it wastes my time, it also looks crap – rather just pick a style and stick to it.

7) Typos and bad grammar
Typos happen, even to copywriters. What should not happen however, is typos happening and going unchecked, so that they stay on a website til kingdom come, annoying people who happen on them and making not the writer, but the company represented by the website look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Spellcheck is a given, but a quick run-through of what you’ve written before making it live is all it takes to keep the typos under control.

Trying to use big words, and getting them wrong
Once again, put those pretentious words out of your mind, and back away slowly. Unless you use a thesaurus, know exactly what the word means and how you spell it, or are able to use big words without making your sentences look like a bad high school essay, then don’t attempt to use them.

9) Know how to work the slang
Slang is a wonderful thing, but only when used properly. We should always write so that the vast majority of readers can understand us. Slang is almost always local to our country or culture, and what can have some readers in hysterics could have others in perplexity. Other slang terms, like ‘awesome’ are universal and can be bandied around anywhere you need a superlative. Obviously, slang is a no no in any formal or business style writing.

10) SEOverdose
There’s a term for overdoing the keywords, and it’s ‘keyword stuffing’. Quite appropriate really, as the idea of trying to fit in your primary keyword and secondary long-tail keywords as many times as you can sort of logically use them in a sentence brings to mind someone trying to stuff too much into a suitcase. I stopped using keyword density tools way back, and follow the common sense 3 or 6 keywords per page rule. At the end of the day, having an article, post or web page that has real content that adds value, and using your metatags and whatnot properly is a lot more effective than getting booted off Google or making it to P1 ranking… and having a shit site with zero use to visitors.

I could go on forever, especially now that I’ve gotten myself all worked up, but these ten are the most common copy issues I see on a daily basis, and never fail to annoy.

The most annoying thing is that a good deal of these are things we should have learned at school, and are basic grammar and spelling mistakes that are becomming the norm. Cell speak and chat speak has a lot to answer for, but also people just don’t seem to care about doing things properly, and are more interested in getting things done as quickly as possible, as cheaply as possible.

You don’t have to be or hire a copywriter to write properly – you just need to think before you start pounding keyboard, read over whatever you’re written and learn the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ and ‘their’ and ‘there’. Simple as that.

Well, that concludes the first lesson in Copy 101 from Rox.