You don’t want your professional small business to be let down by unprofessional copy. From social media posts to the pages of website, your words are the heart of your digital marketing. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses lose potential customers because of dodgy content and easy-to-avoid mistakes. Check out these simple tips to polish your online small business writing.
Proofread everything
As long as you’ve got spell check on, you don’t have to worry about typos, right? Wrong. Hundreds of common spelling errors can slip under a word processor’s radar. That little red line won’t tell you whether to use “whether” or “weather.”
Everyone makes mistakes. But unless you find them before they go live, readers will think you don’t pay attention to detail.
Make sure your spelling’s at the professional standard your business deserves. Always ask someone else to cast their eyes over your writing.
It’s also worth reading everything you write to yourself aloud before you press publish or send. It might feel weird at first, but you’ll pick up glitches you missed reading silently.
Finally, make sure the dictionaries on your word processor and web browser are set correctly. If you’re a small business in Australia, using US spelling can be a real hit on your local cred.
Use plain language
Verily, that prose which endeavours to utilise the most grandiose and garrulous lexicon – or, for that matter, impenetrably Daedalian syntax – conveys not mercantile proficiency but maladroit ostentation. In other words, fancy words and complicated sentences don’t make you sound professional.
The goal of writing is to communicate. The clearest way to tell the audience what you mean is with simple language they’ll understand.
Be concise. It’s okay to keep sentences, paragraphs and pieces short and sharp. Jumbled, bloated sentences confuse potential customers and make them more likely to click away.
Steer clear of jargon and buzzwords
Every industry has a special set of terms that only make sense to people inside it. You might not even realise you’re using jargon when you’re talking about your business, but it could be alienating your audience.
Professional writing is effective writing. Your potential customers want you to share the value of you’re offering in terms they understand.
It’s also best to avoid buzzwords or spin. Readers do their research and want the truth. Being straightforward with your audience will help you win or keep their trust and respect.
The best way to make sure the writing for your business is professional is to look for writers. To find out more about the services Shuttle Rocket has to offer, have a look at our packages.