Perfect Grammar Is for Sales Sissies
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Writing Speaking -> subcategory Copywriting.
Perfect Grammar Is for Sales Sissies
Summary:
If you're like me, you’re not crafting that banner ad, website, or landing page to impress your English teacher. You're writing to sell.Article:
If you’re like me, you’re not creating that banner ad, website, or landing page to make your English teacher proud. You’re writing to sell.
Getting an A is great, but it's not the goal. To persuade prospects to click, call, or buy, you might need to play a bit with the English language.
As direct-response legend Herschell Gordon Lewis aptly said, "Grammar is our weapon, not our god."
While copywriting demands a different approach than what Strunk and White might advocate, don’t toss out your grammar books just yet. It’s essential to know the rules before you break them.
Here are some rules to keep and some to bend or break. But first, an important principle:
Clarity
When dealing with grammatical dilemmas, ask yourself: Which construction will be clearer for the prospect or customer?
Clarity is crucial because it ensures quick comprehension. Copywriting that obscures meaning (even if grammatically perfect) can slow reading and risk losing interest?"and sales.
Warning: This isn’t a license to wreak havoc on the English language. Literacy must prevail. Here are some rules to maintain:
Rules to Keep
Subject and verb agreement: Whether writing an infomercial or War and Peace, singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs. Always. Identifying the subject clearly is key.
The active voice: For impactful copywriting, use the active voice whenever possible. Active voice: I wrote the sentence. Passive voice: The sentence was written by me.
Use of modifiers: Modifiers can cause confusion if misused. Clarity should guide your use of them. Place modifiers close to the words they are modifying to ensure easy comprehension.
Rules to Bend or Break
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain marked a new era in American literature, largely due to its use of vernacular. Twain wrote the way people talked, moving away from formal English.
For copywriters, writing in a conversational, informal style is essential.
Why? Because friendly and conversational copy is more likely to engage prospects, prompting them to click, call, or buy. Here’s why bending the following conventions can benefit copywriters:
Ending sentences with a preposition: Though often discouraged, doing this can make your copywriting warmer. Which sounds friendlier: "Here is the information you requested" or "Here is the information you asked for"?
Beginning sentences with a conjunction: Starting sentences with conjunctions (and, or, but, nor) is becoming common, even in journalism. It mimics how people speak and can shorten sentences, a plus for delivering sales messages.
Other informal devices: Use contractions to add warmth. Employ sentence fragments to shorten sentence length while adding rhythm and drama.
Punctuation: Use punctuation strategically. I prefer more dashes and the occasional exclamation point or ellipsis for added drama and excitement in the sales message. With commas being subjective, I use them sparingly to keep readers moving smoothly through the copy.
Parting Reminder
Keep your grammar book, stylebook, dictionary, and other writing references handy. You’ll still need them.
But remember, grammar shouldn’t be your deity, or your next online promotion might flop.
(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel
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