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The Seven Deadly Sins of Writing
By Roberta Guise, MBA

There’s an epidemic of bad writing. Whether it’s Web sites, print ads, marketing brochures, promotional fliers, e-mail messages or business writing in general, I frequently find myself baffled as to what the writer meant to say.

Some annoying symptoms of bad writing show up in typographical errors, such as an apostrophe before the “s” in a plural word and in the possessive word “its” (which doesn’t use an apostrophe). Or in the word “you’re” — this being a contraction of “you are” — when the writer means “your,” as in belonging to you.

Then there’s the dropped “s” that renders a word singular when it was meant to be plural, and words that are just plain misspelled. These mistakes can — and more often than not will — leave a bad impression on the reader.

Frequently, though, the writing is so bad that you can’t tell what the writer originally meant. Marketers of services have the biggest challenge communicating their message. It’s either loaded with jargon or strange incomprehensible sentence structures that render the piece meaningless.

Or, in an effort to win your business, the writer tells you all about how great they are, rather than letting you know why you’ll be better off doing business with them.

I know people say that nobody reads these days. Wrong! People do read. How else could they navigate the Web? Your Web site or brochure are full of words that you want people to read, as are event fliers, ads and other marketing promotions. Think about it: if a reader can’t decipher your writing, or if it’s riddled with mistakes, you risk losing business.

To maximize your return on investment from your marketing materials, here are my Seven Deadly Sins of Writing™, and recommendations for fixing them.

1. Use industry jargon. It shows how smart you are.
   The fix: use language that anyone outside of your industry will understand.
   
   
2. Don’t use the word “you,” because this is about how great “we” are.
   The fix: Use the word “you.” It engages the reader, and will give them the sense that you’re having a conversation.
   
   
3. Write exclusively about your company, because you’re the most interesting subject you know of.
   The fix: Tell the reader how they’ll be better off because of the value you offer.
   
   
4. Use sexist language by always using “he” and “his” as generic terms, because it’s easier and most people don’t care anyway.
   The fix: Use “he or she,” or the plural “they,” and you’ll stop perpetuating stereotypes.
   
   
5. Forget to use a catchy headline. People are smart, they’ll figure it out, and what’s wrong with baffling them? It creates intrigue and they’ll call for more information..
   The fix: Draw readers in with a sharp, snappy headline, letting them quickly scan for the most important information and “get” what you’re offering.
   
   
6. Don’t tell the reader what to do after reading. Readers can figure it out, so why tell them?
   The fix: Tell readers what you want them to do next (such as register for the seminar or call for a free consultation)
   
   
7. Ignore punctuation and typos because no one really reads anything these days, right?
   The fix: Go to www.nationalpunctuationday.com, where Jeff Rubin, a former print journalist, who has published newsletters for almost 25 years, offers punctuation guidelines that will make your writing sparkle and impress your prospects.
   

As you write your next business, marketing or promotion piece, use these Seven Deadly Sins and their fixes as a checklist. And to be sure readers understand your message, ask yourself how they’ll benefit from what you offer. Then, carefully describe those benefits in simple, clear language. This will put you well on your way to convincing them that they should do business with you.

Give a little extra thought to the words you choose. Hint: generally, shorter words are better. When you’re done writing, read your document carefully — even show it to a friend or co-worker — before you upload it to your Web site, send to the commercial printer, lick the envelope or click the e-mail Send button.

Copyright © 2005 Roberta Guise, MBA.

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