New words and phrases creep into our conversation all the time and eventually some of them even make their way into the dictionary. But there are some words and phrases which will never be grammatically acceptable, no matter how many times you use them, whether they pop up in dictionaries or not.
Now, your first reaction might be, “Who cares? It’s my blog. I’ll write however I want to write and they can take a flying leap if they don’t like it.” And you’re absolutely right. It is your blog and you can write however you want. But, trust me, if your readers don’t like it they won’t be asking for your permission to leave, they’ll just get the heck out of there.
It’s not the slang words you’re using or the industry-specific jargon that make people shudder while they’re reading your articles. Slang words help you connect with your readers on an emotional level and industry jargon helps establish your authority and credibility.
But it’s those poorly written snippets of text that pop up in your content that readers find so irritating. They’re distracting. They cause the reader to look up from the screen and say, “Crap! This guy’s just another one of those low-life bloggers trying to con me into believing he’s “somebody.”
The Internet has cursed us all by giving us so much to look at now that we don’t take the time to really stop and look at anything anymore. It’s hard enough bringing readers to your blog and once you get them there you have to work even harder to grab their attention before they click away.
You may think paying attention to grammar rules is no longer necessary. You might even think it’s passe. Maybe you don’t want your readers to think you’re some stuffed-shirt, uppity author. But consider this…
In the blink of an eye your reader can decide to click off your page, and if it’s your content that makes him blink his eye, well…. You can’t really blame him, can you?
If you have a blog or you visit blogs, start paying attention to the comments. The comments you see that are left by “Grammar Nazis”, those people you think are just being picky and rude, are only the tip of the iceberg. Less than 1% of your visitors will leave a comment on your blog. Most will just leave and never come back.
You know what they say – You only get one chance to make a good first impressions. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to give your book a grammar makeover so you can start appealing to a higher class of readers.
Irritating grammar mistakes that distract your reader and make you look like just another low-life, uneducated, blogger
Before we continue you might want to bookmark this page. This list is just the tip of the iceberg, and I’ll be adding to it regularly.
- Most Importantly, You’re Wrong
- Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda
- The Effects Can Be Devastating
- If It Goes Without Saying, Then It Should
- Do You Mean That Literally?
- Irregardless, You’re Still Wrong
- For Whom The Bell Tolls
- Hopefully, You Won’t Make The Same Mistake Twice
- That’s Very, Very Distracting, Boring, and Dull
