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Any difference between a writer from US and UK?

by AdamTear12
24 replies
Hello mates,

I have a writer who writes my reviews for my review websites (the review website reviews Clickbank products)... He is a good writer and he is a native English speaker, but he comes from UK...

My question is, about the visitors who come to my review website from countries like US/CA/AU and so on. Can they notice that the text (the review) has been written by a guy from UK? Can this affect on the conversion?

I am not a native English speaker, That's why I need your help in this regard..

Thank you.

P.S, If this helps, all the vendors who I promote their product via my review website come from CA and US.
#difference #writer
  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan S
    Yes for some forms of words, grammar and spelling. Example: UK: favour, colour, saviour... US: favor, color, savior... also vocabularies, UK normally use lid, rubbish, spanner... while US uses cover, garbage, wrench... and also they way the say it, UK says "give me a hand" while US says "help me", UK says half past three while US says three thirty, etc. Australia, New Zealand and Canada English used to be more British but due to popularity of the US English specially in Hollywood movies, media and politics, nowadays you can't really tell.
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    There'll be giveaways (some more obvious than others) in the writing that will betray the origins, especially if you haven't told your writers to write for an American readership. Good British writers can usually cope, but if it's important for your purposes that the writers come off as native US speakers, hire someone from the US.

    For what it's worth, some Americans will view certain elements of non-US English as mistakes in grammar or spelling, not realizing the cultural differences. Depending on the nature of your target market, that might affect conversions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    "give me a hand" is commonly used in the US - "half past the hour" is also used though not frequently....

    If you want US spelling all it takes is running it through a US based spellcheck - or simply asking the writer to do it that way. I don't think anything of it when I read something online with UK spelling.
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  • Profile picture of the author BellaZee
    I don’t think you really need to worry. As Jonathan S points out, there are differences, but in most cases the differences aren’t so big that it will stunt the conversation. It’s not like the difference between German and French, for example.

    However, if you are still worried about it, what you can do is speak to your writer and ask him to write in US English, instead. You’ll find that many writers have the ability to write in both UK and US English, especially those from the UK and Australia, simply because the US market is larger and they’ve had to adapt.
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  • Profile picture of the author Giles Ensor
    I think the other thing to remember is there are many non-native speakers writing in English online these days. People are more 'deaf' to the many different ways English is written these days, so I don't think it matters as much as it used to.

    Of course, there will always be some cultural bias but the world would be a pretty boring place if there wasn't.
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  • Profile picture of the author goneill
    The English invented the English language, the Americans changed it and claimed that they perfected it, the Horstralians distorted it :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Originally Posted by AdamTear12 View Post

    Hello mates,

    I have a writer who writes my reviews for my review websites (the review website reviews Clickbank products)... He is a good writer and he is a native English speaker, but he comes from UK...

    My question is, about the visitors who come to my review website from countries like US/CA/AU and so on. Can they notice that the text (the review) has been written by a guy from UK? Can this affect on the conversion?

    I am not a native English speaker, That's why I need your help in this regard..

    Thank you.

    P.S, If this helps, all the vendors who I promote their product via my review website come from CA and US.
    I personally don't see the big deal. There will be some words and grammar that are different, but I don't see the big deal.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    It's usually obvious when a writer is from the UK, example nobody from the US says petrol, they say gas.

    Personally I find it annoying to read. It's like you have to translate as you're reading.
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    • Profile picture of the author LindyUK
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      It's usually obvious when a writer is from the UK, example nobody from the US says petrol, they say gas.

      Personally I find it annoying to read. It's like you have to translate as you're reading.
      I agree with you yukon. I find it really annoying that you Americans don't know how to spell.

      And as for "gas" - "Gas -an air-like fluid substance which expands freely to fill any space available, irrespective of its quantity."

      So I guess you only have to put a dollar's worth of gas in your car to fill the whole tank up?

      Cheers
      Lindy
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      • Profile picture of the author yukon
        Banned
        Originally Posted by LindyUK View Post

        I agree with you yukon. I find it really annoying that you Americans don't know how to spell.

        And as for "gas" - "Gas -an air-like fluid substance which expands freely to fill any space available, irrespective of its quantity."

        So I guess you only have to put a dollar's worth of gas in your car to fill the whole tank up?

        Cheers
        Lindy


        So I'm all of the Americans?

        Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author gingerninjas
    There is a distinct difference between UK English and US English in both spelling, grammar and the colloquial way something may be written. A native reader from either the UK, Australia, Canada or New Zealand or similar can tell when something is written in US English and vice versa. If you are writing to an audience that is either US or UK English, and you have the budget you're best to find a writer from each if you can. It's really obvious when a writer is not a native speaker from the UK or US to write content.
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  • Profile picture of the author PLR Basket
    Originally Posted by AdamTear12 View Post

    Hello mates,

    I have a writer who writes my reviews for my review websites (the review website reviews Clickbank products)... He is a good writer and he is a native English speaker, but he comes from UK...

    My question is, about the visitors who come to my review website from countries like US/CA/AU and so on. Can they notice that the text (the review) has been written by a guy from UK? Can this affect on the conversion?

    I am not a native English speaker, That's why I need your help in this regard..

    Thank you.

    P.S, If this helps, all the vendors who I promote their product via my review website come from CA and US.
    I've bought many articles from writers from the UK, and they're almost indistinguishable from US writers. I would say that their content tend to be a little more polished and they have some minor grammar differences. Per instance, they will spell flavor "flavour" and minor things like that. But for the most part, they are great writers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    There would be slight differences - even though UK is an English speaking country. People in UK say things like "by the end of play today", "we will try to commence by...", etc. These terms are new to me. But where i'm from we'd say, "by the time we close", "we'll deliver in 48 hours", "whats up?". And then there's the slight word spelling of some words. At the end of the day you have to review what they've written and approve it or not.
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  • Profile picture of the author multimastery
    I always notice a UK write because they tend to substitute a lot of American words that have the letter Z in it with S.
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  • Profile picture of the author kazimuhith
    Can't really be sure until the UK and USA sets are tested for conversion. My guess is it does make a difference.
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    • Profile picture of the author LindyUK
      Originally Posted by kazimuhith View Post

      Can't really be sure until the UK and USA sets are tested for conversion. My guess is it does make a difference.
      Hello kazimuhith

      Yes it does make a difference. We can't use anything written in the US without correcting for spelling mistakes to the English language.

      It would be the same in America, people would notice, think that words have been misspelt.

      Cheers
      Lindy
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  • Profile picture of the author DeePower
    @Lindy "I find it really annoying that you Americans don't know how to spell."
    You're joking right? Otherwise this statement is rather condescending.

    Dee
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    • Profile picture of the author LindyUK
      Hello Dee

      Yes I was razzing him, joking. Perhaps I should have put a "lol" at the end, as another thing I have noticed is that you Americans don't always get our English humour!

      Cheers
      Lindy
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex A2Hosting
    There are certain word differences which make it clear the writer is from the UK. These are generally minor differences so I can't imagine it being a problem.

    Worse case, you could ask your writer to write more US English.
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  • Profile picture of the author options
    You can always tell a UK writer because its proper English geezer...


    American's seem to have a problem with pronunciation, it is Aluminium.


    And route, its Route. Not wrought


    I think if you are going to use the queens language, at least use it proper geezer
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    • Profile picture of the author LindyUK
      Originally Posted by options View Post

      You can always tell a UK writer because its proper English geezer...


      American's seem to have a problem with pronunciation, it is Aluminium.


      And route, its Route. Not wrought


      I think if you are going to use the queens language, at least use it proper geezer
      Hello Options

      Blimey, now what is a "Geezer" ? They won't have a clue. lol.

      Perhaps we should start an English language thread on the WF to teach them the Queen's English.

      Cheers
      Lindy
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  • Profile picture of the author Pete Lauder
    I've had many US people ask me what a fortnight is.

    It's 2 weeks BTW.

    Some copywriters go half and half, knowing which words to change around, because the market is global.

    If writing solely to a US audience, then it makes sense to use a native speaker.

    I would use a British clickbank reviewer without any problems, because the product is global.

    But if you are ultra concerned about it, you can redirect to a different landing page for each native tongue.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
    Banned
    "Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put."

    Most people from the US won't understand what this means.
    Most people from the UK won't understand what this means either
    But the difference is that a guy from the UK wrote it. So there you go
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    • Profile picture of the author LindyUK
      Originally Posted by Jeff Burritt View Post

      "Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put."

      Most people from the US won't understand what this means.
      Most people from the UK won't understand what this means either
      But the difference is that a guy from the UK wrote it. So there you go
      Hello Jeff

      You are so right, that would be very hard to understand.

      I thought I would write an example Intro to show you American's how our English copy writing is normally very clear an to the point.

      "Are you getting just truely knackered from trying to make a few bob with Internet Marketing?

      A lot of what we read coming from the Internet Marketing Guru's is just total bollocks. More like a load of tosh if I can put it bluntly, an written.by people who are a bit gabby to say the least.

      If you don't want to take donkey's years an end up with less than a dog's dinner on your plate, then read on an follow my advice. You'll find it's more than cracking an guaranteed to earn you a few quid, so take a gander."

      Feel free to copy an use in your own campaigns if you like.

      lol.

      Cheers
      Lindy
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