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How important is grammar is marketing?

by ZenDude
22 replies
I was just watching a YouTube video from a marketer that was giving some really great info. I was enthusiastic until he said "you may have ran into ... ." This is someone I will never buy anything from. This guy is nice looking, well dressed, and basically presents himself well, but that small grammatical mistake will make some people click out immediately and never come back. The saddest part is that this is not the first instance of this I've seen online. I just saw one guy who said "I seen this marketer..." and another who said "they had went... ."

I'm a writer, so grammar is extremely important to me. Bad grammar says so much about the person. Like my mother always said, "You can buy things and you can even buy people, but you can't buy class."

Internet marketing is all about selling yourself. If you don't even care enough about yourself to speak your native language properly, what does that say to people you want to trust you? We've all seen promotions full of ESL with poor spelling and English composition that is like nails on a chalkboard when you read it. These are always the people who want to know what they are doing wrong and why no one is buying their products.

My suggestion is that if you can't speak proper English (or whatever language you are selling in), hire someone to do your writing for you and to edit your videos before you put them out there. Not that we're trying to sell to the hoi poloi here, but I would be ashamed to send out some of the stuff I've seen.
#grammar #important #marketing
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Depends on your target market.

    If the ideal buyer is Joe Average, then no, I don't think it matters.

    If you're targeting English professors, then yeah, I do think it matters.

    How does your target market behave? That's the relevant question.

    Cutting off an opportunity because some guy in a video SAYS something "incorrectly"...that's, well, that's crazy to me.

    There are two types of people:

    1 > Those who'll go nuts if there's a grammatical mistake

    and

    2 > Those who could care a less about grammar.

    One group is significantly larger than the other.

    I have to admit if I saw an error in written copy, that would have a much greater effect on me than something a speaker said. People say things "wrong" all the time. So what? It's just common talk.

    I DON'T think most people will click away because of what you say the speaker in the video said. I don't think most people will notice it at all.
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    • Profile picture of the author ZenDude
      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      Depends on your target market.

      If the ideal buyer is Joe Average, then no, I don't think it matters.

      If you're targeting English professors, then yeah, I do think it matters.

      How does your target market behave? That's the relevant question.

      Cutting off an opportunity because some guy in a video SAYS something "incorrectly"...that's, well, that's crazy to me.

      There are two types of people:

      1 > Those who'll go nuts if there's a grammatical mistake

      and

      2 > Those who could care a less about grammar.

      One group is significantly larger than the other.

      I have to admit if I saw an error in written copy, that would have a much greater effect on me than something a speaker said. People say things "wrong" all the time. So what? It's just common talk.

      I DON'T think most people will click away because of what you say the speaker in the video said. I don't think most people will notice it at all.
      You're right in some instances, I guess. If I'm selling survival gear to backwoods uneducated yokels, I guess speaking their language would be a good thing, but that's not what this guy was doing. He obviously cared enough about what people thought of him to get a corporate haircut, manicure his fingernails and dress professionally with a nice shirt and tie. It was a good video, and I watched it all the way through, but that one slipup said something about his not being what he was presenting himself to be. Sorry, but if I can't know that someone is who they say they are, I'm not going to buy anything from them.

      Take Marlon Sanders. He doesn't pretend to be some high-classed, uppity marketer. He's down-home and redneck as they come, but that's who he's talking to, and people love him for being himself. He uses some ATROCIOUS grammar, but it's clear that he's not trying to be anything but who he is. I'd probably buy things from him, because he's authentic.

      I feel like authenticity is important in sales. You're either authentic, or you're a fake and if you can lie to people about who you are, you can sure lie to them about what you're selling.

      JMHO.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
        Originally Posted by ZenDude View Post

        You're right in some instances, I guess. If I'm selling survival gear to backwoods uneducated yokels, I guess speaking their language would be a good thing, but that's not what this guy was doing. He obviously cared enough about what people thought of him to get a corporate haircut, manicure his fingernails and dress professionally with a nice shirt and tie. It was a good video, and I watched it all the way through, but that one slipup said something about his not being what he was presenting himself to be. Sorry, but if I can't know that someone is who they say they are, I'm not going to buy anything from them.

        Take Marlon Sanders. He doesn't pretend to be some high-classed, uppity marketer. He's down-home and redneck as they come, but that's who he's talking to, and people love him for being himself. He uses some ATROCIOUS grammar, but it's clear that he's not trying to be anything but who he is. I'd probably buy things from him, because he's authentic.

        I feel like authenticity is important in sales. You're either authentic, or you're a fake and if you can lie to people about who you are, you can sure lie to them about what you're selling.

        JMHO.
        We'll have to agree to disagree about the "one slip-up."

        Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
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    • Profile picture of the author Max Web Machine
      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      Depends on your target market.

      If the ideal buyer is Joe Average, then no, I don't think it matters.

      If you're targeting English professors, then yeah, I do think it matters.

      How does your target market behave? That's the relevant question.

      Cutting off an opportunity because some guy in a video SAYS something "incorrectly"...that's, well, that's crazy to me.
      Totally agree I may tend to judge on the amount and type of mistakes. If it's only a few, it will probably not bother me. However, if its a mistake in about every other sentence, I will think like wise!
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I am also a writer/editor/proofreader and I see a LOT of errors in many places.
    If I do see mistakes like that in a website or in a WSO ad, I send the owner a message so they can fix the problem. Most people are appreciative. There are a few who become smart asses...but that's their loss. If you're selling anything, you want to remove as many potential obstacles as possible.
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    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author SeoWrecker
    A husband wrote a message to his wife on his official trip and
    forgot to add 'e' at the end of a word,
    "I am having such a wonderful time!
    Wish you were her."

    Now you know ?
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  • Profile picture of the author Designmasterindia
    you can use grammer for several level of english. ex. if you want to promote your email in European country then you need to use top level of grammer.
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeMizOne
      Originally Posted by Designmasterindia View Post

      you can use grammer for several level of english. ex. if you want to promote your email in European country then you need to use top level of grammer.
      What level will I have to use for the US?

      I am currently level 86, please let me know ASAP.
      Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author lakshmimahas269
    Grammar is important as the content adds a good strength to internet marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    I've been trying to figure out if your post title is correct or if I'm just an uneducated yokel: "How important is grammar is marketing?"

    Mark
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      Mark, thinking the same thing.

      Iam sure the OP is using some parody here in his title !

      I hope ! LOL

      As far as typos in grammar in email ? I try to proof read my emails twice. But if there is a typo here or there that gets by me, I do not worry about it.

      It should not be that big of a deal.

      As long as you are not committing horrible sentence structure sins that run on and on and you just can't get control of it because you do not take your time and concentrate which was a direct result of your daughter throwing up the night before which makes you tired so you cannot concentrate properly and this results in a horrible abuse of the English language...then you should be okay ( Parody indeed )
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    • Profile picture of the author bashca03
      I noticed that too.

      In marketing, grammar is indeed important. But the question is, how many would notice the errors? The bottomline here is your target market. To whom are you selling your products to? If you intend to sell your products to some "hoi polloi" as what you have mentioned, then I guess it doesn't really matter at all.

      Now if you are targeting some CEO's, COO's, editor in chief or a writer just like you, then even the tiniest, single grammatical error you have in your video/email might be spotted.

      I am not an English expert but I can spot grammatical errors (especially with marketing materials). I do have high expectations when it comes to it. A little error would not affect but a major one will do (somehow).
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  • Profile picture of the author Mairaj
    Well i think grammar matter a lot. If one can write quality content which is free of grammatical errors then people like and share it on social media and with their friends. Same formula is applying on writing a compelling email.The email which has a potential to get more leads and sales.
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    • Profile picture of the author Edridge
      I thought this was the warrior forum...

      Surely, it's obvious that it doesn't really matter how shiny your sword is as long as you stick them with the pointy end?

      The reality of it is that it doesn't matter how polished your writing is if the message is worthless.
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  • Profile picture of the author benschop86
    It simply doesn't make a difference. I have followed some HUGE name marketers with absolute shit english but they continue to kill it.

    It's all about your message and your offers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Crimes
    I personally don't think it matters too much and the level of grammar is going to vary from person to person and whether English is your first language or not.

    Saying that, I know plenty of 1st language English speakers who confuse the hell out of me when their mouths open!

    Watch out, the spelling police are everywhere....

    Jon
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  • Profile picture of the author Dang Vinh
    nice post
    thanks for sharing here
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  • Profile picture of the author rimon17
    if you want to be a marketer so at first you need to know English language and Grammer.so that you can convence your client.and you can learn english language and grammar easily from online,just use google and youtube and many other facebook groups.
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  • Profile picture of the author Simonseed
    Very appreciative.
    I agree with you that grammar is very important for marketing. But many tools are available for better grammar.
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  • Profile picture of the author raymondtusk
    Grammar is very important for marketing. Would you trust some sellers who make grammar mistakes? It shows that you're not making enough money to hire copywriter and it means that you are not selling enough and that means that people are not interested in your product. Don't get me wrong - you don't have to hire copywriter but you should always double check what are you writing and use some tools.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave1529
    I would say you need to keep the grammar pretty clean.

    But, reading comprehension is another story.
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    • Profile picture of the author 1fisherman
      I think grammar is important but, clarity is more important in a sales message.

      You absolutely should get a second pair of eyes on your writing. At the very least, use one of the grammar checking tools like:

      Online Editor

      If you write in a conversational tone you'll break a few rules. Just make sure you're communicating your message clearly.

      Gregg
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