Why Proper Language and Grammar Are SO Important
Be honest and answer this question: Do you care how properly formed and (spelling, grammatical or otherwise) error free your posts are? Most probably your answer will be a no.
Image: Editor_B
A majority of the bloggers don’t spell check or grammar check their posts. Why? Because they think it doesn’t matter. A typo here and a grammatical error there doesn’t really matter much. Or does it?
Your Representative
Suppose you receive a leaflet each from two different companies pitching their product to you. One of them (the leaflets) is well designed and attractive, but has several typos and grammatical errors and the other, though not that well designed, contains perfect language. Suppose you decide to go for one company’s product. Which will you go for? My bet is that you’ll go for the one with the error-free leaflet, even though it’s not as well designed as the other one. Why?
You wouldn’t send an amateur to a prestigious conference to represent your company, would you? 
Because it’s not the design that speaks out.
It’s the words, which represent you in front of potential buyers. Design can only do so much to attract a potential buyer. Words are the things which can corner him, leaving him with no choice but to go for you.
You wouldn’t send an amateur to a prestigious conference to represent your company, would you? That’s the point. It’s the same with the words we write and which other people read. These words represent us in front of the world. When people see how many typos and grammatical errors you have made, they might think ‘Heck, this guy can’t even write proper English. He ain’t any professional! How can we trust him with and give him our money?‘.
Typos and grammatical errors make you look unprofessional. And no one wants to do deal with some one who’s not a professional. YOU wouldn’t deal with such a person, would you? . You might try all you can trying to convince them that you really are an expert, but they wouldn’t believe you. 
Remember, a first impression is a lasting impression. A potential buyer who has never heard of you before, if turned away by poor language, may never return to you again, even if you correct the errors.
You see, language is the thing which enables humans to communicate with each other effectively and enables us to get our point
across. Bad language means road blocks for this communication process, which means a rough ride for the words flowing across and mis-understandings on both sides. And that means a bad reputation for you and your blog/company. And that means that no one will allow their hard earned money to be given to someone who doesn’t have a good reputation.
Just look at YOU would do. Would you buy services from someone who’s sales pitch contains typos and grammatical errors? No, right?
Just look at me, for example. Even though English is not my native language(Urdu is), I aim to make my posts as grammatically and spelling-wise correct as possible. I use spell check on every post and proof read every post, to make sure they’re fine. OK, I agree I make mistakes too sometimes, but they’re very little in number.
When This Might NOT Apply
If you have a very informal or personal blog, such as a fan or sports or just-for-fun blog, sometimes you don’t need to care about
You should always aim to abide by the rules. I know it can be hard and tedious and boring sometimes, but it pays in the long run!
spelling and grammatical errors, because they don’t count. Readers will understand what you’re saying and they’ll also see a ‘human’ form of you. But remember, excessiveness of anything can be bad!
So, even though it sometimes doesn’t matter whether your English(or what-ever language you blog in) is correct, you should always aim to abide by the rules. I know it can be hard and tedious and boring sometimes, but it pays in the long run!
Now, your turn to voice your opinion: Do you strive to use correct grammar and spelling on your blog and why?
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There are some blogs I read where the grammar is not the best. But I can clearly see those people’s grammar improving every day. I do care a lot about my own posting grammar but not much about the blogs I read. I read a blog with or without grammar errors.
ESVL – I too read many blogs which have spelling and grammatical errors. But since they are well established with lots of loyal readers, they probably don’t get harmed since their readers probably don’t care
BUT, for a new blog, it is essential to use correct English.
You do a great job, especially with English as your second language. Since this is a post about grammar, I’ll point out that you might want to correct your headline. It should be “Why Proper Language and Grammar are So Important”
thanks zura!
nice tips. i have the problem with that.
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It’s really terrible what instant messaging has done to the way people write and communicate in the written word.
Grammar is IMPORTANT!
Preserve your grammar!
Actually, even with an informal fan site, language and grammar are important. One can write less formally, but imagine approaching a headhunter or a human resources manager for a job, and they find misspelled cuss words when the Google your name. As much as you have to watch your MySpace and FaceBook profiles, so too must you present a respectful face to potential headhunters and employers through your blog.
Great info – keep up the great work.
Boy – this is a subject that really ‘gets me going’
Where I used to be:
When I read badly written copy it made me really angry. Spelling and grammar mistakes are bad enough, but the thing that really made me mad was people using the wrong words due to ignorance. An example being, ‘I should of done better’ instead of ‘I should have done better’. I also used to get angry when hearing the English language mangled in the same way in spoken conversation.
Where I am now:
I forgive spelling mistakes. I forgive grammar mistakes – under certain circumstances. In fact, I forgive anything as long as the person has successfully communicated their message. What I can’t forgive is ‘imprecise’ writing. If the meaning isn’t clear, for whatever reason, it makes me mad.
We are taught the rules of English at school, and it is easy to think that these rules have been ’set in stone’ for a thousand years. They haven’t. They were mostly ‘invented’ in the 18th and 19th centuries. They are not even the same from one English speaking country to another.
For example, I live in the UK, and there are regional dialects and linguistic variations that pre-date the established rules of grammar.
Anyone foolhardy enough to correct the ‘grammar’ of an elderly chap in a pub will quite rightly be told where to stick his ‘newfangled’ modern English.
More importantly, regardless of the dialect used, the old chap will communicate his intention with absolute clarity.
Having said all that, I still obsess about making my written copy as perfect as I can – the ghost of my English language teacher is standing behind me right now ready to mark my writing
Thanks for great information.
I don’t care as long as I understand what people or bloggers are trying to say, thats the important thing – not the grammar. I mean bbking can’t read music, but he plays guitar like a god.
Good Tips Thk.
Thank you for your information.
It’s very interesting. thx
great work and dare too as a blogger you accepted some of the blogger does not cares about such grammar points and thx for tip too.
English is my third language and I’m sure I make a lot of mistakes. =(
i do care about grammar even though i write not in english.
I think the starter/ admin of a blog should use proper grammar. Its not so important for the responders to the post to use perfect English..
Without proper gramar, nothing can be accomplished, either in the net or real life
Thanks for great information. Grammar is IMPORTANT! I confirm!
I want to study on UK , Now i know the Grammar is very importtant. Oh TOELF
Typos should be checked for and corrected grammar when ever possible, along with grammar, but I wouldn’t let ‘perfectionism’ overcome publishing my content.
There are so many tools that allow you to quickly spell check your content (Wordpress has one built in) that there really is no excuse to double check…
Karl
For me, bloggers’ products are their writings. As online entrepreneurs, we should have a quality check always. And for bloggers, our posts and articles should be qualitative.
I am already a bit annoyed with sites that sell products from China or any other shops with awful English. If people trade and care for customers they sell their products to, why don’t they just check the spelling of words?
I’m not sure whether grammar is SEO important, But if I’m #1 in SERPS and my grammar is horrible, I will get less clicks than it should be possible.
Nothing more than a new language being developed. Nothing more.
I guess it depends on how much of a perfectionist you are. I am, and I tend to notice all the little inaccuracies. But I guess those who write badly also may not pick up errors in others’ writing? In blogging, the most important thing is the content – presentation is secondary. But I certainly prefer both if they can be found together!
English is not my primary language, but i’m learning grammar now..
it really informative for me.i was never give importance to spelling and grammar when i post comment. but now i think i have to be careful.Thanks for such useful post.
Very good post. Grammar is critical!
I think it is independant of the niche. In every niche spelling and grammar should be as good as (individual) possible. I try it as well, but not always succeed in every language.
when writing a comment i try to check so that the grammer and spelling is correct, but it usually dont happen everytime. i mean when you type fast sometimes, mistakes do happen
grammar grammar Oh My Godddd, So Fit.
I think this should be the default practice. I mean if you write for people, it is but imperative to express your thoughts grammatically correct. This will help you improve your writing skill and at the same time gain more loyal readers (in my opinion).
I wouldn’t have guessed you were not a native English speaker – well done. One does make allowances on the net for people who have English as a second or third language; however there’s no doubt that better quality writing makes a better impression.
Fine blog. I got a lot of effective info. I’ve been keeping an eye on this technology for awhile. It’s fascinating how it keeps varying, yet some of the core components remain the same. Have you seen much change since Google made their latest acquisition in the arena?