Comments on: Do Typos Matter? http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/ bly.com direct marketing blog Mon, 21 May 2012 07:00:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: do typso realyl mattrt? « Bruce Reyes-Chow http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-681411 do typso realyl mattrt? « Bruce Reyes-Chow Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:12:11 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-681411 [...] Search for "Why Typos" I got a few interesting posts like 10 Most Common Typos in Blogging and Do Typos Matter.  I couldn’t find any non-defensive sounding posts about ANY [...] [...] Search for "Why Typos" I got a few interesting posts like 10 Most Common Typos in Blogging and Do Typos Matter.  I couldn’t find any non-defensive sounding posts about ANY [...]

]]> By: Jim Rodante http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-676293 Jim Rodante Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:55:01 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-676293 And, just to prove my point, I misspelled the word "typo" in my post above. So there! Ain't that a kick in the teeth... PS. I would never do that in an ad :-) And, just to prove my point, I misspelled the word “typo” in my post above. So there!

Ain’t that a kick in the teeth…

PS. I would never do that in an ad :-)

]]> By: Jim Rodante http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-676292 Jim Rodante Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:51:09 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-676292 Hi Bob, I'm a copywriter for the world's largest manufacturer of building control and automation systems, which is based in Rockleigh, NJ. In other words, the company designs and manufacturers products that let you control systems (HVAC, AV, shades, security, lighting, etc.) in your building or home by pressing a few buttons. I recently found a type in a brochure that was made before I came on board. Not knowing if my boss, who is an excellent marketer, wrote this piece of copy, I hesitantly pointed the typo out to him. His response was..."oh sh#t!". Meanwhile, I think they had about 1,000 of these brochures printed already, and they are of high quality. Anyone who says typos don't matter is flat-out WRONG. For me personally, if I see one in an ad, I immediately make a conscious decision to not do business with the company. Call me a tight @ss, but hey, that's just the way I feel. Spelling night as "nite", or through as "thru", is a different story, that doesn't bother me at all. Spelling coming as "comming" is just ridiculous and unacceptable. Not to confuse this with colloquial (spelled that wrong until spell-checker bailed me out) style writing, which I prefer...mainly because all the legendary writers (Caples, Bencivenga, Bly, Makepeace, Masterson)all teach to write as if you are having a conversation with your prospect. But, typos...hey, if you can't spell a word correctly, you just lost me as a customer. Thanks Bob for all your brilliant advice, Jim Rodante Hi Bob,

I’m a copywriter for the world’s largest manufacturer of building control and automation systems, which is based in Rockleigh, NJ. In other words, the company designs and manufacturers products that let you control systems (HVAC, AV, shades, security, lighting, etc.) in your building or home by pressing a few buttons.

I recently found a type in a brochure that was made before I came on board. Not knowing if my boss, who is an excellent marketer, wrote this piece of copy, I hesitantly pointed the typo out to him. His response was…”oh sh#t!”. Meanwhile, I think they had about 1,000 of these brochures printed already, and they are of high quality.

Anyone who says typos don’t matter is flat-out WRONG. For me personally, if I see one in an ad, I immediately make a conscious decision to not do business with the company. Call me a tight @ss, but hey, that’s just the way I feel.

Spelling night as “nite”, or through as “thru”, is a different story, that doesn’t bother me at all. Spelling coming as “comming” is just ridiculous and unacceptable.

Not to confuse this with colloquial (spelled that wrong until spell-checker bailed me out) style writing, which I prefer…mainly because all the legendary writers (Caples, Bencivenga, Bly, Makepeace, Masterson)all teach to write as if you are having a conversation with your prospect.

But, typos…hey, if you can’t spell a word correctly, you just lost me as a customer.

Thanks Bob for all your brilliant advice,

Jim Rodante

]]> By: You Can Present! - Persuassively, Poignantly, Productively : Blog Editing and Typos: Does it matter? http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-674572 You Can Present! - Persuassively, Poignantly, Productively : Blog Editing and Typos: Does it matter? Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:09:04 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-674572 [...] I decided to research the topic. Bob Bly has an interesting post from a year ago that asks “Do Typos Matter?” Thirty one comments and the opinions are all across the [...] [...] I decided to research the topic. Bob Bly has an interesting post from a year ago that asks “Do Typos Matter?” Thirty one comments and the opinions are all across the [...]

]]> By: redboxoffice » Typos - Should they Matter to You and Me? http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-628707 redboxoffice » Typos - Should they Matter to You and Me? Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:52:09 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-628707 [...] I’ve been reading a couple of posts about whether typos in copy, text and on websites really matter.  Bob Bly posted this after talking to a gym owner about his leaflet for new members.   Maya Sunpongco of Design Insomnia posted this, too on her Maya & Marketability website. span> And the overriding answer is, most definitely, yes, they matter. I have to say the same thing.  Typos in text, in marketing materials, everyday correspondence and on websites really do matter.  I am a stickler for correct grammar and spelling as I think it shows that the person writing the article or the letter took pride in what they were doing, as well as knowing how to use their spell checker. [...] [...] I’ve been reading a couple of posts about whether typos in copy, text and on websites really matter.  Bob Bly posted this after talking to a gym owner about his leaflet for new members.   Maya Sunpongco of Design Insomnia posted this, too on her Maya & Marketability website. span> And the overriding answer is, most definitely, yes, they matter. I have to say the same thing.  Typos in text, in marketing materials, everyday correspondence and on websites really do matter.  I am a stickler for correct grammar and spelling as I think it shows that the person writing the article or the letter took pride in what they were doing, as well as knowing how to use their spell checker. [...]

]]> By: drxzzcdymt http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-390733 drxzzcdymt Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:26:41 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-390733 Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! isopbgvlorcezf Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! isopbgvlorcezf

]]> By: The Charming InfoSec Geek » Typos in My Blog http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-289842 The Charming InfoSec Geek » Typos in My Blog Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:35:49 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-289842 [...] I decided to change the format and design of my blog and of course, I was pretty proud of my changes. Out of my excitement, I sent the link to my girlfriend and her response was “there is a typo in the first one”. This sparked some thoughts in my head. Are typos in blogs a big deal? Do the readers get irritated by them? Is it “unprofessional”? Are blogs meant to be “professional” in the first place. So I did a search and found that this is a big topic on the web amongst bloggers and blog readers. [...] [...] I decided to change the format and design of my blog and of course, I was pretty proud of my changes. Out of my excitement, I sent the link to my girlfriend and her response was “there is a typo in the first one”. This sparked some thoughts in my head. Are typos in blogs a big deal? Do the readers get irritated by them? Is it “unprofessional”? Are blogs meant to be “professional” in the first place. So I did a search and found that this is a big topic on the web amongst bloggers and blog readers. [...]

]]> By: Stacey DePolo http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-275764 Stacey DePolo Tue, 13 Mar 2007 22:52:02 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-275764 Interesting discussion here on this topic. One thing I didn't see pointed out yet is this: as we are increasingly overwhelmed with marketing messages and materials, our brains have to evolve more tools to filter all this information coming at us. Michael Fortin's "Death of a Sales Letter" report goes into great detail on how this is changing the business of writing sales copy. My question here is this: If one is targeting an educated group (perhaps the gym ad was not, but many of my clients do) doesn't it make sense that punctuation, spelling, and grammar may become one of our unconscious filters in this process of sorting and choosing what to give our attention to? It may not prevent us from purchasing from someone who we have already decided to do business with, but when choosing which blog to read, which ad to click on, or which site to visit, we need all the filters we can naturally absorb to handle the job. And we may not even consciously register that that this filter is at work at the time. Interesting discussion here on this topic. One thing I didn’t see pointed out yet is this: as we are increasingly overwhelmed with marketing messages and materials, our brains have to evolve more tools to filter all this information coming at us. Michael Fortin’s “Death of a Sales Letter” report goes into great detail on how this is changing the business of writing sales copy. My question here is this: If one is targeting an educated group (perhaps the gym ad was not, but many of my clients do) doesn’t it make sense that punctuation, spelling, and grammar may become one of our unconscious filters in this process of sorting and choosing what to give our attention to? It may not prevent us from purchasing from someone who we have already decided to do business with, but when choosing which blog to read, which ad to click on, or which site to visit, we need all the filters we can naturally absorb to handle the job. And we may not even consciously register that that this filter is at work at the time.

]]> By: Jenny http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-275071 Jenny Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:21:54 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-275071 I think typos and errors on ethnic restaurant menus are kind of cute and add to the experience. Typos and errors in broader marketing campaigns are tragic. Having "been there and done that" I know the pit in your stomach feeling you get when you find an error too late. As far as this gym offer postcard, the owner was probably embarrassed more than anything and shrugged it off in defense. Plus, it was too late to do anything about it except to fix it if they print the postcard again. This all reminds me of a friend who was trying online dating. She immediately eliminated anyone that had an error in his profile. She asked me if I would date someone who made errors in his profile and I said, "Well yes, I married him." My husband is notoriously bad in this area but he is a great guy none-the-less. Perhaps there is too much judgment in the world today and we would be better off giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. Does an error on a postcard for a gym mean that the gym will be dirty and poorly run? Probably not. I think typos and errors on ethnic restaurant menus are kind of cute and add to the experience. Typos and errors in broader marketing campaigns are tragic. Having “been there and done that” I know the pit in your stomach feeling you get when you find an error too late.

As far as this gym offer postcard, the owner was probably embarrassed more than anything and shrugged it off in defense. Plus, it was too late to do anything about it except to fix it if they print the postcard again.

This all reminds me of a friend who was trying online dating. She immediately eliminated anyone that had an error in his profile. She asked me if I would date someone who made errors in his profile and I said, “Well yes, I married him.” My husband is notoriously bad in this area but he is a great guy none-the-less.

Perhaps there is too much judgment in the world today and we would be better off giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. Does an error on a postcard for a gym mean that the gym will be dirty and poorly run? Probably not.

]]> By: Erin Blaskie http://bly.com/blog/general/do-typos-matter/#comment-273945 Erin Blaskie Thu, 08 Mar 2007 08:10:11 +0000 http://www.bly.com/blog/?p=233#comment-273945 I'm also in between on this. I tend to be the type of person to pick up on mistakes when visiting other people's blogs and more often than not, I point them out when I know the person who is writing. I don't think a typo would be enough to turn me away completely (although in my recruiting days, I would toss any resume with a typo) and I find in blog posts it's a bit different because it's a more natural way to write... I suppose I don't have an actual answer for this question. I think it depends on my mood that day and whether or not it is a mistake that makes me roll my eyes. Erin Blaskie I’m also in between on this. I tend to be the type of person to pick up on mistakes when visiting other people’s blogs and more often than not, I point them out when I know the person who is writing. I don’t think a typo would be enough to turn me away completely (although in my recruiting days, I would toss any resume with a typo) and I find in blog posts it’s a bit different because it’s a more natural way to write…

I suppose I don’t have an actual answer for this question. I think it depends on my mood that day and whether or not it is a mistake that makes me roll my eyes.

Erin Blaskie

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