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ARTICLE OF THE MONTH:

If you've been doing business online for a significant length of time, you've probably heard marketing tips like these: Develop opt-in e-mail lists, use focused and frequent advertising, reduce Web page load times, and so on. These are tried and true axioms for success. But for all the marketing newsletters I've read in the last two years, not one has mentioned the single most common factor on all Web sites: The written word.

I have yet to see a business Web site that doesn't use words to describe its services and sell its products. Imagine trying to sell your product with images alone, or with nothing but Java and clever programming. It can't be done -- or at least the vast majority of us can't do it.

So if words are the common glue, the crucial element that describes a company and moves their products, why is there so much bad writing on the Internet? Why the typos and misspellings, the poor punctuation, the wandering words, and the unclear instructions?

Ironically, few companies tolerate typos in their printed promotions -- the costs and exposure are seen as too great. Indeed, I see very few printed pieces with typos like this:

"…name of the merchat on your card statemet…"

I found the above spelling fiasco on a well-known Web site boasting 500,000 hits per day. For them, that's a ton of amateurish exposure that can never be taken back.

Your Web site is potentially viewable by millions of visitors. Writing miscues can quickly kill your professional image and cause laughter at your expense. Who among us would like to see a typo from our business Web site circle the globe as part of an e-mail joke?

Because the most serious customers are those who are wary of "fly-by-night" Internet businesses, these customers only buy from Web sites that make them feel secure that they are dealing with professionals. Why risk scaring your Internet customers into the hands of the competition because of a few typos?

There are Web site copyediting services right here on the Web. Using them costs only a fraction of your Web site's original design expenses, and don't worry…they'll keep your original content and ideas intact. Editors simply make your text easier to read and make you look like the professional business contender you are.

To get the most you can from them, compare prices and know exactly what you're getting for your dollar. Proofreading can be a great service, but do realize that you end up making the changes yourself based on an editor's recommendations. You're usually better off paying a slightly higher price for copyediting.

Some services offer "basic editing," then offer "in-depth editing" for a higher price. Avoid these. Try to find a service where editing encompasses all alterations to the entire work. There is no "basic" editing. Your text either gets edited or it doesn't. The only exception to this is "rewriting," when you request (or are advised) to have your piece totally restructured. In this case, most of your original text is replaced, using those original ideas as a springboard to a totally new document.

Also, consider whether your Web designer or Webmaster is a writing pro. While many designers write very well, few have the talents an experienced writer/editor can offer. If they did, Net Edit Pro wouldn't find the vast quantity of writing errors on the Internet that we do. A good editing service will work in tandem with your Webmaster to achieve an attractive and intelligent Web site.

If you want to impress your customers, go ahead and create that fancy Web site. Just don't forget that words sell your goods and services, not photos and animated images.

Article by Daniel Monahan , Owner/CEO of Net Edit Pro a writing and editing service specializing in copyediting for Internet businesses, including Web sites, e-mail promotions, newsletters, and more. Net Edit Pro offers resources for Web site development, promotional services, and no-fee Credit Card Merchant Accounts.

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