<strong>Grammar matters</strong>

This is a lawn sign that has appeared around my neighborhood:

[caption id="attachment_3272" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160612_115648.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3272" src="http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160612_115648-300x225.jpg" alt="Lawn sign " width="300" height="225" /></a> Lawn sign[/caption]

I believe what they meant to say was "No Townhouses on Historic Chestnut Lodge." Or maybe they meant to say "Not More Townhouses on Historic Chestnut Lodge," which would still be awkward.  I am not sure. Perhaps the people behind this campaign were not sure either. But what I do know is that this sign is wrong.

<strong>It's spelled A-L-A-N</strong>

U.K's Vision Express had a major typo, transposing the L and A, in a letter to a customer. It was quite insulting.  You have to read this<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3651973/Customer-shocked-rude-spelling-mistake-letter-Vision-Express.html" target="_blank"> Daily Mail article </a>to see what I mean, but suffice it to say, a proofreader would have saved the day. (Thanks to <a href="http://www.ewriteonline.com/" target="_blank">Leslie O'Flahavan</a> for sharing the article on her company's Facebook feed.)

<strong>Copy edit your work, or at least, do some proofreading</strong>

Having poor grammar, or a typo (or two or three) in your marketing materials is poor communication. Your message will be muddled and any mistakes will distract from what you are trying to say.

Typos and grammatical mistakes are fixable, and if you don't catch them in time, they can be costly. There is a solution and that is to copy edit <em>and</em> proofread your written materials.

<span style="color: #ff0000;">Watch this space next week for the next On Writing interview, with a pro who certainly knows that grammar and spelling matter.</span>