5 Report, Landing Page, and Other Writing Style Mistakes Businesses Should Avoid
Billions of dollars are spent on marketing services. A sizable chunk of that money will be invested in professional-level copywriters that will help companies craft everything from reports to product descriptions.
Why do companies spend so much money on writers? Because a lot of businesses struggle with writing.
Whether it’s committing report writing mistakes, diving into lengthy prose on landing pages, or making wild claims on blogs, the company’s writing inhibits their ability to build credibility. We want to make sure your company doesn’t fall victim to that issue.
To help you sidestep writing-induced problems, keep reading to discover five mistakes you need to avoid.
1. Typos and Grammar Snags
Nothing undermines consumer confidence more than a business that’s reports or website has typos and grammar errors. After all, if your company can’t construct proper sentences, how can consumers know whether or not that carelessness has made its way into your products?
Fortunately, getting through most typos and grammar issues is as easy as using digital help tools (spellcheck, Grammarly, etc.) and proof-reading your content.
2. Unsubstantiated Claims
The unsubstantiated claims fallacy is something often seen in reports that claim industry is going one way when data suggests otherwise. You’ll see a lot of unsubstantiated claims on landing pages as well.
When consumers discover that you’re making claims you’re unable to prove, they’ll become skeptical of your intentions. That skepticism can devolve into distrust which will derail your ability to make sales.
3. Keyword Stuffing
The benefits of investing time in search engine optimization are well documented. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should be stuffing all of your business writing with tons of targeted terms and phrases.
Not only do keyword-stuffed articles read poorly but they can also be flagged and penalized by search engines.
4. Not Being Mindful of Reader’s Time
No type of business writing seems impervious to the writing fallacy that is ignoring the fact a reader’s time is valuable.
If you can communicate what it is you’re trying to say in one paragraph rather than three, go with one. Being concise is a cornerstone of business writing. By embracing brevity, you’ll find that your audience more fully embraces you.
5. Being Too Technical for Your Average Customer
Among the many report writing mistakes our team has observed over the years, this is perhaps the most common. You must understand when drafting a report (or any other type of writing) who your customer is.
Creating value reports that are meant to get read by CEOs gives you leeway when it comes to depth. Creating reports that are meant to get read by freshmen in college means tailoring your presentation of data to the experience and tolerance that the audience has.
Avoiding Report Writing Mistakes, Sales Copy Issues, and The Like Is Worth It
It takes effort to avoid report writing mistakes, sales copy flubs, and other common business writing fallacies. The good news is that writing with the intention of reducing mistakes is a venture that nets excellent returns.
Give your writing an overhaul and see for yourself how much goodwill clean writing can earn you with your customers!
Do you need more advice on writing? If you do, dive deeper into our content on our blog.