{"id":2109,"date":"2013-02-15T08:45:53","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T12:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/?p=2109"},"modified":"2025-07-01T12:52:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T17:52:30","slug":"10-copywriting-mistakes-that-lose-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/10-copywriting-mistakes-that-lose-money.html","title":{"rendered":"10 Copywriting Mistakes That Lose Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026 accept it were a misunderstanding…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, folks, I read that on a Houston corporation’s website today. How could a copywriter make such foolish grammatical, usage, and spelling mistakes, and how could a copy-editor not catch the errors?<\/p>\n

Copywriting mistakes are easy to make. In a world so used to texting abbreviations, you might not even know that you\u2019ve made an error. Certainly the spelling and grammar check on your word processing application does not catch everything.<\/p>\n

Always assume your visitors are probably very savvy people. How many times have you clicked away from a webpage because you just couldn’t take copywriting mistakes in the form of misspelled words or misused language? Most likely you questioned the credibility of the site and the company. Why else would they not proof their work?<\/p>\n

Some of the more glaring copywriting mistakes occur in language usage. Many readers will find them extremely grating, so be sure you don\u2019t make the errors.<\/p>\n

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  1. Accept and except. Accept is consent. Except is not to include meaning \u201cbut\u201d. I would accept your offer for lunch, except I am not free today.<\/li>\n
  2. Affect and effect. Affect (verb) is to influence. Effect (noun) is a result. The weatherman affects our behavior; the effect is we carry an umbrella if he forecasts rain.<\/li>\n
  3. Me and I. I is a nominative pronoun used as the subject. Me is an objective pronoun used as an object. Consider the sentence: My Mom and I went shopping. You can break it down into two sentences: My Mom went shopping. I went shopping. You wouldn\u2019t say \u201cMe went shopping\u201d, would you?<\/li>\n
  4. Principle and principal. Principle is a basic truth, rule, or law. Principal is controlling, main, or original. Pressure is principal to understanding Bernoulli\u2019s Principle.<\/li>\n
  5. Your and you\u2019re. Your is a possessive pronoun. You\u2019re is a contraction of you are. If you\u2019re looking for your book, it is on the table.<\/li>\n
  6. Its and it\u2019s. Its is possessive. It\u2019s is a contraction for it is. It\u2019s only natural for a dog to bury its bone.<\/li>\n
  7. Their\/They\u2019re\/There. Their is a possessive pronoun. They’re is the contraction for they are. There indicates location. They\u2019re looking for their books over there.<\/li>\n
  8. Advice and advise. Advice (noun) is a recommendation or a suggestion. Advise (verb) is to make a recommendation or suggestion. Your advice is sound; please advise me how to implement the plan.<\/li>\n
  9. I.e. and e.g. Those Latin abbreviations are misused a lot. I.e, short for id est, means that is or in other words. \u201cI\u2019m going the writing place, i.e. my garden.\u201d E.g., short for exempli gratia, is such as or for example. \u201cThere are many places I can write, e.g. my office, my garden, the arboretum, and the lake, because I am relaxed.\u201d<\/li>\n
  10. Assure\/ensure\/insure. Assure is to give confidence. Ensure is to provide or safeguard. Insure is to protect from loss. \u201cI assure my son that school is a safe place because his teacher will ensure his safety.\u201d \u201cMy indemnity health policy insures against catastrophic medical bills\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And then there are the irritating copywriting mistakes in spelling. These are the ones that are seen over and over again.<\/p>\n