I love Copyblogger. I almost always get a chuckle from something I read on that site. I also always learn something, a plus in my book.

Today’s topic was one I was going to tackle, but Brian Clark did it with such panache and humor, that I thought I’d simply refer you to his post.

Nothing drives me crazier than reading a blog post (or anything else written) and see typos, grammatical errors and just dumb mistakes that probably could have been avoided if the writer had taken the time to review his or her work.

Programs to check spelling and grammar exist for a reason. (Although, as I’m sure someone will point out in the comments, these programs aren’t foolproof.)

It takes little time to re-read something to find those errant little thoughts that somehow made it into your copy that don’t belong. Or the misused word or the place where your train of thought derailed. Are you really in such a hurry that you can’t take a minute to re-read your text? Really?

Brian’s post deals with 5 common (but avoidable) mistakes writers can make in their copy. I hope you get a chuckle out of his dangling participle examples.

Five Grammatical Errors that Make You Look Dumb

I should add that, like Brian, if I truly have a grammar question (since grammar was like a foreign language to me in school), I ask my significant other. It helps having an in-house grammarian.

Sonia Simone of Copyblogger beat me to this post. She said it as well as I could, so I figured I’d take the day off from blogging and let her do the heavy lifting.

Of course, I can’t do that without putting in my 2 cents.

I love teaching business owners how to take the reins of their writing and be responsible for it. This is empowering and gives them the opportunity to express themselves within their business in a different way. But sometimes, you just have to hire a professional writer. Sonia has 5 compelling reasons why:

1. You just aren’t any good at it – Yes, it happens. Some people can’t write their way out of a paper bag. Hey, I’m lucky to be able to draw stick figures. We all have our talents, and isn’t it best to focus yours on what you do best – running your business?
2. You don’t have the bandwidth – Everyone’s busy. Taking the time to write compelling copy when you’re also dealing clients, networking, managing employees, etc. is probably not going to happen. Stop putting it off and hire someone to do it for you already!
3. You need a particular expertise – Ah, the specialist. No one writes everything well and while you might be great at general content for your business, you might not be able to write persuasively. That’s where a specialist comes in handy.
4. You’re too close to the topic – Your business is your baby. So it’s often hard to write objectively when you care so much and remember all the hard times and trials it’s taken to get where you are. Give yourself and your business a break. Bring in someone who can look at your business – beauty and warts – and write what your potential clients and customers need/want to hear.
5. The stakes are high – Don’t blow a big launch or introduction with crappy copy. ‘Nough said.

You find the entire post here and I encourage you to read it – whether you need a writer now or not.

Oh, and in the off chance you DO need a writer, I know someone….