Sydney's a multicultural city, and people whose first language isn't English can sometimes find it hard to market successfully to a wide and sophisticated audience. You can have the best idea, product or service in the world, but you need to be able to tell people about it clearly and professionally.
That's why one of the services I offer is editing material for people for whom English is a second language (ESL). Often these people can speak English fluently, but written English can be a much harder challenge. How many of us have had a giggle at the "Engrish" photos people have posted on various websites showing signs, products and other material translated into English, which either don't make sense or are downright suggestive. Admittedly most of those photos are taken in countries where English isn't readily spoken. Writing in a language that isn't your native tongue is hard and fraught with spelling, punctuation and grammar dilemmas which could leave you looking less than professional. Sometimes words and phrases just get lost in translation.
My editing services help ESL speakers engage with their Australian audience without losing their own personality. I met a lovely lady at a function very recently; she's Chinese and is a super sales person with a vivacious personality. We got chatting and I told her some of the things I did in my business, and she's keen to talk more with me about my proof reading and editing her hard copy marketing materials. I'd love to help her, because she's very professional in her outlook and honest in her business, and it wouldn't take much to rework and polish her marketing documents. I've put a call in to her office and we'll see what comes of it.
First impressions count, and if you get a flyer or brochure in your letterbox that has spelling errors or sentences that don't make sense, what's your first impression of the company that sent it? Are you going to trust them and use them? Or do you think, "Hmm, if they send out information full of mistakes, how good a job are they going to do?"
Think about it.
If you know someone I can help, or if you ARE someone I can help, contact me now to talk about my rates, which are very reasonable.
punctuation
Have you noticed how Apostrophe Man has been leaving his mark more and more often? How much marketing material do you receive, by email or hard copy, with apostrophes either in the wrong place or not there when they should be?
Many of us use apostrophes to incorrectly denote a plural, eg: CD's $19.99, in the 1990's, PC's on sale now. You see this everywhere, don't you, and assume it's common usage. It might be used everywhere but it's still incorrect and pedants like me itch to get the TippEx out and fix it. These apostrophes are not denoting plurals, they are being possessive when they have nothing to be possessive about. In short, they simply shouldn't be there.
Sadly even the most educated of us fall prey to inappropriate apostrophe usage; I've received many letters and emails from marketing managers and experts with degrees in communications who still get it wrong. This is a personal thing but bad punctuation does turn me off using or buying the product or service it's promoting.
Then there's the confusion between its and it's. "It's" should only be used as a contraction of "It is". "Its" is actually a possessive pronoun like "yours" or a possessive determiner like "my".
There are several good books about language and punctuation which are easy reads, can set you straight and ensure your marketing material doesn't fall prey to Apostrophe Man and his evil band of language assassins. One is the stalwart Style Manual produced by the Australian Government Publishing Service. The other is the marvellous Eats Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss, which you and your employees will fight over. It's serious, but also seriously funny. Both these books can be purchased at booksellers.
End of gripe...go and check your marketing material and website now and consider your apostrophes! If you're in doubt about what's right, contact me to proof read your material for you.