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Blog Writing With the Oxford Comma

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punctuationWith the Say It For You focus this week on proper grammar and spelling for blog writers, I couldn’t resist mentioning the Oxford comma. The who? you ask.

Wherever there’s a list of things, you’ll find commas to separate the items.  Provided you’re a believer in the Oxford or serial comma, you’d include it right before the final item in the list.

Newspaper reporters (and I was a newspaper columnist for many years) typically don’t use that last comma. The AP Style guide we use in the two colleges where I work does not require the Oxford.  As for me, I do prefer to use that last comma, for the simple reason that it helps avoid confusion.  The absolute last thing blog content writers want is to create confusion.  To the contrary – our whole purpose in life is to clarify the situation so that online readers feel comfortable and see themselves using our clients’ products and services.

Ann Edwards, writing in grammarly.com, appears to agree with me. Edwards offers an example of how a reader might misinterpret matters in the absence of a clarifying Oxford comma:

“I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.”

(Without the comma, the sentence might be interpreted as meaning that you love your parents, who are Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty, rather than your loving four people – your parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.)

Another example is offered by grammarbook.com:

 Her $10 million estate was split among her husband,   daughter, son, and  nephew.”

(Without the last comma, you might imagine that the son and nephew had to split one third of the estate, rather than understanding that each relative got one fourth of the whole estate.)

The Oxford isn’t always necessary to make the meaning clear, I explain to blog content writers. Here’s a sentence where you’d understand, even without the comma, that there are four pool care activities being mentioned:

“You’ll need to add chemicals, monitor chlorine levels, scoop out debris
and prepare the pool as the seasons change.”

Still, I was happy to learn, the Chicago Manual of Style, MLA and US Government Printing Office all advocate the use of the Oxford comma, even though the Associated Press advises against.

Anyway, my own thought about using the Oxford Comma is, “Above all, create no confusion!”

 

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If You Could Use Proper Grammar and Spelling, That’d Be “Grate”

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proper grammar in blogs

Kimberly Joki, in her grammarly blog, lists some of the “worst writing mistakes you can make at work.” Even if you are someone who isn’t bothered by a misplaced comma, she says, there will inevitably be coworkers and clients who will notice and who will judge your quality of work by your mistakes, she points out, adding the advice to “Be smarter than you were in primary school.”

Joki offers a list of pairs and triplets which are often mixed up:

  • There/ they’re/ their (“They’re” means “they are”. “There” refers to a place. “Their” refers to something owned by more than one person.)
  • Your/ you’re (The difference, Joki explains, is that “Your” talks about you owning something, while “you’re” talks about you being something.)
  • Effect/ affect (When you’re talking about the change itself, use “effect”; When you’re talking about the act of changing, describe how that thing “affects” you.)
  • Between/ among (“Between” refers to two entities sharing something, “among” to three or more sharing something.)

Christina Wang of Shutterstock.com agrees. “No matter where you work or what you do, everyone needs to know how to write effectively for business these days,” she says.  “And yes,” she adds, “that includes paying attention to grammar.”

Wang’s no-no list includes a couple of others:

  • Using “I” instead of “me”.  Don’t say “Thanks for meeting Steven and I for lunch yesterday.”  (It should be “Steven and me”.
  • Using unnecessary apostrophes.  “That company’s presentation is full of great idea’s.” (Apostrophes show possession, not plural.)  “You’ll love it’s strategy.” (“It’s” means “it is”’ “its” is a pronoun.)

As blog content writers, if we could use proper grammar and spelling, that’d be just g-r-e-a-t!

 

 

 

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For Checks and Blog Content, We Need Both Words and Numbers

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Writing a check
When it comes to check writing, business humorist Todd Hunt learned the hard way, words trump numbers. The humiliation will live with him forever, he admits, but he learned something: The bank goes by the amount you write in words (on the line that says “Pay”), not the numerals you write in the box. What actually happened, Hunt explains, is that he miswrote the words, which made his check worth more than he meant it to be…resulting in an overdraft. So, he concludes, words trump numerals.

In fact, to prevent his readers from falling into the same trap, Hunt shares an instructive article about foiling crooks when using checks. The gist of it is, write out the amount using words to avoid fraud and confusion.

“I am a Qualitative Social Scientist,” states Sarah-Louise Quinnell “I believe in that words tell you more than numbers”, she says, She came to that conclusion, she reveals, in researching cognitive processes for her Doctoral thesis.

For example, Quinell discusses a particular statistic:

“85% of students ranked the class a 4 or above”.

That sounds positive, she explains, until you dig a bit deeper and find out that only 30% of the people in the class answered the question!

“Words on the other hand,” she points out, “are harder to manipulate. They also tell you why someone voted a particular way.” To improve customer satisfaction you need to understand the why’s,” she concludes.

Business blog headlines and business blogs themselves are filled to the brim with statistics. In fact, one of the hottest trends in business blogging today is infographics, which is a way of presenting statistics in visually appealing form by combining numbers with graphic images. “Infographics are all over the place nowadays. How do you know which ones to trust?” asks Randy Olson.

In fact, Olson views “data visualizations” or “infographics” with a jaundiced eye. Yes, he admits, they have repeatedly provided us with new and insightful perspectives on the world around us. However, time and time again, he says, “we have seen that data visualizations can easily be manipulated to lie.”

As a corporate blogging trainer, I see a lot of value in the use of numbers in blog posts (assuming, of course, that statistics are presented fairly and honestly).

Using numbers in blog post titles is a great way to set expectations for a post. It tells readers exactly what they’re going to get, and exactly how much of it, says Pamela Vaughan of Hubspot.

But where the words come in, I believe, is that one of the primary functions blogs serve is putting statistics into perspective, so that readers are given the answer to the “So what?” and “So, what’s in-it-for-me” questions.

Payors must fill out their checks with both words and numbers. Business blog post content writers should do the same.

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A Business Blog Needs Words

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emoji

“Blogging has become the best possible way to leverage your online presence and gain traction with Internet searches performed by your potential clients.”(No surprise there, but what I did find surprising is the source of the remark – none other than the National Association of Realtors!)

The realtor website went on to repeat the modern blogging mantra: “An interesting, relevant image is an essential part of your blog post. It’s not merely aesthetic; it’s crucial for boosting your readership and your SEO. People are much more likely to read a blog illustrated with a nice image,” the NAR advises. “It doesn’t matter what industry, topic, niche, or specialty, images matter.”

“Hey!” I sometimes want to shout. “Don’t forget that, no matter what industry, topic, niche, or specialty, the main content of the blog post consists (or at least should consist) of WORDS. Words matter.” Jennifer Olney of bealeader.com knows what I mean. In “Lazy Blogging: Why Your Word Matter,” Olney comments that too many authors rely on visuals to take the lazy way out of writing. Real authors, she implies use adult words and showcase their understanding of the use and beauty of the English language.

“Content comes in many forms, but web copy, articles and blog posts are among the most popular – and effective,” writes Dan Hughes of jtvdigital. Like Olney, Hughes observes that “ Many people overlook words and the power they have to entice their target audience. In this day and age, pictures and video are powerful promotional tools that cater to the attention span of the modern digital consumer, Hughes points out. “However,” he continues, “much like any business, well-crafted web copy is an essential part of success.”

“Words are art, and our ability to convey our message in words helps us be understood without distraction, Olney says. All the emojis in the world could not convey the extent to which I agree!

 

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Business Blog Tidbits Far From Useless

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love and togetherness
So, why do I find seeming “useless” tidbits of information so very useful when it comes to blog content writing? Let me count the ways:

1. Tidbits can be used to describe your way of doing business, to clarify the way one of your products works, or explain why one of the services you provide is particularly effective in solving a problem. It’s interesting when business owners or practitioners present little-known facts about their own business or profession.  In “Keep It Cool,” for example, Mental Floss magazine reviews the history of air conditioning, telling the story of how, when President Garfield was shot and lay dying in the White House, inventors rushed forward with devices they hoped would help, using a contraption to blow air over a box of ice into a series of tin pipes, eventually using a half-million pounds of ice. History tidbits in general engage readers’ curiosity, evoking an “I didn’t know that!” response.

2. One thing I suggest stressing in blog posts is best business practices.  While one goal of any SEO marketing blog is to help your business “get found”, once that’s happened, the goal changes to helping the online readers get comfortable with the way you do business. Mental Floss Magazine highlighted the making of the 1991 movie “The Silence of the Lambs”, in which the serial murderer is obsessed with collecting rare moths.  Animal rights groups might have protested the exploitation of harmless insects just to make a film, but, thanks to animal wrangler Raymond Mendez, the 300 tomato hornworm moths traveled first class, were kept in a room with special heat and humidity settings, outfitted with tiny harnesses during high speed stunts. Blog content writing is the perfect vehicle for conveying a corporate message like this one, starting with a piece of trivia, presented to make a point.

3. Common myths surround every business and profession.  If you notice a “factoid” circulating about your industry, a common misunderstanding by the public about the way things really work in your field, you can use a little-known tidbit of information that reveals the truth behind the myth. In Mental Floss Magazine, I found a cute myth-debunking article about the “Eskimo kiss”. Popular wisdom claims that Eskimos rub noses (because kissing on the lips would cause their mouths to freeze together). The myth started in Hollywood when the director of the 1922 movie “Nanook of the North” saw Eskimo women giving their babies “kuniks”, pressing their noses against their babies’ cheeks and breathing in their scent. Truth be told, Eskimos kiss on the lips just like everyone else. That Eskimo kiss debunk would be perfect for the blog of a lip balm company, a lipstick manufacturer, or a candy company around Valentine’s Day.

For clarifying and debunking, and to add variety and fun, tidbits of information are far from useless!

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