Your Teachers Were Right - Spelling Does Count!

Over the past few weeks I have become very aware of how little attention is paid to accuracy of spelling or use of language in the blogosphere. Now don't get me wrong - if your blog is one of a personal nature or one which is a personal commentary on the world around us, I can live with the use of poor spelling or bad grammar - after all, its your blog!

Where I do have a problem though is with those blogs which deem themselves to be authoritative on a particular subject. These are blogs which tend to have a theme or who market themselves as 'experts' or 'commentators' on a particular subject.

Some authors of these blogs seem to think that their spelling doesn't matter. I want to say that it does. I can be very impressed with the aesthetics of a blog. When thought and planning have gone into the presentation of the template or design, I am impressed. However it is the content that will make me want to come back again and again. When the posts are riddled with poor spelling and grammar I am less inclined to do so. A quick spell check on the computer would suffice and for those professional bloggers out there I am sure a dictionary on the desk (or a visit to Dictionary.com) would be part of their work tools.

Professional presentation in our business correspondence is as important. A letter sent from your business which is filled with incorrect grammar and poor spelling sends the message that the recipient was so unimportant that you could not be bothered to take time to run a spell check or have the letter proof-read. It needs to be remembered that the presentation of your business runs much deeper than just the way your office is laid out, your dress code or the presentation of your product or service. Everything that comes from your business, including correspondence, needs to reflect a level of professionalism.

So if you don't know the difference between "stationery" and "stationary" I suggest you start finding out sooner than later!

Dressed For Success - Even At Home!

I have long held onto the belief that our dress-code speaks volumes about how we perceive ourselves and how we are perceived by others.

Way too many home-business owners fall into the trap of thinking that because their office is a small step from their bedroom, they can get stuck into work each day looking like they fell out of bed!

I was delighted therefore to come across a post entitled "Dressed To Bill" from a favourite blog of mine - Ideate.co.za

The book referenced in this post is Spare Room Tycoon: The Seventy Lessons of Sane Self-Employment written by James Chan.

Home-business owners take note - while your business success is not solely based on how you present yourself, you owe it to yourself and your customers to be professional in your dress-code and personal presentation.