Nancy Hendrickson

MSNBC had an interesting article on the use of less-than-perfect grammar for Web copywriting.  The trick, the article says is "balancing proper grammar with a conversational tone." Since consumers need to relate to your message, write in the same conversational tone you’d use if you were hanging out at Starbucks with your ideal customer. What grammar rules can you break?

• Contractions.  When’s the last time you said "I had" instead of "I’d"?  1957?
• Dangling prepositions. "You’re going to feel like a pro when you put this on."
• Slang words (if appropriate to your audience). Sheesh, what would my English prof say?
• Sentence fragments. "Got milk?" *Don’t forget, web readers SKIM.  Short sentences are good.
• One-sentence paragraphs.  "See above"

Want to hear something just a *bit* crazy from my friend (and incredible copywriter) Derek Franklin?

Here goes…

Today may be the day to:

* Put your entire collection of copywriting books up for sale
  on eBay
* Cancel your plans to attend that annual copywriting seminar
* Turn your stack of copywiting DVDs into drink coasters
* Clean your browser of every last copywriting blog, article,
  and site you’ve bookmarked over the years

Have I lost my mind, you ask?

I had to laugh – - and was a little jealous – - when I received a press release today about how a new super-dooper mouth guard helped Los Angeles’ Dodger superstar Manny Ramirez have more “strength, balance and flexibility.”

How? Because the guard holds his jaw in a position that allows his jaw and neck muscles to completely relax.

The last time my neck relaxed was sometime in the late 1990s.

The magic apparently comes from a gizmo called The Pure Power Mouthguard (PPM), a technological wonder developed by Canadian dentist, Dr. Anil Makkar.

“Incredible,” is how Ramirez describes it. “I pop this thing in my mouth before I go to the plate, and man do I feel a difference. Just like that, I feel stronger, and more relaxed. And when you’re feeling relaxed and in tune with your body, you can do some damage… I just love it,” he says.

I’d love it too Manny.  Wanna send your spare over to my office?  I’m pretty sure that less neck and jaw strses will make me a FAR better writer.  Right fellow scribes? LOL