Grammar mistakes can never compensate for the loss in the case of press release writing. Know about the 8 mistakes committed most often while composing a PR.
Innumerable formats of content are uploaded on the internet every day. Among all the types of content that are uploaded, Press Releases are capable of gaining significant momentum. Even small businesses are also opting for PRs for online marketing. This helps them announce their products in the market and establish their credibility and brand value as a whole. However, the problem lies in the quality of PRs written online. If observed closely, you can see a lot of grammar mistakes.
In addition, wrongly executed grammar is the worst enemy of PRs. While most of the other social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, or even Instagram are having an edit button to correct any mistake in the future, PRs do not give this option. A writer must be very careful while writing a Press Release. This blog discusses the 8 grammar mistakes that you should avoid while drafting a press release:
- The confusing ‘Your’ and ‘You’re’ – If you want to avoid mistakes in press release writing, you must acknowledge that it is a formal type of content. Therefore, there is no room for making silly mistakes. One of the most confusing grammar mistakes that almost everyone tends to do is choosing the right form of ‘your’ and ‘you’re’. You must know about the right tone before implementing these words in your press releases.
For example, ‘your’ is used when you try to directly indicate someone, like ‘I completely agree with your consent’ or ‘your laptop belongs to you.’ While using ‘you’re’, you must know that it says ‘you are.’ For instance, ‘you are the one who can make things work here.’
- ‘Anxious’ vs. ‘Excited’ – These are the two terms that are mostly used in PRs while addressing the public about a certain product announcement. It can be a launch of a new product or even a new variant of an existing product. As a press release is formal, you should never use ‘anxious’ whenever you are trying to depict or demonstrate excitement. The term anxious can be freely used while talking to someone, but implementing it in a PR may not fit right.
For example, if your company is launching a new product, you can write in this manner ‘Are you excited (not anxious) for our brand-new addition to the XYZ lineup?’
- ‘Affect’ vs. ‘Effect’ – These are also terms that are quite often misused unintentionally. For the proper use, first, you must know about the meaning it carries. ‘Affect’ is a word (verb) that means ‘making a difference’. On the other hand, ‘Effect’ is a word (noun) that means ‘a change after as a result of an action’.
For example, ‘While the person didn’t notice how he was getting affected by working out, the positive effects soon became clear’.
- Dangles & Participles – This is a very important grammatical aspect one must consider while drafting a PR. This particular aspect deals with sentence formation. If you are not wise enough to throw your message in the right way, the audience will misinterpret your message, and questions about your credibility will become inevitable.
For example, If you write, ‘tension was not even there, as he was enjoying the party’, then the reader will analyze that either tension is a ‘he’ or tension is someone’s name. The correct way would be, ‘he was enjoying the party without any tension’.
- Jumbling up ‘Their’, ‘There’, and ‘They’re’ – Although this particular series looks the same but means totally different. These three words are used in three different situations. First, you must know the meaning of the words before writing a PR. ‘their’ defines ‘being associated or belonging with some people or things’. ‘There’ indicates ‘a particular place or location’, while ‘they’re’ simply means ‘they are’.
For making you clearly understand, take these three sentences as an example:
‘Apple is going to end the competition with ‘their’ new product’
‘I have to go ‘there’ tomorrow’.
‘They’re’ the brightest minds that I have ever met’.
- Unnecessary use of ‘Literally’ – Literally is a word, which is used while defining an exaggerated version of something. This word is fine while talking to a person over the phone or texting on social media. You can freely say that ‘I’m ‘literally tired’. However, while composing a Press release, this word seems unnecessary. An exaggerated meaning of any particular phenomenon can damage your PR’s reputation and value. Moreover, if you want to mean it with the ultimate expression from your side, you can say ‘I’m really tired’. Always bear in mind that PRs are all about truth and facts. Therefore, over-exaggeration in any form is not valid and must be avoided.
- ‘Loose’ vs. ‘Lose’ – Many commit this very funny yet disturbing mistake. Well, any confusion regarding this must be cleared out. The interesting factor that you must notice is that the only difference that lies between them is just an extra ‘o’. The word ‘loose’ means ‘not firmly tight’ and ‘lose’ means ‘being deprived of something’.
For example, ‘I may ‘lose’ to you, but you know that it was unfair’.
‘These shoes are quite ‘loose’’.
- ‘Compliment’ vs. ‘Complement’ – the last in this list is simply a tongue and also a mind-twister. Well, the word ‘compliment’ means ‘addressing someone with some praise and admiration.’ On the other hand, ‘complement’ defines ‘a certain element which contributes some extra features to something else which results in the latter’s development or improvement’. For a better understanding, go through the two sentences.
‘Milk and coffee ‘complement’ each other perfectly.’
‘Did you just ‘compliment’ me for my success?’
There are many other grammatical mistakes that people make while composing a press release. Therefore, the help of professional Press Release writers from Issuewire can help you draft a PR in the most professional way possible. Their expert writers have a proper command of English and diverse grammatical knowledge that can help you draft an ideal Press Release.
