10 Grammar And Editing Hacks For Effective Business Writing

Business writing is something you do every day, so you want to make sure you get it right. After all, it’s most people’s first impression of you. Sloppy errors can make you look unprofessional and careless, which obviously you don’t want. Here are ten top hacks to help you polish up your writing.

1. Avoid Jargon

Jargon is something that happens in every profession. There’s always going to be terms that ‘outsiders’ aren’t going to understand. However, if you can avoid using them, do so. They make business writing impenetrable and can make you look as though you’re just stuffing your writing full of buzz terms that mean nothing.

2. Describe Benefits, Not Features

Online editor Mary Walton from Simplegrad says ‘Your customers aren’t as interested in what you can do for them as for how you can benefit them.’ In your writing, you may want to focus on what your product or business can do. Instead, you need to shift focus and show them how you can help them with the problems they have. Look for this is your writing, and edit out anything that doesn’t fit the objective.

3. Use Online Grammar Guides

Not sure about your grammar? Most people aren’t. If you feel you need to brush up on your skills, there’s plenty of guides out there that can help you out. Academized and AustralianHelp have some really excellent guides that you should check out.

4. Check Names, Titles, And Genders

When writing, you need to know you’ve got every detail correct. ‘There’s nothing more embarrassing than calling a Mr a Ms. during an email exchange’ says outreach specialist Liam Harvey from UKWritings. If you’re not sure, check in with their secretary, or look up the details online.

5. Keep Useful Online Tools Handy

When it comes to editing, you don’t have to do it on your own. There are a lot of online tools that will help you get the job done quicker. For example, try Easy Word Count to check the length of your documents, and Cite It In to properly credit any sources you use. There are a lot out there, so play around with them and find the ones that you like best.

6. Remember That Less Is More

It’s amazing how quickly a reader’s attention span will fail. When writing, you want to say what you need to say, and get out. Cut out unnecessary words and florid prose, as they’re not nearly as vital people think they are.

7. Use Professional Proofreading Services

You can’t get all your writing done by yourself, and more often than not you’d want to bring in a professional. Try hiring from a site such as Essayroo and Boom Essays. They hire expert proofreaders who can go over your work and really polish them up into something special.

8. Use A Template If You Can

If you’ve sent a really good email or letter, save it and use it as a template. If you’ve got most of the work done already, all you have to do is fill in the blanks when needed. It’ll cut down on the editing time you need to take later, too.

9. Don’t Stick To All The Rules

Business consultant Gina Keates from Resumention says that the rules of grammar aren’t as rigid in business writing. ‘You can’t stick to them perfectly’ she says. ‘For example, you use sentence fragments a lot when you’re trying to sell to people.’ When editing, assess whether that phrase is still easily understood, even if you haven’t stuck to the rules.

10. Remember Your Call To Action

And finally, you must include your call to action in whatever you write. This will depend on your audience. If writing for customers, it may look like ‘Call us to book today’. If it’s to a partner or potential partner, it would say ‘Email me in the next week and we’ll arrange to meet up.’ Give the reader the responsibility of taking the next step, and getting in touch with you.

These hacks are perfect for anyone who wants to perfect their business writing. Try them out and you’ll see how much easier your proofreading tasks are now. There’s nothing better than saving time when you’re at work.

Author Bio: Mary Walton is a professional writer at Essay Writing Service. She helps various businesses with building online presence and adding value to the content marketing strategies. Mary’s tutoring work has allowed her to explore education in all of its guises.