Recommended Punctuation “Mistakes” Useful Online

Sometime breaking the rules of punctuation can be a very good thing. I have a reasonable grasp of grammar and rules of punctuation. It’s debateable whether my grasp is good enough to justify my errors and repeated ignoring of said rules. But I think the end result is more readable and compelling content.

I have support for my practice of neglecting the letter of punctuation and grammar law. Respected copywriter, John Forde of The Copywriter’s Roundable, recommended “Five Punctuation ‘Mistakes’ You Should Make” recently…

An “Aha!” moment for me… Not just because I am guilty of all these mistakes. But also because all help “scannability” and help give content the feel of speech — useful qualities for website content to have.

Maybe I’ve picked up these mistakes because Mr Forde’s excellent newsletter is one of my longest lasting email subscriptions — maybe seven years and as many primary email addresses. I have always admired the way he writes. Perhaps the “mistakes” have slipped into my content and copy work by some process of osmosis.

But hang on. Didn’t a friend wonder what was going on with all my elipses back in ‘97… And didn’t a professor of mine make a comment about my penchant for the emdash back in ‘89… No matter. I’ve definitely picked up a lot reading Forde’s regular advice on copywriting and noting the way he puts that advice together.

The point?

Forde’s advice has particular relevance to writing for the Web.

January 18th’s issue of The Roundtable (a must read for anyone wanting to write compellingly) recommended the mistakes in the context of writing “powerful sales copy”. But all five also help make your writing more readable by breaking up the flow of conventional sentences (commas ending in full stops or periods, if you prefer).

So, what are these five “mistakes”? All are acceptable in moderation but likely to raise the hackles of “proper” punctuation’s defenders when used frequently. Forde advocates extensive use of:

1. Emdashs
2. Parentheses
3. Quotation Marks
4. Ellipses (”…”)
5. Apostrophes

The emdash and the ellipsis are particularly useful in the online context. Why? Because they serve to make content more readable.

Next time you’re looking at a page of content online note how the long dashes and three little dots break things up and grab the attention of your scanning eye.

You scan a page before you read it (unless you “read” the Web differently from most people) so best practice demands multiple sub-headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points… Creative and “illegal” use of punctuation complements these best practices by making your short paragraphs more scannable.

And all five “mistakes” have another important online value. They help give content a feel of people speaking: a rhythm of speech rather than the more even flow of more formal writing. A rhythm that is particularly useful in giving voice to the people behind a website.

Ideally, website content should serve to engage and inform. To do that it has to:

1. grab attention by offering visitors easy access to key points
2. and convey key messages in a compelling way.

You’ll find punctuation your english professor might have frowned on a useful tool in achieving these duel goals.

I urge you to read “Five Punctuation ‘Mistakes’ You Should Make”. Forde describes why they can help to make content more engaging and your message more effective. (He does it much more eloquently than I could.) And then think about those “mistakes” when you are next creating content for your website. Use them to make your content more engaging and readable.

[Aside: reviewing what I have written here, I am not sure whether I would have used the "mistakes" less if they hadn't been the subject of the post... I wonder. ]