Many people believe that social media and blogging are places that one can loosen up and use more casual language than you might with traditional advertising and marketing tasks. However, this does not mean you can ignore grammar and its impact on your audience. Using more casual, conversational language means you can be more open and personal with your audience but it does not mean you can stop proofreading.

Here are five ways to ensure your readers think less of you because of your business blog.

Mixing homonyms Sure there, they’re and their sounds alike but they are not interchangeable. One of the key things you should look for while proofreading is to be sure you have not confused “two” for “too”. It can be easy to do in this world of multi-tasking which is why it’s crucial to review your writing before posting. Many people will dismiss your blog for repeated errors of this type.

Lack of paragraph breaks People do not have the patience to read through a long rant or what appears to be a lecture. This is why paragraph breaks are so important. Crafting posts that are easy to scan allow your readers to feel they can easily manage reading this in their spare time. This rule also applies to sentences – no one wants to read a sentence that runs on and on. It is poor grammar and is hard to read.

Repeated spelling mistakes There are words that make everyone doubt themselves – like “weird”. However, in this age of spell check, there’s no reason to have your business blog awash in spelling mistakes. Be sure that before you post, you spell check your work. This will help you to gain credibility with your audience.

Using the language of a twelve year old If you regularly end sentences with “LOL!!” it is unlikely that people are going to take you seriously. Your business blog is a way to establish yourself as an expert. You will not be seen as an authority if you are using the same language as pre-teens. Being casual is not an excuse to be immature.

Extraneous words and clauses You have to realize that your readers are not mind readers. They cannot guess what you mean and you shouldn’t expect them to. This means your language should be simple. Expecting readers to follow double negatives is too much. It’s unlikely all your readers will understand if you say that you don’t believe something is not going to happen. Keeping your language simple, and free of unnecessary words and clauses will help your readers understand you.

If you want to have your readers respect your authority on a topic, you need to be sure you use language that is respectable. Your business blog can use language that is casual and approachable. However, you also need to be sure your grammar is correct. Without accurate grammar, the grammar police will be unlikely to believe you know what you’re doing.