When Copywriting Tips Just Aren't

A friend of mine linked me to a post by entrepreneur Jeff Fenster, who professed he purposely included misspelled words in his sales copy.

His justification?

"In my digital marketing agency, we intentionally misspelled words in sales copy to captivate readers’ attention. Spotting those errors made them feel intellectually engaged and more likely to read on. What seemed like bad spelling was actually a positive strategy. Embrace the unexpected in your marketing approach!"

I'm sorry, say that again?

After scouring academic journals in communication and linguistics, I could find zero evidence for the claim he made in his video.

In fact, controlled tests on "botheration" in text media, i.e. the degree misspellings, sentence fragments, incorrect words, etc. bother the reader, misspellings scored a five out of a possible seven, indicating "moderate botheration."

The only effect these bothersome errors have on the reader is that they hamper initial comprehension without inhibiting recall:

"Brandenburg (2015) also found that writers’ credibility correlated with the errors in their writing. When considering our list of most bothersome errors, it could be argued, then, that fragments ranked first because they impair comprehension—readers must correct the error themselves to gain understanding. This rationale could also account for the higher bothersome ranks of fancy tone/language, wrong word, logic/sequence error, and poorly integrated source materials. In turn, this might also explain the rank of less bothersome errors, including hyphen errors, incorrect number format, and British misspellings. While still somewhat bothersome, these errors do not (comparatively) decrease cognition and recall."[1]

According to this study, people spotting spelling errors decreases the overall credibility of the author.

If this were true, resumes containing spelling errors would be read more closely and lead to higher recruitment of those candidates. Again, the data shows the opposite.

"Spelling errors are cues that lead to an adverse impression about applicants’ employability when application forms are assessed by professional recruiters, and their rejection or selection decision is moderated by their own spelling level."[2]

So where is he pulling this intellectual engagement BS?

Well, from where the sun doesn't shine.

He may protest that they made X sales over Y time which "proves" its success.

Unless there's some kind of empirical study on that particular variable, correlation doesn't prove causation.

Mr. Fenster was named a Top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35, which is a commendable achievement. He has gone on to found many successful businesses. All laudable in their own right.

But please, stop spreading bullshit about communication and writing without any evidence.

Works Cited

1. Boettger, R. K., & Emory Moore, L. (2018). Analyzing Error Perception and Recognition Among Professional Communication Practitioners and Academics. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 81(4), 462-484. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490618803740
2. Martin-Lacroux, C., & Lacroux, A. (2017). Do Employers Forgive Applicants’ Bad Spelling in Résumés? Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 80(3), 321-335. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490616671310