CREATION: Neglecting 'Net copy can erode customer confidence

"The new *** phone is a perfect example of ergonomycs and technology meeting in perfect harmony. Sleek, timeless good looks combined with practical features ensure that the *** is the ideal mobile phone for todays' fashion conscious entrepeneurs. Available in 7 trendy colors, the *** - only for a priviliged few." This is actual copy, written for the one of the world's leading manufacturers of mobile phones and - aside from the banality of style - it contains at least six spelling and grammatical errors. The same company would never dream of allowing such poorly-crafted copy to appear in a print advertisement or a direct mail leaflet. In fact - like most international companies - they probably have a 200-page brand manual, which is sent to their advertising agencies around the world directing them to adhere to strict copy guidelines. So how did this copy slip through the net? Quite simply, because that's where it appears - on the 'Net. And because it's only going to be read by a potential audience of 200 million people worldwide, it really doesn't matter, does it? This ludicrous mindset is still the norm with many of the region's largest advertisers: 'Net copy really doesn't matter; in fact it matters so little that you don't need copywriters to put it together. "Let one of the website art directors, or better still, the tea-lady, do it" is - incredibly - the prevailing attitude. A few years ago, when websites were seen by most companies as little more than "sexy bits on the side", there might have been some justification for such a view. But today, with websites playing an increasingly important and accountable role, this cavalier attitude is simply no longer acceptable. Love them or hate them, websites have moved on from being bits of graphic-driven fluff for teenagers; and they're here to stay - at least for the foreseeable future. A badly-written website is hardly going to bring a mighty multinational to its knees, but over a period of time it could erode the confidence of many of its customers. Imagine, for example, a businessman who decides to book a flight online with Acne Airlines, only to find that the site - written by an underpaid and overworked website designer forced to moonlight as a copywriter - is full of glaring typos and grammatical errors. This is on a hypothetical par with being told that the pilot of the plane you're in is half smashed, sharing the cockpit with a bottle of Jack Daniel's (alright, that analogy might be a little over the top, but I think you see what I mean). It's certainly not going to inspire you to fly with the airline again - assuming you ever make it back down. (On the other hand, those professional writers who write solely for the Internet and who claim that it is a highly-specialised skill, much akin to brain surgery, are greedily trying to hog the market to themselves. 'Net copy is different to ad copy, but any good writer experienced in traditional advertising can easily adjust to the medium of the Internet.) The bottom line is that even pretty pictures and souped-up vector graphics can get boring after a while, not to mention tedious to view with a 56K modem. Sooner or later people are going to start reading the copy - whether you want them to or not. And the 'bimbo' websites - those which rely solely on their looks rather than substance - will eventually lose whatever competitive edge they ever had to those sites, which not only look good, but are intelligently and professionally written, too.

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