Guys, could you imagine if a major company like the eBay Partner Network sent out a mass email with a typo in the subject? I mean, that would be not just unprofessional and make you question their basic reading comprehension, it would just be so sad. Especially after how they are always on sellers’ cases to not have typos in our listings because it looks unprofessional? Man, it’s a good thing they’d never let anything like that happen, am I right?

Oh, wait…

Now what? I don’t know… maybe repeat grammar school?

Well, maybe we can turn this into a learning experience. See how unprofessional and Mickey Mouse this makes them look? In fact, you’re probably now picturing the ePN as a text messaging teenager, the kind that makes this sort of mistake on Facebook. They sure don’t look like a professional company you’d trust with your business. (If you really needed those bold hints to see the mistake… I weep for you.)

There are other mistakes in this same email but the one in the subject ends up costing them the most because it’s the one most people will look at. At a glance, you see it’s wrong and such a glaring error does damage to their image, even when you know that they are a big company.

Now take your much smaller company. I know nothing about it but the first thing I see is an error in spelling or grammar. Your image takes an even bigger hit because, before we’ve even begun, I’m assuming you’re careless at best, stupid at worst. Maybe that’s harsh but it’s true. Why would I want to trust my money or business with someone who doesn’t take enough care in what they put out there to make sure it’s correct first? What other corners do you cut, mistakes do you make? I wonder. You’ve lost my respect and that can lead to losing my business.

I’d wager that even if you’re the sort of person who makes the occasional error in your own writing, that doesn’t mean you don’t expect the people you trust with your money to get it right. What do you think?

(For a comical refresher on commonly misspelled words, I highly recommend this comic from The Oatmeal.)