The average readership is grammar school level, whether we want to accept 3rd grade, 4th grade or any of the other anecdotal ages to write to, so pulling the words together as a single concept helps the flow of the reader’s eyes. And yes, occasionally someone will point out grammatical errors (“bonuses like…” instead of “bonuses such as…” or “bonuses including…”), mixed use of numbering protocols (“First, you need 3 things…”) or colloquialisms using “bad” English (“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”). Often these can work better and be understood easier than a more proper form (“You have not yet seen anything!”), and give sales copy a certain added energy.
When I’m using phrases I want to stick in the readers’ minds I’ll also use first letter caps (ie, Private Members-Only Broadcast, Qualified Members, etc.). In emails ALL, EASY or IMMEDIATE often appear as all caps (You Get ALL…). I also mix and match first letter caps and limited all caps (Your BEST Financial Year EVER!).
In printed copy I will even use eye patterns for strategic word placement (using key words in bold and zigzagging them strategically page-to-page), so lazy eyes and impatient readers who skim the pages will get the gist of the offer anyway.
Even the OED and Websters are constantly adapting, sometimes questionably… this year “heart” gained limited use as a verb (the symbolic I <3 (heart) you) and just a couple of years ago Google became acknowledged as a verb, much like Xerox years ago. WAG is now officially a term (not just an abbreviation) for Wives and Girlfriends. No mention of Scientific Wild Ass Guess (or SWAG) yet, but watch for it! The Oxford press added 2000 new words, phrases and meanings for English (bromance, unfriend, tweetup and twerking among them).
In the next post we’ll look at options to structure complete phrases for the greatest effect.
