Spell Check or Not?

Garrett Moon, CEO of CoSchedule, says correcting typos is a massive waste of time. Complaints about misspellings derive from "ego-driven posturing," he says. He adds, "Typos and grammar mistakes are actually chances to humanize your brand."

Research does not support Moon's attitude.  

University of Michigan linguists Julie Boland and Robin Green conducted a study. They asked respondents to rate how desirable someone would be as a housemate. Applicants who sent emails with typos or grammar mistakes received a lower rating.  

At the peer lending site Lending Tree, loan requests containing spelling mistakes were less likely to attract funding.

In a UK survey of 1000+ adults, 59 percent said bad grammar or misspellings stop them from buying from a website. Most said they wouldn't trust the company to provide good quality service. Others said online errors showed carelessness or unprofessionalness.

Older folks schooled before the Internet are not alone in harshly judging mistakes. SurveyMonkey asked 1000+ American adults if mistakes on a website would make them think twice about buying there. 85 percent of Millennials said yes.