Proofreading is the single biggest thing you need to do before publishing any content. You might have written the most amazing content, but having just one unnoticed error could cause you to lose potential customers and damage your brand reputation.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been reading a Blog, looked at a website, or received direct marketing and noticed a typo or bad grammar? It happens far too often, even with large corporates, who you’d think would be checking what they’ve written before publishing.
Proofreading is essential if you don’t want to turn potential customers off. Not checking (and double-checking) what you’ve written will mean some customers just don’t want to do business with you. After all, if you can’t be bothered to check what you’re publishing, then why should they trust you with their custom, right?
It’s not just about losing new customers though; badly written copy can also result in brand damage and that’s something no business wants to happen.
So how can you ensure that what you are writing is accurate?
Don’t rely on yourself
No matter how good a writer you are, you won’t pick up on every error. In fact, the more times you read something, the less likely you are to pick up on errors. Our brains are programmed to simply recognise the words in a sentence and anticipate what word will follow.
The more you read and re-read something the less likely you are to spot errors. That’s why it’s important to have somebody else read your work. Having a fresh pair of eyes read your content means they will be more likely to pick up on those errors you may have missed.
Don’t rely on spell checkers
Spelling and grammar checkers can be great, but they can only go so far. Yes, they will pick up the major errors, but they also miss typos that are actual words. For example, spellcheck didn’t catch any errors in these phrases – “My manger is on holiday this week” or “The young girl was very manure for her age”.
Find a proofreading expert
Asking somebody else to take a look at what you’ve written reassures you that your copy is accurate. But you need to have confidence that the person you’ve chosen to review your work will find those potential errors and that’s why it’s a great idea to hire a freelance proofreader.
Get in touch now and find out how I can help with your proofreading.