'YOUR BETTER THEN THIS' - OR YOU NEED TO BE

DIGITAL MEDIA GHOST | DIGITAL MARKETING

As speedy as the ever-changing headlines are the judgments made by the audience this non-stop flow of content targets. With all the competition already in the mix, do you want to lose a client because you forgot to spell-check?

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The frenzied pace of the Digital Age has opened the door to an increasing number of grammatical slips and typos in Web content, not to mention the constant bad examples perpetuated by netspeak.  With the attention spans of technology-addicted consumers shifting every few seconds, content needs are voluminous and deadlines are swift.

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But as speedy as the ever-changing headlines are the judgments made by the audience this nonstop flow of content targets. With all the competition already in the mix, do you want to lose a client because you forgot to spell-check?  

It might not seem like a big deal when you see even major blog sites regularly posting pieces that were clearly never proofread before publishing. But when your blog is meant to encourage readers to pay you for whatever product or service you provide, it becomes a big deal. 

Here’s what multiple typos, spelling and grammar errors can signify to your potential customers:

• You’re lazy. “Close enough” is good enough. Who wants someone with that attitude shingling their roof? 

• You’re uneducated. How are you going to run an effective marketing campaign if you don’t seem to know the difference between “then” and “than?” 

• You don’t care. If you can’t take the time to make sure that “the” isn’t spelled “teh”  in your blog, how can I trust that you'll take the time to make sure my distribution contract is iron-clad?
  
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The negative impression left by mistakes like these is compounded by the fact that your customers know how easy they are to avoid. Because all you have to do is proofread before posting. So why doesn’t everyone do that?

One reason may be that many people think it doesn’t matter - the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy. Perhaps it doesn’t matter to everyone, but can you really afford to lose any business over something so fixable? The other reason is that many people don’t know how to proofread effectively. 

Here are some tips to help you get the best out of your proofing:

• Spell-check. It’s right there in your word processing program. It’s on Facebook. Use it! Make your first pass all about manually approving each item that is flagged for spelling or grammar. 
• Read each piece out loud. Often mistakes your eyes miss in scanning are caught by your mouth. 

• Have someone else read your piece. This one is crucial, and here’s why: 

Look familiar? It’s probably shown up in your Facebook newsfeed at least seven times. When you proofread your own pieces this principle comes into play even more; you already know what you’ve written, so you can’t view it objectively. Make sure someone else takes a look and tracks changes so you can see and approve their edits. 

• Don’t wait until the last minute. The more rushed you are, the greater your chances of making mistakes while writing and missing mistakes while proofing. Give yourself enough time to walk away from the finished piece for a few hours, and then come back and give it one last read-through. 

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be publishing only “clean” pieces, leaving your customers with nothing but the best impression of your business.

Need help with content creation or proofreading/editing your posts? Shoot us a message. That’s why we’re here. 

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