How important is proof-reading exactly?
The short answer is very.
We all make typos, mistakes, or have words or phrases we get wrong. That’s okay, but can hurt you in business. Not everyone will even notice, it’s true, but the ones who notice, really notice. I cannot count the number of times that I have seen signs for well known businesses with spelling errors, typos, or even incorrect punctuation, and asked myself why anyone would do business with someone who pays so little attention to detail.
Take a look at the above signs, and ask yourself if they instill confidence in the businesses they represent, or the message they are trying to get across. While many of these types of signs can be hilarious, that is not what you want associated with the hard work you do every day!
This doesn’t just apply to signs, but also to contracts and documents, letters to customers, replies to reviews on social media, your website, and anything written that your customers or the general public will see.
We all have a grammar/spelling enthusiast in our circle (I have several in mine), and while we may occasionally laugh at how intense they can be, they can be really helpful when it comes to your business. If you have one, put them to work! Get them to read every document before it’s printed to catch things you (or even spellcheck) may have missed. If you don’t have one of “those people”, feel free to message me for a read over of any documents you are unsure of, or just want a second pair of eye on! You will be so happy you did.
Another good option is to read what you have written out loud (to yourself or someone else) because this forces you to slow down, and really read each word, as you might not if you did a quick once-over before hitting send. I myself do this with every reply to a negative google review, because I want to make sure that I am setting myself and the company up to look professional and competent when dealing with issues that have occurred.
And- just so you don’t think you are alone, I will let you in on a secret: I have re-read this blog post twice, adding words that I missed, taking out redundancies, or clarifying points that didn’t make sense.
