Great content – the proof is in the proofing
Proofreading is always time well spent
Let's be honest. How much time do you set aside for proofreading your content? 10 minutes? 30 minutes? The time it takes to run your spell checker?
It's surprising the effort put into the thinking, planning, and writing content but how little time goes into the final proofing stage.
Perhaps there are (rare) occasions when you have not had time, so you publish and cross your fingers. Maybe you get a false sense of security when you see 'Spelling and grammar check is complete'. You breathe a sigh of relief that the hard work's done and move on to your next task. Or perhaps 'good enough' is, well, good enough.
Great content delivers
We know content is important. According to Semrush, 84% of organisations have a content marketing strategy, so it must have value. And it's no surprise. Content builds trust, educates audiences and connects with people. It supports SEO, drives social media strategies, keeps websites fresh - giving people a reason to return -, and generates leads.
While great content delivers, don't underestimate the impact of mediocre content. Typos, errors and inconsistencies undermine confidence in you. It turns people off, distracts readers from focusing on your core messages, affects SEO and can damage your brand.
Build in Quality Control
Your content needs to have the best opportunity to succeed, so give it the TLC it deserves.
Recognise spell check is the start of the process, not the process. Yes, your words are spelt correctly but are they the right ones for what you want to say?
Think of proofreading as your Quality Control process. It's not simply about spotting errors and mistakes. It's about assessing the quality and accuracy of your content. Does it flow? Is it logical? Do you need to break it up to make it easier to read? Always review it onscreen and as a printout. You'll be surprised what you spot on a printed page you never picked up on a screen.
Better still, get someone suitably detached from the process to review it. Being close to what you have written blinds you to errors. That fresh pair of eyes can be valuable in finding mistakes and inconsistencies.
Practically perfect – but not perfect
As you go about polishing your content, you can take heart from this Twitter post from the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading "A good copyeditor picks up 80% of errors; a good proofreader picks up 80% of what's left." So, you don't need to beat yourself up for getting it 100% correct. Perfection itself is subjective. Strive for perfection, and you may never get round to publishing your content – as equally wasteful as posting poor content.
No one means to make mistakes, but building proofreading time into your content creation is always time well spent. That final Polish can make the difference!
