Proof Positive: Why Proofreading Is Important For Your Business

Last week I was having a quick browse on eBay when something caught my eye. Black patient shoes! screamed the headline. Must see! Wow! I thought. Patient shoes! What are they when theyre at home? I clicked on the link. The shoes appeared. Black they certainly were. But patient? No. Or not as far as I could see, anyway. These, you see, were patent shoes as in patent leather. And very nice they were too just what I was looking for, and in my size. Did I buy them though? Not on your life. I didnt buy the gorgeous sequence dress I found a few minutes later, either. (Answers on a postcard if you can guess what a sequence dress is) My reasoning was simple. If the sellers of these items couldnt be bothered to take the time and care to make sure theyd got the name of the product right, and spelled it correctly, then how on earth could I trust them with the more complex matter of accepting my payment and sending out my patient shoes? The answer: I couldnt. The sloppy spelling had created the impression of a sloppy seller. It had also lost them a customer. So it is with business. You may think that a couple of spelling mistakes in an email or report dont matter. They do. Just ask all of the prospective job candidates whose applications didnt make it out of the slush pile because their covering letter was littered with typos. They dont get an interview because theyve already made themselves look careless; if your website is a mess of bad grammar and spelling, then it doesnt matter how great your product or service is - you already look unprofessional. And if your marketing literature is littered with typos forget it! Whether youre a large-scale business or a small-time seller, proofreading is something you really cant afford to skimp on. Its also something you shouldnt try and do yourself. As any professional writer will tell you, when you work on a piece of writing you become blind to its faults. No matter how carefully you re-read it, you see what you think is there. Thats probably why last month a well-known news website confidently predicted that John Kerry would knot win the election last year. And why my accountant keeps writing to me about teh business. If youre serious about your professional image, get someone else to proofread your brochures, website, letters, adverts. And steer clear of patient shoes