Proofreading a MUST in today's competitive world!
I've checked out many of the websites here (in order to learn from) and am sometimes surprised that people put out very good content but, in some instances, the presentation is extremely poor in the area of grammar, etc. This obviously is not a huge negative factor for all the websites that I've looked at because I know that many people still do well making money even though the spelling, grammar and punctuation might not be very good.
To some visitors to those websites, who may have poor English writing skills or might not find grammar that important, this isn't a factor. But there ARE visitors who can be turned off by it. (Have you ever noticed the poor reviews some of the Kindle books receive on Amazon because the reader noticed some incorrect word usage or sentence structure? These are books done by newbie authors in a hurry to get their books out there. And the reviewers can be very harsh about this.)
I wouldn't want to lose one visitor to my website who was turned off by a sloppy presentation in terms of English usage, because there are other things on my websites that I still have to learn and keep an eye on as far as my content, structure, length of paragraphs, etc., that could bug a visitor -- so hopefully English usage isn't one of them! I do think that we are encouraged here at WA to get posts (content) onto our website very rapidly and regularly in order for us to see increased traffic, but I don't recall seeing anything in WA's lessons about the major importance of proper English and proofreading.
Even the best professional proofreaders can miss grammar and punctuation errors, and Spellcheck won't catch the correct version of "to, two, or too". We have many other words in the English language just like that. Only a good proofreader will catch those errors. As more and more people begin creating their own websites, it amazes me how sloppy their spelling, word choices, grammar, and punctuation are (and I'm talking in general, not specifically to WA). It might mean $5 - $10 to pay a professional proofreader to check out a 500-1,000 word post; but, in my mind, it means all the difference in whether a website's visitor gains trust in the message the blogger is trying to portray, or not. If you are a real newbie and can't even afford that, then read and re-read your content, and even check some grammar books, and do the best you can until you are further along. Or even ask a friend or relative to doublecheck it for you.
I've read some pretty good content on websites, but because of the sloppy grammar and punctuation, I left the website feeling the person wasn't respectful enough of their audience to make sure proper English and punctuation was being used. How do you feel when you read maybe a 300 page book and see a slew of grammatical errors? You DON'T expect to see ANY, really. This should be the same way with the content in your websites -- IF you want your website to appear as professional as possible.
When I was working full time in the business world, one of my responsibilities was to proofread all marketing type documents that left the office. One of the main lessons I learned over the years about selling one's services, and attempting to get new jobs, was that you always made sure to have the spelling of the recipient's name, company name, address, etc. perfectly correct. Just as important was the spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the proposals and bids our company sent out. This was not only true in one company I worked for but in all companies where I was employed.
Being in marketing, it was always impressed upon me the importance of these factors in presenting our company's credibility right from the start by the care we took in the presentation of our capabilities in document form. When there is so much competition out there, you DO NOT want to have your customer find even one small thing to pick about.
I had even seen cases at my own company where it got down to choosing between two companies that were both extremely close in price, but the one which was sloppy in the area of English usage, etc. lost the job. Why? Because if a company is careless in that area, might they also be careless in other areas? And I am talking about a $100,000+ construction job. This kind of scrutiny doesn't necessarily happen in all industries, but never underestimate the importance of your presentation, especially in today's competitive world.
I hope this post might help some of you WA members realize that it is great to get that content onto your website as quickly as possible. However, it is equally important to take that extra step to make sure there's nothing in your posts that could cause a visitor to turn away from spending time on your site because they were turned off by sloppiness -or what might appear to be a lack of care on your part.
Here's to your success!!
Diana
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There have been many members who have posted about this topic and made certain suggestions to improve these area's, we can still make mistakes despite checking it over a number of times, thank you for the reminder
You are sooooo right! I can't tell you how many times I've read over something I've written, and each time I find something that I missed previously -- and I've worked with the English language throughout my work life. So, I am sure it can be quite a challenge for those for whom it wasn't a job priority. That's why I recommend that once a person has a few dollars to spare, to get the help of a professional. Or, as one person recommended, at least have a friend or relative who is pretty good at proofreading, check your material, or trade off proofreading help with someone else who also writes website content. Thanks for your comments! Diana
Thanks Diana. I agree!
Even the most literate people can miss a lot when proofreading their own material. It would be nice to have a buddy system, proofreader :-)
That friend or relative you mention is often enough.
Cheers!
Val
Hi Val,
Thanks for your input. BTW, I've got four cats now (Moo, Bonnie, Ben, Kami - short for Kamikazi!). They sure do have distinct personalities. As a previous dog lover, I never knew how fascinating cats could be, but I sure to, now!
Cheers to you, too!
Diana
Kamikazi...hahaha...that is awesome.
Yes, cats do have very individual personalities.... And of all domesticated animals, they are the closest to their 'wild' roots.
History also says that we did not domesticate them, but instead, they came to us :-) Enjoy your feline children. Thanks for sharing them with me. It made my day.
All the best!
Val
Very good article Diana and particularly well written. Trust me I looked for a screw-up. ;^)
I just had an offer from a very educated WA member to proofread my latest article for my website. It was a tremendous help.
My normal routine for writing and proofreading anything is to use Grammarly, it helps with spellcheck and grammar. Next I have a Text-to-Speech feature on my Mac that I have read back what I've written. It's hard for me to catch errors when I read, but when it's read back to me errors really stick out.
I'm not an educated person, I'm a street guy and I write as I speak. Kind of like Mark Twain's characters. I hope that some of my readers can connect with what I have to say and how I say it.
I do wish I could write more intelligently and also faster. I would take prolific over perfect if given the choice.
According to Grammarly, I have no gross mistakes.
Thanks for your thoughts, Phil.
I looked at your profile and see you owned a company at one time. Most company owners know the importance of correct English usage, and that's who provided some of my hardest lessons, and which turned out to be invaluable to me.
I'm not surprised that you are making every effort possible to have your written words look good! You've mentioned some great tools!
I don't want people to think that I am advocating spending so much time on it that it becomes obsessive and takes away one's momentum from doing all the other things that help improve their sites but just hoping to let others know of an area that they really do need to look at -and it seems like you have it well covered!
Diana
"Most company owners know the importance of correct English usage."
My job these days is to talk to small and medium-sized business owners across the country and I will tell that "correct English usage" is not a priority. It is far more important when I'm on the phone to have no regional speech pattern. Hey, I'm from Brooklyn, ya know what I mean?
Reading and writing are a dying art. Have you proofread any text messages lately? My plan over the next year is to focus more on video and cut back on written articles for content on my website. I'd still like to be able to speak reasonably intelligently and grammatically in my videos.
Yes, it truly is a dying art! And text messages can be really unbelievable.
Hey, Phil, if you plan on focusing more on videos in the coming year, you might want to read my post "Why transcripts are really important".
Anyway, all the best to ya!! :-)
Diana
HI Diana and these are great points and this is often something that is overlooked due to tiredness or just being too close to your work and I love it when anyone reb=views my site and points out things that I have missed so I am able to correct - the tools here are very good so you can request feed back on your site and also get comments on your site and this helps to improve -
You're right, Paul, it is so easy to miss things. And some of it isn't critical. And the feedback site is helpful if the person looking at your site is good at proofreading! :-) But any and all comments sure help, don't they -- and getting someone else's perspective of our site(s)? I know I appreciate every little bit of help I can get!
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You can't emphasis that enough, Diana. In my short tenure here at WA I've noticed a very casual attitude toward English usage and it does reflect badly on the post or website. Keep up the good work. Ted
Thanks, Ted. If I can't do much here to help people with their technical issues, maybe I can help keep them on track in this regard! :-) Diana