Ah, if only we were perfect we would never need to edit our work. With the onset of the new year, everyone is focused on the nips and tucks that are needed in their life. One New Years resolution you may want to consider strongly is getting extra eyes on your content.
You can’t do it yourself
The word, “editor,” can take on many meanings, but in its most basic form, Merriam-Webster defines the noun as,
“Editor: someone who edits especially as an occupation.”
You just cannot edit your own work to the degree that someone else can. Even after twenty-six years as an expert copywriter, errors still slip through the net, and may I say I am most horrified when I find them. As discussed in my other blogs, there are ways to limit these oversights, and I do get some solace knowing that even organizations such as the Associated Press miss glaring errors.
Nevertheless, when it comes to the text you present to your followers, you must do everything possible to assure that what they read is correct. After all, your reputation is riding on it.
Say, “Hello Copywriter!”
While copywriters are best known for creating content, they are also very adept at making sure that what is written by others is properly produced. It makes sense if you think about it. One of the most significant stages of creating incredible copy involves the proofreading and editing steps. As a result, professional copywriters always find themselves elbows deep in massaging grammar.
Editing hotspots
I can’t think of any place where writing errors are more prevalent than on websites. The reason for this may be because websites are multifaceted animals by nature. In such, text often gets overlooked amongst all the other proofreading shiny objects. About the time someone gets down to reviewing the big picture, ADHD kicks in, someone yells, “SQUIRREL!” and down the rabbit trails everyone goes. The best advice I can offer is, once your website is done to your satisfaction, hire a freelance copywriter to come in with a fresh perspective to comb every page for you.
You should also want to grab a second opinion on any of your own writing that you plan to share with others. Let’s take blog writing for example. I recently had one of my clients write-up several potential blog entries on his return flight from Tahiti. He asked me to give them a look over, spruce them up as needed, and then get them back to him for posting. Great idea! Not only did it relieve me from much of the reconnaissance work involved in a standard copywriting assignment, but, as a result, the job cost him less.
Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish
The British have a way with coining phrases, and this one fits. Too many people make themselves look unprofessional, unpolished, and even worse, incompetent, by letting the words that represent them meet the world unedited. Do those you associate with, the ones you represent, and yourself a huge favor in 2017 – hire a copywriter to edit your content. You won’t regret the investment!
