the importance of proofreading

Rhon and I were out and about running errands on Monday when I happened to spot this on the van parked next to us at the post office.

Now, I’m all for promoting your business in as many legal ways as possible, but I would think if you’re going to spend the money to get this put on your vehicle, and drive around town with it, you would proofread it before paying for it. Just look at that photo. Twelve words and they can’t even spell “electronics” correctly. That’s even the title of their business!

My friend Jeff, who is also a fellow writer, and I constantly banter about how people represent their businesses in a text format but they are constantly misspelling things.

For instance, the other day I caught a Twitter from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that read “not that I’m byast, but you should stay at MGM Grand” — really? Byast? Try b-i-a-s-e-d…biased. Hooked on phonics just doesn’t cut it when you want to project a professional image.

I don’t expect that everybody should know how to spell everything. Even I don’t. But I do know how to rock a spellcheck on my computer programs. I do have dictionary.com on my toolbar and I’m not afraid to look things up if I’m not 100% sure. And if I can do it, so can these people who constantly represent their businesses or other entities in a corporate manner.

I also understand there are typos – I make them everyday, and occasionally one or two slip through. But in the instance of the van above, this is a glaring reason why it’s important to proofread everything. In essence, the person paid money to produce this vehicle sticker that reflects badly on his business.

Twelve words and nobody at his business OR the printers caught that “electronics” was missing the first “c” in the word. Meanwhile it took me all of five seconds to spot it. What does that tell you about the attention to detail these businesses offer?

Think about what it would say about you and your business.

So if you are going to represent something in a professional way, take a few minutes to check the spelling. It doesn’t cost you anything and it makes that first impression shine.

Jeff posted a link to Copyblogger’s article, “14 Foolproof Proofreading Tips for Bloggers“ a few days ago, but it is worth a read if you do any sort of business writing, as well. Let your words in print speak for you in a positive way, instead of them giving the wrong impression to prospective customers. It’s worth the extra time, IMHO, to do it right if you’re going to bother to do it at all.

* steps down from soapbox *

We now return you to the silly YouTube videos…

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About zengrrl

I'm Michelle Snow, the writer and creator of Zengrrl. I write about travel, entertainment, women's issues, health, body positivity, and more, both for this blog and freelance. I have also authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida. If you aren't already following me, the links are below, as well as on the top right of this page. Thanks!