Your business is your passion, you know it inside-out – certainly better than any copywriter! So it makes sense to write your content yourself… Only problem is that there are lots of traps novice writers fall into, such as:
- lack of punctuation,
- long, complex sentences,
- using the passive tense unnecessarily,
- heavy blocks of copy,
- too much bolding,
- capitalising Important Words.
All these ‘problem areas’ make your text more difficult to get through and to understand.
Therefore, working alongside a professional editor can be a great solution: You write what you want, and they tidy up your copy to ensure your words flow unencumbered for maximum impact!
Troublesome words
Another issue for non-professional writers can be the English language itself. There are many troublesome words ready to trip us up; here are just a few:
- Affect/effect
- Practise/practice
- It’s/its
- Compliment/complement
- Principal/principle
The list goes on – and while such errors are not likely to be a train-smash for your brand, they can dull its shine and make you look just a little less professional.
Proofreading howlers
Some mistakes can be more damaging. For example, a product range that it ‘soon to be reviled’ (revealed); a company presenting an ‘expensive service offering’ (extensive); or a decimal point in the wrong place on a price list can cause more than red faces – they can hurt sales.
A professional proofreader will pick up any such anomalies. Whether working on documentation for small to medium-sized enterprises or ASX-listed companies, I have always found at least one error – small or large for the client. (There is usually at least one on every page!)
In my opinion a close read by a professional is always a good investment, potentially saving dollars and brand damage and certainly providing peace of mind.
Luminous Copy 