Having worked in marketing and design for 20 years, we at the House Wren & Co. have seen the power a single spelling or grammatical error can have on a business. Having even one mistake can quickly change how clients view you, shattering your credibility. Errors show that the project, however big or small, was rushed and undervalued.
One common place we see this particular issue is in Real Estate marketing. REALTORS® are busy people and don’t always have time to vet their marketing before it is launched. Still, alas, the mistakes made in their innovative marketing materials can reflect poorly.
The same can be said for a website. Most prospects will leave a site if they see a glaring error (among other reasons). These spelling and grammar errors will cause the loss of trust and plant seeds of doubt in the business they’re considering. Poor proofreading, grammar, and spelling will also cause readers to get frustrated with the rate they digest the information or perhaps abandon it altogether.
There are ways to avoid making these costly mistakes by properly proofreading to check for spelling and grammar issues. If you don’t have time have someone else check it over for you.
Write and walk away
Write your piece, and then walk away from it. Let your brain go cold on the subject and come back to it at another time. It is very tempting to proofread directly after finishing, but this will usually cause you to overlook things you would otherwise catch if you left it for 30 minutes or more.
Don’t rely solely on editing programs
A significant number of us put too much faith in computer programs to correct our mistakes. However, we all know that even computers can get things wrong. Program dictionaries aren’t always reliable and can be limited. Making the corrections yourself can help eliminate the chances of a computer’s faulty program missing something.
Read it slowly and out loud
Be sure to take the time to read your work through slowly. If you are tripping over a sentence or having issues reading through a paragraph, read it aloud and reword it. A good rule of thumb to go by is this: If you have trouble reading something, your readers most likely will as well. You want to keep them engaged and moving through the document, and stopping because of errors can cause them to lose interest in the material and your business.
Enlist a second pair of eyes
Once you have had the chance to read through your document and check it for errors, hand it over to someone else. Whether it is a co-worker, a friend, or an assistant, you’ll want to make sure you have someone else read through it. Getting a second opinion is critical, especially if writing isn’t your most vital skill.
Check spelling, grammar, and then proofread one at a time
Go through your document once for grammar, once for spelling, and then read it over entirely one more time. If you try to check for spelling and grammar while trying to re-write sections, you will miss critical things that you would otherwise catch. Again, if this is not your strong suit, be sure to have someone in your arsenal, you can count on to vet your documents before you release them to your audience.
The last you want is to lose money or clients over a simple spelling or grammatical error. Put pride in what you produce, show care and diligence, and you will undoubtedly find success. If you’re a busy REALTOR® and need someone to ensure your marketing is on point each and every time reach out. We would be happy to help. We are your one-stop real estate shop for all your marketing, design and consulting needs.