3 Reasons Why Proofreading Just Isn’t That Important

 

proofreading picture
Proofreading is overrated

That’s right, I said it. Who really cares about proofreading? I mean, we all make mistakes. What’s the big deal? Here are a few quick reasons why it’s not so important.

1.Content is King.

People are reading your blog posts for the really awesome content, not critiquing your spelling and grammar skills. They will still see you as an expert in your field even if there are lots of errors. They’ll probably figure out what you’re trying to say with context clues.

2.You Look the Part.

Spelling and grammar errors don’t affect your professionalism. Your peers, clients and fellow business leaders will still take you seriously while watching your horribly misspelled PowerPoint presentation. Do you want to know why? You wore your “power suit” today.

3.Spell Check Rules.

It’s going to catch all of the important stuff you didn’t notice while typing your sales letter. That’s why they made it, right? Just click that little button, select “change” or “ignore” and you’re done.

If you haven’t figured it out, this post is a tad bit sarcastic. Did you enjoy it anyway?
Take a moment to check out this humorous, well-written article by my friend in proofreading, Paula Kiger: http://waytenmom.blogspot.com/2010/05/when-going-gets-though-though-get-going.html.
On a serious note, if you want to be seen as an expert blogger, give a professional presentation, or write a killer sales letter and proofreading just isn’t your thing, let me know. I can help! Just take a minute to click here.

23 thoughts on “3 Reasons Why Proofreading Just Isn’t That Important”

  1. I enjoyed this post, Alicia, and I appreciate the link to my blog! Sometimes spelling and grammatical errors really don’t make that big of a difference. Other times, it is a matter of life and death (or reputation – just ask the friend who left the “L” out of her Masters in “Public Administration” on her resume!). Ultimately, Charles Swindoll said it well: “The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.” I am glad there are folks out there who still go for “great”!

    1. Hi Paula!

      You are very welcome for the mention. I felt that I had to include your link as I couldn’t have said it better myself!

      I agree that sometimes your reputation is at stake when it comes to proofreading.
      I have a feeling that your friend got some interesting responses to her resume. Ha ha!

  2. Hi Alicia, that was a very cleverly written sales pitch! I like it. And I agree with Paula – at the end of the day your customer will feel more confident and give his business to you if he is sure that you will give attention to the details and that he can leave it all for you to take care.

    In hindi there are two words – ‘chinta’ (worry) and ‘chita’ (funeral pyre)! We don’t want the customer to worry (chinta)that we will miss the ‘n’ and leave him for his funeral (chita)!

    1. Hi Sanjeev,

      I love the hindi reference! This should be an example to people that proper spelling can be vitally important!
      Thanks so much for the comment and visit:)

  3. Cool post ! With the conclusion of every point there is a potential threat to the business which does not use proofreading . Good one !

    1. Hi Rohan!

      I totally agree. We are all bound to make some mistakes here and there, but we should definitely put in the effort to double check our work.
      Thanks for the comment!

  4. Denise DiMascio

    Good blog Alicia! It makes me crazy to see the things some people write and their horrible spelling. I used to proofread my sons Christmas lists. I would circle the spelling errors and tell them Santa will not bring you any presents if he doesn’t know what you are talking about, haha. But they grew up to be good spellers!

    1. Hi Denise!

      That’s so funny that you corrected the Christmas lists!
      If they turned out to be good spellers in the long run, maybe the idea wasn’t so neurotic;)
      Thanks for the visit and the comment:)

  5. Hello, Alicia. I must say the title of your blog totally caught my attention. I was prepared to yell, scream, and shout! As an overly scrutinizing proofreader by heart, my red pen is always on the look-out to mark, mark, mark. Yes, beware to anyone who doesn’t take that double-take, even triple-take, of what they are putting out there to assure that they are representing themselves as professionally as they can. Great post, Alicia!

    1. Hi Patty!

      I’m glad the title got you upset! Ha ha! Yes, some of us are proofreaders by nature. Those who are not just need to take extra precaution to check their work. Thanks for the visit!

  6. I have to agree,Alicia especially with the first trait you mentioned. It’s a bias on my part. We are writing blogs for our site and we make sure that it has good content.Keeping an eagle eye on outcomes is so essential to the successful business owner.

  7. Hi Alicia,

    You had me going there! 🙂

    In various places I’ve read blog comments (and even whole posts) in which a blogger talks about how quickly he writes a post, just letting it flow — never going back to check for anything … because it is more important to “get it out there.”

    I think those fellas must have read your post before you wrote it, and decided to abide by all the rules!

  8. Totally agree! I hate writing, I can’t write, and I never could. I probably got a D in english.

    That being said, I love blogging because I can share what I know with people that don’t know it.

    This is funny that this post came through my twitter just now because some knob decided to bash my writing the other day. I was like REALLY DUDE, your a troll now go away. Blocked his IP from my blog.

    1. Hi Eric,

      Yes, I’ve found many people out here in the blogosphere that admit they’re not great writers. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have something great to say. It doesn’t stop them from what they’re doing…just might take them a little longer to spell check;) Thanks for the visit!

  9. Hi Alicia

    Just came over from Brankica’s post where she features you in her Sunny Saturday post.

    When I began reading the post I thought….what??!! I always proof read my posts and even my comments on other people’s blogs lol Then I got to the bottom of the post and realised…too funny Alicia 😉

    I believe it is worth taking the extra time to have a post look as professional as possible, even if like me, the post is written in a conversational way.

    Correct grammar and spelling doesn’t take much more effort than not checking to see all is presented correctly.

    Look forward to visiting again.

    Patricia Perth Australia

    1. Hi Patricia!
      Thanks for your comments and the visit! I’ve seen you commenting around the blogosphere and kept thinking, “she seems super nice and always has great thoughts to add. I should check out her sight” I don’t know why it took me so long to do it, but I’m going to head over to your blog right now:)

  10. Thanks Alicia for those kind words. This week I have done something completely different on my blog. Done a book review that I have just read. Usually blog about all things lavender and sometimes about blogging & social media. So you’ll see a variety of posts when you visit.

    Patricia Perth Australia

  11. Hey Alicia!

    Whether the post is sarcastic or not I happen to be crazy about having good grammar (at least in my native language, Spanish) and when it comes to writing in English I’m always thinking “what if they can see I’m murdering their language”?

    I mean I really try NOT TO but sometimes I just write in a way that when I read my posts the next day, I find things that make me go “Gosh… that makes absolutely no sense!” haha

    I happen to agree on the importance of just writing for the sake of an idea and minding the spelling checks for later, it’s quicker, more effective and your idea goes through smoother.

    For some reason I still fail to comply to that simple but effective rule so thanks for reminding me to let go and start being more effective.

    Have a great day! 😉

    1. Hi Sergio!

      I have visited your blog and I happen to think that your writing skills are great!
      Proofreading definitely doesn’t have to be the first thing on someone’s mind when they write a blog post.
      We should all be writing for content. Instead, let it be the last thing you do before posting.

      I appreciate your input.
      Thanks for the visit!

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