What is proofreading?

Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process before you publish your content. It is where you catch the spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes that can impact your credibility with your audience.

The term “proofreading” is frequently used interchangeably with “copy editing,” but while copy editing can include proofreading, proofreading is not copy editing (more on that in a bit). Proofreading refers to the process of reviewing the physical copy – or proof – sent by a publisher before going to print as a final chance to catch any errors that cannot be fixed after the fact.

Why is proofreading so important?

The internet is riddled with proofreading fails. Certainly, mistakes can — and do — happen; trust takes a long time to build and can be eroded instantly. Publishing content with typos and bad grammar sends a message to your audience that you are either unwilling to invest in quality content or simply don’t care about the quality of content you publish.

Neither of those conclusions will inspire much confidence in your brand with people you’re hoping will invest in your product or service.

If you’re reading this, you understand the importance of putting out quality content as part of your overall marketing strategy. Simply put, your audience will not take your content (and, by extension, your brand) seriously if it’s got errors that could easily be avoided by having someone do a final review before you hit “publish.”

And what’s the point of investing money in content if it’s not going to be top quality?

What’s the difference between proofreading and copy editing?

Some copy editors will proofread as part of their process, but strictly speaking, copy editing is not just looking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Copy editing ensures that your brand voice and tone are reflected in your content. It improves story flow, looks for redundancies and ways to streamline, and tightens up the overall quality of the writing itself.

Since so much content is published online these days — versus actually in print — proofreading and copy editing have come to mean the same thing. However, the nuance is important to understand, especially if you have different types of editors as part of your team.

How do you proofread content?

Having a rock-solid grasp of style guides, grammar, and punctuation is critical. But beyond that, here are some best practices to help beef up your proofreading skills:

  • Read Aloud. If it doesn’t sound right when you read it out loud, it won’t read right to your audience.
  • Reverse Reading. Start from the end and work your way back line by line. This interrupts the part of your brain that wants to scan the passage, which could lead to missing errors.
  • Take a Break. Come back to your editing with fresh eyes and you’re more likely to find errors you would otherwise have missed.
  • Print it Out. In a different visual context, errors appear more easily.
  • Focus on One Thing at a Time. Tackle your proofreading in stages. For example, look for punctuation errors during one read, and then focus on word choice in the next.
  • Practice Makes Perfect. As with most things in life, you can’t expect to be an expert right off the bat. Build your skills with repetition.

Should you hire a proofreader?

Whether you outsource your proofreading or have someone else on your team review your content before you hit “publish”, it is imperative to have an objective pair of eyes on anything you put in front of your audience. Anyone who’s written their own content knows you shouldn’t be your own editor. You’re too close to it (even if you’re not sentimental about it).

Of course, you know what you meant when you wrote it, but that doesn’t mean an audience will. And not all great writers are great editors! (That’s nothing to be embarrassed about, by the way.)

There’s a reason why editors exist. It’s a completely different skill set. And even though there are “smart” tools to help catch many simple fixes, nothing beats the human touch.

Get Help With Proofreading Content Today

ClearVoice has a Talent Network of over 200,000 vetted freelancers in 200+ industries, and that includes skilled editors and proofreaders. But more than that, with ClearVoice as your managed content solution we’ll deliver publish-ready content to suit your needs and your resources.

There will be no more copyediting or proofreading — just quality, error-free content. Let us take content production off your plate so that you can focus on your brand and your customers.

Ready to take your content to the next level? Talk to a content strategist today!