I just opened my email.
The subject line of a message from a blog I follow was enticing, so I clicked. I read the first two sentences, then pressed delete.
Why? There were three spelling errors in the first sentence.
For the record, I don’t tote around a huge red pen and edit everything I see. Not by a long shot. I’m a typo professional and depend on spellcheck technology. I also rely on editors to wave a magic wand and add sparkle to my client work.
If you’re going to send out a mass email to your readers, shouldn’t you give it a careful once over? Occasional mistakes show you’re human. Three mistakes in the first sentence is sloppy.
The lesson learned here is to stop trying to crank out so much content that you damage your reputation by publishing crap.
I know we’re all chasing numbers.
We want to publish more, get more readers, more fans, more jobs, more sales, more clients, more dollars. I’m guilty of this too.
Let’s both take a minute and think about output. Which do you value: quality or quantity? How many of your readers are deleting your emails because of silly errors that could be remedied if you slowed down and worked though a simple list of basic writing checks and balances?
Before you push publish, submit or send, channel your inner high school English teacher:
- Use spellcheck
- Read your text once more
- Insert missing punctuation
- Don’t forget capital letters
- Check for broken links
How many people are clicking away from your unpolished writing?
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