After taking a break from self-employment for a couple of years, I threw myself back into business with much enthusiasm and found myself out networking and meeting new and interesting people. I always go away and have a look at the websites of people I meet … and I have spotted an issue that could be costing them money.
It’s funny, back in 2009 when I first started networking, I was touting for advertisers for my local magazine. However, I soon realised that it was SO local it was irrelevant to most of the people I met, and I was racking my brain to think of something I could offer that had wider interest.
Then I met someone who I was considering doing business with, and I went home and looked at his website … and was shocked by how many typos and errors it contained. And almost instantly it ruined the impression I had of this being someone professional, someone who was offering a high quality service – because if they paid so little attention to their own marketing tools, how were they going to pay any attention to what I needed?
That was the beginning of The Proof Fairy, and my core proofreading service, as I realised there was room for me to offer a cost-effective solution to help people ensure they were creating a great impression through the words they used in their marketing.
And that need is still there. Just last week I met someone who I connected with, and I had a read through his website – and it was littered with errors. This person was offering a high-level service but the typos made it look amateurish – and could seriously affect his chances of winning business.
Rather cheekily, I emailed and said I’d spotted a few typos, and if he wanted me to proofread the site I’d be happy to do it – for a very reasonable price. He took me up on the offer, I completed the work and his site now looks far more polished and professional.
So what impression does your website make? Are you sure the text is accurate and typo-free? Does everything read clearly? Is it grammatically correct? Or might there be the odd “their” instead of “there”, or “hvae” instead of “have”?
If you’d like to make sure you are creating the right impression through your website (or proposals, or blog posts, or reports…) then drop me a line. I’ll proofread your content and either send you a list of errors or, if you trust me with the login details, I can make the changes for you. And it won’t cost you an arm and a leg – or any more lost business.
