Copywriting: Why two pairs of eyes are better than one

Writing accurate and compelling copy is an essential practice for any business. The content of your website, articles, blog posts and comments provides important insight for potential clients into the aims, values and culture of your brand. Copywriting is a fine art that any ambitious and forward-thinking business should seek to perfect.

Many of the fundamental aspects of effective copywriting may appear, to some, as a matter of ‘common sense’. However, neglecting to follow even the simplest copywriting principles can damage the reputation of your business.

So, when drafting or redrafting copy for website content, an article, or even just a Tweet, it is vital to ensure that spelling, punctuation and grammar is correct. Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar are non-negotiable when it comes to making sure your copy makes sense to your target audience. A misplaced apostrophe or the wrong use of a semi-colon can completely change the meaning of a sentence, and give people a poor impression of your competence.

Clear and concisely structured sentences will also make what is potentially complicated information for some readers easier to absorb.

Paying attention to these finer details goes a long way to convincing potential clients not only that that you care deeply about the high-quality, articulate presentation of your brand, but also that you are meticulous, trustworthy and competent.

Redrafting and proofreading are processes which absolutely must be undertaken before publishing any professional copy. Proofreading, in its most basic form, allows you to identify mistakes or typos that may not have been apparent in the initial drafting of the copy. However, the best proofreading not only successfully identifies mistakes, but also rethinks the ideas and statements implicit in the copy, carefully considering whether they can be expressed in a way that is clearer, more compelling, and easier to understand.

Nonetheless, when it comes to drafting and proofreading your copy, two pairs of eyes are better than one.  You will often find that once you have read over a paragraph of copy several times, you will begin to read what you want to see, rather than reading the words that are actually on the page in front of you. When this begins to happen you become increasingly likely to bypass critical mistakes and typos.

The most efficient solution to this problem is to have a colleague review your copy with a fresh pair of eyes. Having someone else read over your copy will provide reassurance that the copy is effective and fault-free, and that it will pass scrutiny. Having a colleague approve your copy will help you to build confidence in your copywriting skills.

At Maltin PR, we believe that high-quality copywriting is invaluable. We regularly draft and review a large range of texts for our clients, including newsletters, articles, letters and website copy, employing a minimum ‘two-eyes’ policy for proofreading at all times in order to detect and correct errors.

In this way we provide our clients with optimum copy, and help them to avoid any last-minute disasters at the printers, too.