A couple months ago, I noticed a typo on a storefront sign in a strip mall. It struck me as hilarious at first, so I snapped a photo (see above). But I kept thinking about it on my drive home.
By the time I got to my house, I was feeling bad for Bev.
I’m guessing she must have become aware of the typo at some point over the years (I mean, the sign was definitely not new), but just didn’t have the money to get a new one. Why else would it still be up there, all lit up?
For a learning center, misspelling any word—and in particular, the word “learning”—can’t be good for business. Especially when the word is part of the business name. It doesn’t help that the misspelling sounds like “Leering.” Not a word you want to associate with Little Tots.
But you know what they say: Nothing is certain but death and taxes. And typos. (Happy Tax Day, by the way.)
As a copywriter, I wish I had a foolproof system for avoiding typos. But I don’t.
Many of my clients have a proofreader in-house. Others use third-party proofreading services. But if you’re creating content and proofing it yourself, I’ve got a 4-step process that works pretty well. Check it out:
Step 1: After you’ve finished writing the copy, walk away from it for at least 2 hours before proofreading. If you can put a full day between yourself and the copy, that’s even better.
Step 2: Enlarge the text to grandma size (like a 15 pt. font), and read the copy one time through on your computer – aloud.
Step 3: Print out a hard copy of the text, and read through it again—word by word—using a pen to physically touch every single word and punctuation mark as you read.
Step 4: Take a 15-minute break, and then read the copy one more time – aloud, at normal speed.
By the time I got to my house, I was feeling bad for Bev.
I’m guessing she must have become aware of the typo at some point over the years (I mean, the sign was definitely not new), but just didn’t have the money to get a new one. Why else would it still be up there, all lit up?
For a learning center, misspelling any word—and in particular, the word “learning”—can’t be good for business. Especially when the word is part of the business name. It doesn’t help that the misspelling sounds like “Leering.” Not a word you want to associate with Little Tots.
But you know what they say: Nothing is certain but death and taxes. And typos. (Happy Tax Day, by the way.)
As a copywriter, I wish I had a foolproof system for avoiding typos. But I don’t.
Many of my clients have a proofreader in-house. Others use third-party proofreading services. But if you’re creating content and proofing it yourself, I’ve got a 4-step process that works pretty well. Check it out:
Step 1: After you’ve finished writing the copy, walk away from it for at least 2 hours before proofreading. If you can put a full day between yourself and the copy, that’s even better.
Step 2: Enlarge the text to grandma size (like a 15 pt. font), and read the copy one time through on your computer – aloud.
Step 3: Print out a hard copy of the text, and read through it again—word by word—using a pen to physically touch every single word and punctuation mark as you read.
Step 4: Take a 15-minute break, and then read the copy one more time – aloud, at normal speed.
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