Articles are usually more informative than blog posts and require a higher level of clarity and accuracy. Achieving that gold standard isn’t necessarily easy. That’s why full-time proofreading and editing jobs exist.
Before you hit the Submit or Publish button, take a step returned to proofread your article cautiously. Entrepreneurs commonly don’t have the time to proofread their articles all of the time and that’s where article writers for hire come in.
Proofreading tips to eliminate errors before they haunt you:
1. Spell-check Names of People, Products, Brands, and Companies
Casual readers won’t bat an eye when you spell proper nouns incorrectly. However, knowledgeable readers would be quick to point it out in the comments and that makes your post look shabby to all your readers. Deleting or turning off comments doesn’t fix the issue either since it makes your business seem insecure. Moreover, any SEO article writing service would tell you that more comments act as a positive engagement metric for search engines and help boost your content’s reach to more people.
That’s why it’s important to spell-check the names of people, products, and brands carefully. In some cases, it may cost you money. For instance, if you are promoting a brand in your article, you don’t want your audience to learn the wrong spelling. Keep an additional Google tab open while you proofread articles. When you come across a proper noun, copy and paste it into Google’s search bar and let the search engine fix potential errors for you.
2. Reduce Reliance on Spell Checkers and Grammar Tools
Every freelance article writer for hire would scream and bang their way out if you took away a few tools from them. The list includes:
- Grammarly
- QuillBot
- Hemingway
Two of these tools are grammar and spelling checkers and they make the job of every writer significantly easier. By using these tools you can become a perfect content writer and have correct ideas about grammer and writing sentences in simple note. However, solely relying on them or the in-built grammar checkers in Google Docs and Microsoft Word won’t get the job done. They miss out on typos and other errors, even after getting powered by AI. That’s why seasoned proofreaders run every article and blog post through those tools before manually checking every paragraph.
3. Take a Break or Let Someone Else Do It
Proofreaders are seasoned writers who have penned thousands of articles, blog posts, and pot copies before taking the mantle of editing. However, some wear several hats. For instance, bloggers and startup founders drafting company messages for social media audiences play the role of writers and proofreaders.
But these two roles have different perspectives. When writers research a topic, they put their opinion and spin on a unique piece of content, they do it in a flow. Even the most experienced writers may miss out on sourcing a claim with a fact-checked link or make major errors with sentence structures. That’s why blog article writing services have dedicated proofreaders who can actually re-check the content with a fresh perspective. If you’re playing both roles, take a break from proofreading and do it the next day.
4. Check the Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks are usually a different color compared to the rest of the text. Unfortunately, that makes them easy to overlook. Sometimes, writers may make mistakes while hyperlinking – a backward slash here and an ‘HTP’ there may make a world of difference. That’s why it’s important to scrutinize your hyperlink before publishing the article.
Hyperlinks are meant to be clicked and you don’t want users to direct them to the wrong or missing web address. Wrong links send wrong signals to the search engine crawler and may push down your rank on the search results. That’s why SEO content writing service providers make sure to double-check every link and manually click every one of them before posting or delivering the final draft to their clients.
5. Stop and Stare…At the Punctuation
Proofreading focuses on increasing the accuracy and discrepancies in an article. You catch the little things to make the text look more professional and polished. Punctuations may seem like little things but have the power to completely change the meaning of a sentence.
For instance:
- My friend John, who is a lawyer, told me a joke. (Here John is the lawyer)
- My friend, John who is a lawyer, told me a joke. (Here, both your friend and John are lawyers)
That’s why make sure to stop and stare at punctuations to identify suspicious placements. As punctuations plays a vital role in sentence making.
Don’t let typos and errors haunt your articles. By following these simple tips and considering professional help, when necessary, you can publish content that shines with clarity, and professionalism. Remember, polished writing reflects well on you and inspires trust in your audience.
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