Who cares if your content has typos?

A friend and fellow content marketer asked me to proofread her latest blog post recently and of course I said yes because pointing out the errors of others is one of the greatest joys we have in life.

When I was done, my friend thanked me for my time, adding that she’d had two other people read the post before me. To some, this might seem like overkill, but I was impressed with her commitment to putting out the best work she could. I wondered how many other marketers or business owners have even one person read their content before they post it.

It begs the question: How important is it to re-read, proofread and re-work the content your business puts out there? Do typos even matter anymore?

Ur Writing: Hella Okay?

There’s no question blogging, texting and social media have made language … different. We’re a lot more willing to forgive variations in the way ideas are presented, even if that means accepting emoticons, slang or even incorrect homophones (think you’re vs your).

Some say spelling and punctuation errors don’t matter as long as the meaning is clear. And in text messages and personal blog posts, maybe that’s true. But what about business content?

Writing for Business

I’ll be honest: when I see errors in a business’s content, I judge that business. Hard.

This definitely seems (is?) hypocritical considering my penchant for using swear words and slang in Buildicus content, so let me clarify what I mean by errors: Misspellings, apostrophe abuse, repeatedly using it’s/its incorrectly — stuff that is less about style and more about not caring if it’s “loose” or “lose.”

I get that most small businesses can’t afford to have copywriters and proofreaders on staff. But you don’t have to be a grammar expert to produce acceptable content.

I certainly don’t have all the answers when it comes to writing. I have to re-read my stuff over and over and look up anything I’m not sure about in order to write something that makes some sense.

Do You, Just Do It Mindfully

I guess the bottom line is: this is marketing, not an English class.

We should all be having fun with our content. It makes things that are — let’s face it — super boring more interesting to read.

And mistakes happen. But you can tell the difference between typos and wanton carelessness. And so can your customers. If you’re careless in your content, one might believe you’re careless in your work, as well.

But hey, this is all just one gal’s opinion. I’m curious to know what you think.

Does it matter if your content has typos and errors if you put out a great product or service?