How Does Proofreading Help in Copywriting?

Most people recognise that content is king, and this applies to all pieces of writing ranging from digital marketing content and corporate press releases to journal articles and undergraduate essays. 

Since content and, especially in business writing, copy – which is the term used for written material – are so vital for clear communication, both proofreading and copywriting, as well as proofreading services and copywriting services, are booming in today’s market.

A proofreading service is intended to correct the mistakes in your writing, serving as the last stage of error identification and correction before publishing your work. Finding a good proofreading service is fairly straightforward nowadays, especially with the ready availability of word of mouth via the Internet (e.g., product reviews, websites, and Google searches).

In contrast to proofreading, copywriting is a creative act. Writing copy involves producing scripts for videos, blog posts, social media snippets, website articles, marketing content, and product descriptions. Despite the fact that proofreading and copywriting are different tasks, and although a different skillset is needed for each one, they often go hand in hand.

The pipeline used to complete most writing projects involves three broad stages:

1.    Planning (e.g., how do specific articles fit into wider content strategy?)

2.    Copywriting

3.    Editing, usually consisting of:

a.    Developmental editing

b.    Structural editing

c.    Copy editing

d.    Line editing

4.    Proofreading

5.    Publication

With the above pipeline in mind, it is clear that in order to complete a copywriting project, it is essential and unavoidable to engage in proofreading. If the essential proofreading stage is skipped, this can undermine all the effort that came before, both during the copywriting and editing phases.

To understand how useful professioanl proofreading services can be for copywriters, it is worth considering the different applications of copywriting. These include:

·         Website copy

·         Landing pages

·         SEO copywriting

·         Advertisements for social media

·         How-to manuals

·         Video scripts

·         Technical writing

·         Blog writing

With these applications in mind, it is, therefore, evident that if the proofreading process is avoided in copywriting projects, the success of all of these types of copy diminishes.

In turn, this may have a significant reputational hit on the business concerned. In the case of academic essays or journal articles, for example, not proofreading your work the first time around before publishing can often be costly, leading to the need to apply time-consuming revisions at a later stage.

To give another example, consider the case of technical writing. If, for instance, a technology company needs to produce a reference manual for one of its products, it might assign the task to one of its software developers or specialist technical writers. If the resulting reference manual is not proofread, it runs the risk of containing errors that could undermine the purpose and clarity of the text.

Altogether, proofreading is an essential stage in copywriting that should never be avoided. Today, these services are easier than ever to order, so there’s no need to wait!