Proofreading – The following article discusses brochure printing and details the three main reasons to have your brochures proofread before sending them off to the printer. Enlisting the services of a professional editing company will not only make sure your brochures are read, but it will save you time, money, and embarrassment.
Whether your business is large or small, at one point or another, you are bound to need to print out brochures or other similar types of traditional ad copy to promote your product or service. Although copywriters tend to stick to brief advertising copy to maintain customer interest, UK advertising guru David Ogilvy (1911-1999) states that people do read longer ad copy IF it is expertly written.
For example, if you pick up a brochure from an insurance company that reads, “We know that when you’ve been in an accident, you want to be taken care of quickly. That’s why our staff makes sure to respond to your claim as soon as humanly pissable.” Would you honestly hand your hard-earned money over to a company that could make such a glaring error? I doubt it. Read on to discover why you should NEVER send your brochures to the printer before having them proofread by qualified proofreading professional.
First, enlisting a professional editor or proofreader from a reputable service such as FirstEditing.com can save you time. Although money can be remade, one lost, time is gone for good. I once knew a small business owner who had 5000 brochures printed off to promote her new graphic design company. A month after distributing the brochures, she couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t getting any responses. It turns out, the phone number on her brochure read 555-8990 instead of 555-8960. By the time she noticed the error, fixed it, and had the brochures reprinted, she had wasted months of her valuable time—not to mention the worry and frustration over the failure of her first marketing attempt.
Second, hiring an editing service can save you a ton of money. These services are generally not expensive, and if they find even one error that you failed to pick up on, they are worth their weight in gold! Remember, printing is expensive—not to mention the environmental impact of wasted paper as a result of reprints. Once you sign-off on a print job, most printers will not cancel the order. If you find an error a day later, your only option is to request a complete reprint, which could end up costing you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Finally, a professional editor can help save you and your company a lot of embarrassment. Your company is your pride and joy. You’ve put your heart and soul into it. How would you feel if the brochure that’s supposed to represent it contains a glaring error that makes your business a laughing stock? Even if the error is minor, your brochure is a reflection of the effort you put into your business. A customer’s thought process typically goes something like this: If they don’t even care about what their ad looks like, what kind of service am I going to get?
So there you have it. Make sure you double-check all contact information (i.e., phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, and the url to your website). This can save you tons of time and worry! Don’t wait until it’s too late to proofread your brochure. Doing this before giving the printers the go-ahead could save you thousands! Lastly, save yourself a lot of embarrassment and hire a proofreading professional. You’ve worked hard on your business… Let your brochure reflect your efforts!
