Many businesses produce websites, brochures, leaflets and newsletters. These documents are often the first clue a potential customer gets to the quality & standards of an organisation. Publications containing errors can put off clients & potential customers because of this unprofessional image.
I can help whether you find it hard to write fluently, or you just need to move on to a task which uses your skills in a more productive way. Reliance on your in-house team is not ideal because:
- after working for some time on the task they may be seeing what they think they have written, rather than what is there.
- they may be using jargon that would be confusing to the customer.
- if the document has been written by several people, or comes from several sources, errors and inconsistencies can creep in.
- their time may be better used in producing more material rather than going over old ground.
The evidence that quality control matters
A survey by Global Lingo shows 59 per cent of British people would not use a company at had obvious mistakes on its website or marketing material.
If you have written the material yourself you may be interested to know that according to a Royal Mail survey, 25% of women and 21% of men are too embarrassed to correct their manager’s grammar.
How can I help you?
As a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, I can use over 25 years’ experience of:
- writing and editing reports and papers.
- developing contracts for goods and services.
- proofreading statutory accounts and other financial documents to sense-check them, checking cross references and additions for those difficult to spot rounding errors.
Other ways I can help include:
- Document re-purposing: taking something you have already written and changing it into something else. For example a magazine article can become a shorter item for a newsletter, or an instruction leaflet can become a web page.
- Writing articles, manuals, policies and similar documents from your notes or on the basis of a discussion. This can be useful if you need to devote your time to other activities, or if writing is not part of your main role.
- Writing a house style guide: setting out your organisation’s preferences for things like font, format and descriptions. This ensures that you present a consistent corporate image. Style Guides are particularly useful when more than one person drafts literature.
- Assessing the reading age of your outputs: checking whether your documents are accessible to those with average reading age, which is around 12-13. Many of your customers will have a higher reading age, but aiming at the average level will ensure the largest possible number of users will understand your message. I can help you focus your effort where it is most needed.
There are more details on the How it works page.
“Sarah really helped us ensure that our documents were accurate and read well. Her attention to detail is brilliant and she is great to work with.”
Jessica Grant, Director of Higher York.
Contact me at the.proof.angel@gmail.com
The Proof Angel 