Words are hard. Creating high-quality content that generates tons of clicks and views can take up half of your work day, even for expert writers. And that’s only the first half of the battle - you still need to run the post past your content editor. Oh, you’re still relying on an online proofreading tool to catch your grammar mistakes? Leaning on online grammar checkers may be a suitable choice for business blogs that are in the early stages of their content development, but to get to the next level, you’re going to need a content editor that knows the tone and voice of your brand and can help you achieve clean, accurate copy every time you click the publish button.
Online Content Editor Apps Can Be Great…
Let’s be honest. Most people haven’t thought about squinting modifiers and dangling participles since, well, ever. That English 101 class you took in your freshman year of college has served you well up until now, so why spend time that you don’t have worrying about the finer points of grammar? If this is where you’re currently at, then online grammar tools, like Grammarly or Scribens, may be a good place to start.
Online tools offer a quick and easy way to clean up your posts. They can spot common errors on the fly, so you can make adjustments right away, and many of them can be integrated directly into common programs, such as Microsoft Office, or into your browser.
A top feature of these types of content editing apps is that they explain why a potential error has been highlighted, and then show you how it can be improved, along with an example. This teaching tool draws attention to mistakes that you make consistently over time and then helps you learn how to adjust your writing style to avoid them.
Having all of these tools right at your fingertips can help you eliminate obvious typos and other easy-to-spot mistakes, which are an instant credibility killer for most types of blogs, but especially business blogs. Up to 59% of online shoppers would be less likely to use a product or service if they noticed spelling or grammatical mistakes, which means that each misplaced apostrophe or misspelled word could be costing you customers.
So who should be using online proofreading tools? They’re an economical resource for people that don’t write very often or for writers who find it difficult to edit and proofread their own writing. These proofreading programs can serve as a way to catch technical errors that are hard to spot in content that you’ve written yourself, but ultimately, their scope is limited to only certain types of errors, and generally, surface-level errors at that.
…But Not As Great As A Human Content Editor
So with all of these tools available for a minimal cost, or even free, why should you think about hiring a content editor or buying content development services from a copywriting agency that uses on-staff content editors?
Because business blogs aren’t just about being technically and grammatically correct. They’re also a way to connect with readers. They’re a way to showcase your knowledge and expertise in a way that highlights your company’s core values. You’ve spent a countless amount of time in meetings constructing your brand persona, so do you really want to entrust your brand identity to a computer algorithm that was created by a complete stranger who has no idea about what you’ve built and where you want to go with it?
Is your brand looking to project bold, in-your-face bravado? Or are you more laid-back and casual? Smart and funny? Or neighborly and conversational? A good content editor will know exactly what you’re aiming for and make sure that every piece of content you publish aligns perfectly with your brand messaging. Your blog is how you engage potential clients and customers, and it needs to be consistent. Each post needs to fit seamlessly with the tone and style that you’ve spent time establishing, or it’ll stick out like a sore thumb.
And while being grammatically correct isn’t necessarily the goal of your blog, it’s a hugely beneficial perk. Studies have shown that online proofreading tools catch around 60% of the errors during a test of common grammatical errors. That’s pretty good, but is 60% accuracy what you’re aiming for? Obviously, there’s no promise that a human will catch 100% of errors while editing and proofreading, but it’s a good bet that a trained, knowledgeable content editor will filter out more mistakes than a computer will.
Are you struggling with proofreading your own blog posts? Have clients or blog subscribers pointed out published typos or factual discrepancies on your site? Instead of purchasing a content editing program, consider hiring expert writers and content editors to handle your content creation for you.
A great content editor with a team of expert writers can create a virtually endless amount of high-quality writing that helps turn clicks and views on your site into actionable leads for your sales team. Our scalable blogging subscription packages could be just the thing you need to jumpstart your blog.
