Editing Part II: Best Foot Forward To Get That Foot In The Door
To have a brochure, a website, or a proposal in the hands of a potential client is not your primary goal. Your goal is to have that particular prospect remember you in a positive way and want to contact you for more information. Your efforts are wasted if they merely toss that brochure at the sight of the first error, not bookmark your error-ridden website for future needs, and want to forget about you at their nearest opportunity. Errors and hard-to-read copy directly translate into lost sales.
Avoid a Negative First Impression
While it is true that there are people who do not notice, would not know the difference, and/or do not care about typographical, grammatical, and syntax errors, there are far more who DO notice and WILL get a negative impression. More often than not, it means the difference between a prospect calling you or moving on to the next company or person who responded to their RFP. You cannot get "your foot in the door" without giving the best impression by putting "your best foot forward."
Bad Copy Translates Into Lost Sales
There are a number of issues a reader may perceive when he/she reads your sales copy.
- They get the impression that you may not care enough for them if you did not care enough for you.
- They worry if you missed those errors in your material, where will you err with their project.
- They may be concerned that you do not have the proper staff to handle all aspects of your business.
The impression your sales copy leaves needs to be positive. How your website gets perceived needs to be favorable. In addition, a negative impact is remembered far longer than a positive, so you’re hurting your future business, not just your current business.
I agree, bad copy means a hard to find clients.
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