What Role Does Proofreading Play in Email Marketing?

Have you ever received an email from a company you admired and discovered that they misspelled your name? or addressed you by a different name? It sort of hurts. You are aware that they did not proofread the email before sending it. You probably laughed and clicked Unsubscribe if the brand is one you don't even recall signing up for emails from. It can be challenging for them to repair the damage if the brand in question is one you appreciate and want to hear.

Email enables instantaneous communication or instantaneous miscommunication. Email proofreading is crucial because of this. Grammar mistakes, broken links, and missing attachments show a lack of professionalism, and a muddled statement might convey the wrong idea. 

Most digital marketing efforts are built around a practical email marketing approach, so your emails must always appear polished and professional. However, if you adhere to the advice in this guide to successful email proofreading, it can be helpful:

1. Have a break 

While you're still thinking the same way you made the mistakes, fixing them is challenging. Reread what you wrote after taking a brief pause, going for a walk, or working on anything else for a time. 

When your mind is clear, detecting ambiguous language, perplexing word choices, and grammatical mistakes will be much simpler. Proofread essential communications, such as sales pitches, newsletters, and automated emails, the next day before they are sent to huge audiences.

2. Know your common errors 

If you know your patterns, you can search for them using your computer's find/change tool, typically found under the "edit" option in browsers and programs. 

Typical mistakes that people make repeatedly include: 

• Using two spaces after periods 
• using auxiliary verbs that undermine your point, such as "just" or "sort of" 
• Typical typos include "teh" for "the." 
• Apostrophes in plurals being misused 
• Some words, such as their, there, they're, or too, to, two, can be confusing. 
• using either too few or too many commas

3. Use a tool for proofreading 

Are free plug-ins available to check your punctuation and grammar as you type in your email client or browser? The most well-liked program is Grammarly, and its free edition is a true workhorse. It serves as an enhanced kind of spell check, highlighting many grammatical and punctuation errors. 

To ensure that your written communications are polished and professional, use them yourself and suggest them to your staff.

4. Verify the attachments and links. 

The majority of individuals have experienced having to follow up with messages like, "Sorry, that link didn't work — here's the correct one," or "Oops, I intended to attach this paper to that last email." 

These are simple errors, but if you take the time to proofread, you can easily prevent them. Before sending, manually check each link in your email to ensure it functions and the attachments you intended to include are present.

5. Examine the topics and headings. 

When proofreading, mistakes in subject lines are the last thing you'll catch, but readers will see them right away. So make sure to look again at your topic lines. 

This advice applies to headlines and topic headings if you structure professional newsletters and campaigns using Constant Contact's email marketing platform. Customers are less likely than you to ignore headline mistakes.

6. Simplify 

Good editing aims to remove things rather than add them, such as superfluous words or sentences. Also, look for opportunities to streamline and condense your message while proofreading. 

When it comes to emails, shorter is usually preferable. The majority of messages can be made better by halving their word count. People reject messages they believe to be overly long because they are too busy. Respecting other people's time and attention is the finest approach to indicating that you value them. 

Should be used simple terms place of complex ones. Make long sentences shorter. Split up lengthy paragraphs. Use paragraphs up to 100 words apiece while writing emails. 

One-sentence sentences can be very effective.

7. Check the pronouns and names. 

The addressee's name is another area that is simple to ignore. Many people strongly dislike having their names spelled incorrectly. Don't rely on your recollection to spell the recipient's name correctly; instead, double-check using your source. This can be a deal-breaker. Make sure your database doesn't contain any problems in your contacts' names if you use the mail merging feature.

Don't make any assumptions regarding pronouns. Pronoun usage in the modern era might vary. These days, many people include their preferred pronouns in their email signature lines, making it simple to tell if you're speaking with a she, a she/her, a they, or a he. It is advisable to respect someone's pronoun preferences if they have been made explicit.

8. Read aloud. 

Read your message aloud to ensure it is understandable and that the concepts flow naturally. You'll be able to tell if there's anything odd or unclear right away. 

If your computer has a "voice" command, it might be able to read your message back to you. Look for it in the "edit" menu of your application. Look away from the screen while the app reads to check if your punctuation and language choices helped the computer to determine the appropriate tone. If your app includes a speech option, highlight the text you wish to hear back and choose "start speaking."

9. Check the dates and facts. 

Using different digits in your email is another typical error. For example, you might forget to specify a time zone, fail to convert a sum from euros to dollars, or mistakenly enter a day and date that doesn't exist, such as "Friday, June 2," when June 2 falls on a Thursday. 

Although these mistakes are simple, the uncertainty they cause may be difficult to resolve. People may only trust you as a reputable source of information if you consistently send accurate information. 

It takes a brief moment to quickly scan the numbers and dates in your email.

10. Examine your tone. 

Tone can be challenging. While a message intended to be cordial and welcoming may be fake or even sarcastic to the reader, what one person perceives as professional may come across as brusque and abrupt to another. These distinctions are cultural and personal; if you already have a tense relationship with the recipient, they might be less likely to view you favorably. 

Add a word or two of small talk if you still need to in your message. I hope your family is doing well, or best of luck with that presentation next week. Here are some excellent formal opening and closing statements you might use.

11. Bring in assistance 

Ask for assistance if you're composing a highly significant email, such as a sales pitch to a potential customer, a complex contract negotiation, or a welcome email that you'll be sending to each new subscriber for months. 

Because you always read what you write in the context you intended, another person can notice things in your writing that you will never be able to. For example, a second reader might pick up on nuances that could lead someone to misunderstand your message or tone.

Conclusion

A crucial step in guaranteeing the effectiveness of your campaigns is to proofread the content of your email marketing messages. Proofreading will help you increase your open and click-through rates, stay out of trouble with the law, and ensure that your content is straightforward. 

Ultimately, this may result in more effective email marketing efforts and an improved return on investment for your company.

KLB Solutions templates and tools make it simple to send business emails. Using these email proofreading suggestions, you can ensure that your company is consistently professional and impeccable.