Ten Invaluable Tips For Proofreading Your Press Releases

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One of the most important and possibly most neglected areas of press release writing is the proofreading stage. You’ve spent hours, maybe even days or weeks working on your press release, and now you’ve got one page and maybe one shot to turn some heads. If you don’t spend the necessary time in this area, you’ll more than likely end up regretting it. At PRW, we read through hundreds of press releases a week and it’s unbelievable how many times we see blatant errors. Of course nobody’s perfect, but it sure helps to have your press release engine firing on all pistons. Below, we have put together a checklist that we use in-house and have found to be highly effective. We hope that you will find it as beneficial as we do!

1. Print your document. Proofreading on the computer screen is generally more difficult. Errors are easier to detect on hard copy as opposed to on a monitor.
2. Read when you’re most alert, whatever that time may be. When you’re tired, the odds of overlooking errors increase.
3. Divide up your tasks. Proof once for grammatical errors, again for spelling and punctuation, and once more for content.
4. Have at least three people proofread your work. Being close to a project makes you more likely to skim over errors. Everyone has different strengths and will more than likely find different errors.
5. Read your writing out loud. This helps to identify errors that you might miss if you just read silently to yourself.
6. Place a blank sheet of paper just below the line you are proofreading and move your finger along under each word. This keeps your eyes from wandering to the text below.
7. When marking the document, try using proofreader marks. You can download authentic proofreader marks on the PRW Web site at: http://www.press-release-writing.com/resources/proofreadersmarks.pdf If you’re not sure of the proofreader mark for a specific correction, simply write out the change you want to make. Be specific about your corrections; do not just circle the errors. A yellow highlighter pen may also come in handy.
8. Read your document backwards one final time, beginning from the bottom. This helps disconnect your mind from the content and focus on the individual words.
9. After you make final corrections, make sure to proof the revised document. Verify that all the corrections have been made.
10. Pass it around one more time. It’s amazing that even after going through all these steps, someone will usually find a mistake.

NOTE: If you still feel like you need some outside help, or simply don’t have the time or energy to proofread your press releases, PRW offers a proofing service that is quick, affordable and fairly painless. You can view details here.