Hold Your Work To Quality Standards With Proofreading Services
If you’re a digital journalist, blogger or writer for an online magazine, then you know how important it is to have perfect spelling and grammar. These technical details are the bread and butter for any good writer, as they allow the writer to perfectly express their ideas and convey substantial, concise meaning to readers. If a piece of written work fails to adhere to basic language rules, writers will find that they don’t get taken seriously and that their work becomes less reputable. If you want to ensure that your spelling and grammar is perfect before publication, then read this article for some career-saving advice on the value of IL Consultancy’s proofreading services.
What Does A Blogger Do And Why Do They Require Proofreading?
You might think that blogging, digital journalism or online publishing is just a glorified version of social media. Or perhaps you see it as a rookie version of print publishing and media. However, this is very far from true. Blogging, or any other form of digital journalism for that matter, is a ubiquitous tool that most companies, agencies, brands and stores use to promote themselves, share information and distribute educational resources or recommendations.
Whether you’re conscious of it or not, you probably read a ton of blog posts on the day-to-day. Civic journalism like News24 is an extremely popular source of news and information that takes the form of a blog. In fact, since COVID-19 hit, many of us have relied on blogging, digital media and social media for community connection and access to information.
Whenever you google something, you will find a flurry of answers that made their way to you through a blog, online zine or website using keyword research. Hence, blogging is more than just a digital diary entry – it’s a means of informing each other and it is a legitimate profession that requires discipline, structure and communication skills. Blogs and websites are by no means easy to create and keep up with, they are maintained, refined and strategised by professionals who are expected to perform the following tasks regularly:
- Brainstorm
- Regular publishing
- Research
- Editing
- Proofreading services
- Fact-checking and referencing
- Website administration
- Search engine optimisation
- Email marketing
- Affiliate marketing
- Creative strategy
- Brand establishment
- Self-promotion
- Client engagement
- Social media administration
- Tracking website analytics
- Managing, replying and engaging with audience comments
- Networking and collaborating with brands or like-minded bloggers
Digital Journalism Presents Exciting New Opportunities For Young Writers
With South Africa’s high unemployment rates amongst the youth, it’s unsurprising that so many young professionals have chosen to explore the potential of digital entrepreneurship. Anyone with a stable wifi connection and a computer has the chance to pick up a job on the internet or make their own job via social media and networking platforms. With increased internet access in South Africa, the sector of digital journalism has seen huge growth over the last few years.
The internet allows people to publicise their work and advertise their products to a huge range of international audiences without much cost. This translates to greater ease at which we can share, distribute and deliberate on ideas online. As a result, many have used these inclusive conditions to try their hand at independent publishing and digital journalism. Even print journalists are slowly migrating to the digital world, as it allows them more reach and larger freedom to self-publish in both formal and informal contexts.
Content Creation In The Form Of Digital Journalism Allows For More Engagement
With these prime conditions comes more content being generated on websites, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn etcetera. And what’s even better is that these spaces allow for community engagement and immediate reader feedback. This means that bloggers, writers and digital journalists can quickly publish work and receive reviews within moments.
The immediacy of the internet can be a revolutionary thing if you are eager to share your thoughts with the world and publicise your opinions publicly. There’s something very satisfying about being able to quickly type up a google document filled with your thoughts, and then publish it and reshare it to personal and professional networks without leaving the comfort of your own desk. This freedom has given digital journalists and independent publishers a lot of room for creativity and more time to produce more content relevant to pop-culture trends, political news and educational outlooks
The sheer immediacy of the internet, however, can be frightening when reader responses are negative. A lot of digital journalists and online writers would have experienced receiving some negative responses from audience members who did not like their style or could not understand their language. Perhaps a reader picked up a misspelt word, or a grammatical error – and now the writer must hang their head in shame as they see the comments pile up with derogatory remarks. This is precisely why digital journalists still need to invest in editors and proofreading services.
Digital Journalism Is A Source Of Income And Information That Requires Proofreading
Blogging and digital journalism is a valuable source of income and effective means of communicating with international audiences. Digital journalism can be angled to suit any kind of brief. But the important thing to remember is that digital journalism, blogging, content writing and any other form of digital communication is only effective when it is grammatically correct, well-structured and spell-checked. This is why bloggers should invest in professional proofreading services.
Without having done basic proofreading, it’s unlikely that anyone would take the time to think about the intended meaning behind your words. There’s so much content out there already, why would you expect your audience to excuse your errors and stay loyal to your brand if you can’t guarantee them good spelling, formulaic structure and overall readability at least? Moreover, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to turn a profit from your writing if your clients notice language mistakes in your copy.
Digital Journalism Requires Just As Much Care And Proofreading As Print Journalism
The internet is a space for free expression, but just like print media, there are still certain standards to be upheld by writers, bloggers and digital journalists. Failure to do your proofreading, spell-checking, editing, referencing or reviews before final publication can easily lead to your writing being shared, disregarded or publically criticised online. If you don’t want to get cancelled for unjustified claims and fake news, you hire an editor and fact-checker. Similarly, if you don’t want people to assume that your work is just an amateurish or illegitimate attempt at online engagement, then you need to hire proofreading services.
Even if you’re only writing for your personal blog, it’s important to write content that maintains your own personal standards and codes by implementing reliable proofreading. This work is a reflection of you, and anyone can access this and make judgements about your ability based on it. If you’re aiming to use this writing as a starting-off point to develop your career in journalism or copywriting, then it would be valuable to use these online platforms as a stage to show off your skills and initiative. Showing readers that you mean business when it comes to spelling and grammar is a great way to invite more collaborations, job opportunities and freelance gigs.
If you’re a professional blogger, then you have to maintain a certain code of conduct that aligns with the ethics and principles of free, fair journalism. Professional bloggers and copywriters use their language for affiliate marketing, brand establishment, and the advertising of goods and services. In these scenarios, clients expect that the bloggers who endorse them use perfected language, otherwise they’ll defeat the point and bring negative publicity to the brand. This is why it’s compulsory to do your proofreading before you show your clients your work.
Hiring Proofreading Services Saves Freelancers Time
Freelance blogging can be a great source of income for any creative. A huge portion of South African youths use copywriting, blogging and technical writing as a means to generate independent incomes. By freelancing, students and young professionals can have more independence in their financial situations, picking and choosing what suits them without having to stay committed to a singular company or salary. This presents a welcome break from the traditional mould of work, and writers no longer have to imagine themselves in stagnant 9 to 5 jobs.
While freelancing writing and blogging present an interesting new development for young writers, there is also something to be said about the importance of maintaining high-quality language usage in your online works. Many young freelancers and writers struggle with the array of new roles they must now take on themselves. Suddenly they might find that they need to manage their communications, storyboarding, conceptualising, writing, editing, proofreading, client relations, social media marketing, quoting, invoicing and more by themselves.
With so many roles to navigate, it’s common for freelance writers, digital journalists and bloggers to forget the finer details of writing. Many choose to simply leave their editing, spell checking and proofreading up to the automated generators and built-in online reviewers. But these AI tools – although they are very useful and they save a lot of time – fail to take account of the meaning that a writer is trying to convey. Often, these generated proofreading systems carry out basic proofreading functions without taking account of the brief and the piece’s structural integrity.
As an additional word of advice for freelancers, hiring proofreading services is a great way to reduce your already heavy workload. Although it may seem like an unnecessary cost when your budget is indefinite, using proofreading services is a surefire way to regulate your quality control and manage your efficacy. With less time spent exhausting yourself over the finer details of proofreading, you can spend more quality time focused on booking clients, marketing your services and conceptualising your next big piece.
Professional Proofreading By Humans For Humans
Unlike AI tools, the professional proofreading experts from the IL Consultancy (IL Consultancy) are able to check your work rigorously, keeping in mind the purpose of the piece and the brief that it pertains to. The staff at IL Consultancy are leading industry professionals who have experience proofreading a variety of texts, including blog posts, translations, transcription, scripts, novels, contracts and even academic texts.
After the time spent conceptualising, planning and documenting your thoughts, the thought of having to do all of your own proofreading can be incredibly draining. The extended screentime can be painful on the eyes, and even when you’re trying your best to look out for errors, minor mistakes can easily escape you when you’re tired. After hours spent hunched over a computer, it’s unlikely that a writer will be sharp enough to spot their own mistakes while they’re proofreading.
Hiring a professional proofreading service is an efficient way to prevent embarrassing language errors and syntax mistakes from making their way to the final version of your written work. Consequently, you can save face in front of your employers, gain accreditation with your peers and reshare your works with confidence. This will take some of the pressure off of you because perfection is impossible if you’re not open to review and feedback from other language nerds and grammar freaks.
Hire IL Consultancy’s Proofreading Services Today
Save yourself the stress and worry when it comes to proofreading. Hire a professional proofreading service that can successfully review your work before you present it to the digital world. This will not only save you time but will also lead to better reviews, more job opportunities, professional credibility and overall success.
IL Consultancy guarantees its proofreading clients a final draft that is free from error. IL Consultancy’s proofreading services offer feedback, syntax reviews, structural edits, and print layout reviews based on your unique brief. Call today to book a proofreading consultation today.