After all of the hard work your organization puts into the planning and publicizing of your event, don’t let errors in communication undermine your credibility and your message. Poor grammar and spelling mistakes give the impression that you don’t pay attention to details. Broken or misdirected links are frustrating and an incorrect date or address could even cause someone to miss your event altogether.
Proofreading your communication is a vital part of interacting with participants and donors. With so many emails, blogs and tweets competing for attention, it is imperative that your information is accurate, easy to understand and free from errors.
The extra minutes you spend proofreading can also save you time later. You won’t have an inbox full of emails from confused participants to answer or have to worry about your phone lines being tied up with people asking the same question.
Even if your organization doesn’t have a proofreader on staff, you can still designate a couple of people to give all communication a once-over before it is shared. Consider creating a proofreader’s checklist with important event information that everyone can consult.
Here are a few things to look for next time you’re sending an email, posting on Facebook or updating your organization’s blog:
- Confirm all dates and make sure the day of the week matches the date of the event.
- Double check all times. Is the time zone correct? How about the start time? And don’t forget to verify a.m. and p.m.
- Do important links go where they should? Don’t make it hard for participants to register or donors to donate.
- Are you doing events in multiple cities and reusing content? Make sure that the city name is updated throughout.
- If you are using a mail merge, confirm that it actually worked by sending a test email. No one wants to be addressed as Dear [First Name].
Don’t make proofreading an afterthought. When your organization is creating a communication plan, build in time for review and allocate the resources to follow through. The thoroughness you show in your written interactions with participants and donors will carry over to all aspects of your event.
