13 Convincing Reasons Why You Should Hire a Proofreader

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Hiring a proofreader ensures your writing looks polished and professional. It can help you with everything from landing a job to increasing the chances that your book or paper will be published. A proofreader can save you time and allow you to project a professional image.

Let’s see why hiring a proofreader is so beneficial.

Why You Should Hire a Proofreader

1) We are notoriously bad at proofreading our own work.

In this article from Wired Magazine, psychologist Tom Stafford of the University of Sheffield explains why we’re so bad at proofing what we write. Stafford suggests that writing is a high-level task since it involves imparting meaning.

To accomplish this task efficiently and effectively, our brain focuses on the big-picture goal of putting sentences together to convey intricate thoughts. In turn, we place less emphasis on details like forming words and arranging them into sentences.

Then, when we proofread our work, we see what we thought we wrote instead of what we actually wrote and end up missing typos and grammar gaffes.

This explains why even proofreaders hire proofreaders. Proofing someone else’s work is a pleasure, but proofing our own work is a tall order.

2) Hiring a proofreader will save you time.

Since we’re not particularly good at proofreading our own work, we usually have to read through our writing repeatedly until we catch as many errors as possible.

Since a proofreader will see your piece for the first time, they’ll find more flubs faster.

Outsourcing proofreading means you can devote time to other pursuits, like doing things in your business that move the needle or hanging out with family and friends.

3) It can save you money (sometimes big bucks!).

Mistakes can be costly. Let’s pretend you’re the owner of a pizza joint, and it’s time to change the menu. For the new build-your-own pizza special, you indicated that customers can choose “up to sex toppings.” Well, that sounds delicious—except it doesn’t.

But you read over that menu at least sex six times before you sent it off for printing!

You’ll probably remember how much you paid to have those menus printed for a long time since you had to pay the price twice.

Even if it were a far less egregious error, would you want that mistake to be seen by your future customers? Fortunately, that super sexy menu mishap pales in comparison to other blunders that have been astronomically expensive.

An article published in the New York Times titled “The Comma That Costs 1 Million Dollars (Canadian)” illustrates one such blunder. The piece begins, “If there is a moral to the story about a contract dispute between Canadian companies, this is it: Pay attention in grammar class.”

Those little punctuation marks can make a big monumental difference.

If you’d like to learn about other typos that caused far more than one million dollars’ worth of damage, please watch the YouTube video below.

4) It can enhance your earning potential.

Your words represent you in your absence.

The first impression you give to potential clients may be via writing instead of in person. If the sales pitch on your website or in an email is full of flubs, you won’t be able to earn your client’s trust and make the sale.

But if your written word is carefully crafted and well polished, customers will believe you offer high-quality products and services.

A well-crafted message will make potential clients see you as a competent professional, allowing you to stay competitive in your market.

In this article on The Southern Illinoisan, the writers discuss this study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. I remember coming across this study as a psychology major in college because I was surprised by the results.

One facet of the research involved seeing how college students who received emails perceived the email senders depending on whether the messages contained grammar and spelling errors. The article writers summarized this part of the study just as I remember it:

“College students who read the email messages perceived the writer to be less conscientious, intelligent, and trustworthy when the message contained many grammatical errors, compared to the same message without any errors.”                                                    

– The Southern Illinoisan

5) You can’t depend on spell-check to get good results.

Four example, spell-check wood knot sea any missed takes in what I just rote. Due yew no what I mean?

It wouldn’t have saved you from that error on the menu of your hypothetical pizza shop either.

If you’d like a free way to catch far more errors than what spell-check will detect, I recommend the free version of Grammarly. But please know that not even the premium version of Grammarly can substitute for a qualified proofreader. 

If you’d like to know more about how the leading proofreading software stacks up against a trained proofreader, feel free to check out this article about why proofreaders are still very much needed. 

6) You can’t rely on friends and family members either.

Although our friends and family members mean well, they can’t correct a document as effectively as a trained proofreader. Proofreaders are well-versed in a multitude of commonly misused words.

They also have a solid understanding of English grammar and mechanics, and they’ve probably put a lot of effort into honing their skills.

Also, language guidelines change over time.

When was the last time your family member or friend reviewed the latest grammar and punctuation rules?

Do they realize it’s perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)?

Are they aware that splitting an infinitive is okay (to quickly go)?

And do they know that ending a sentence with a preposition is no problem?

One of my favorite lines from The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) tells how Winston Churchill felt about the traditional notion of it being incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition. 😊

“As Winston Churchill is said to have put it sarcastically, ‘That is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put.’” 

                                                                     – The Chicago Manual of Style

Words can even take on different forms over time. CMOS points out that “with frequent use, open or hyphenated compounds tend to become closed (on line to on-line to online).”

7) Your content will rank higher on Google.

Do you want to see your written content ranking on the first page of Google?

Having a proofreader polish your work will raise the quality of your writing, making your content more SEO friendly.

How did I come to this conclusion?

About midway through Google’s lengthy Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide, they give recommendations for optimizing content. As a best practice, they recommend writing content that’s easy to read.

They specifically tell us to avoid sloppy writing with lots of spelling mistakes and grammar errors and to avoid publishing awkward or poorly written articles.

Bing, another popular search engine, has taken a clear stance on the importance of quality in written content.

In an article on Bing blogs, Duane Forrester, Sr. Product Manager at Bing, said the following:

“If you struggle to get past typos, why would an engine show a page of content with errors higher in the rankings when other pages of error-free content exist to serve the searcher? Like it or not, we’re judged by the quality of the results we show. So we are constantly watching the quality of the content we see.”

Also, hiring a proofreader can decrease your website’s bounce rate.

You won’t have to worry about people leaving your site when they become disgruntled by too many typos.

8) You’ll be able to communicate your message clearly.

We know how one word or even one punctuation mark can change the meaning of a sentence.

As a writer, you want to say what you mean in the clearest way possible.

If grammar goofs, punctuation pitfalls, and spelling slipups find their way into your writing, readers will stumble over your words as they try to figure out what you mean.

You want people to focus on your message, not your mistakes.

A proofreader will iron out your text to create a smooth reading experience and make your message easy to comprehend.

9) It will ensure you project a professional image.

Since you often make your first impression through writing, you don’t want the errors in your text to undermine your credibility or tarnish your reputation.

If your words are polished and refined, people are more likely to view you as polished and refined.

Professional-looking writing casts you in a positive light and gives you more authority. It shows you care about the quality of your work.

We put time and effort into what we care about, so attention to detail shows we care.

10) Hiring a proofreader can save you from embarrassment.

I think it’s safe to say that some spelling slipups are more unfortunate than others.

We know this all too well because we’ve seen the atrocities that autocorrect can produce.

Dear audacious autocorrect,

We want to inform you that you frequently cause more harm than good. Please take a split second to reconsider before you change our text into an appallingly horrendous display of words. The person who receives those words does know how to read.

Signed,

Everyone who has had the pleasure of being “corrected” by autocorrect in an oh-so-charming manner

Two of the most cringeworthy spelling mistakes are writing sex instead of six and pubic instead of public.

Didn’t you feel a bit silly about that mistake on the menu for your pizza shop?

Hiring a proofreader means you’ll not only save money but you’ll also save face.

11) You can improve your chances of getting published.

If you’re an author with a manuscript in hand, you’ll have a better chance of publishing it if you hire a proofreader first.

You’ll also have a higher probability of obtaining a literary agent if your manuscript isn’t full of blunders.

Additionally, a proofreader can help you avoid negative reviews if you plan to self-publish. I’ve seen many books on Amazon get bad reviews because they were filled with distracting mistakes.

People can be quite outspoken about these overlooked errors when posting a review.

Furthermore, if you’ve written an article you want to have published in a scholarly journal, hiring a proofreader will increase the likelihood of the journal accepting your paper. If the paper has too many mistakes, they’ll reject it as it will be deemed unfit for publishing.

In my post about jobs where proofreading skills come in handy, I mentioned an article published on Inside Higher Ed titled “25 Ways to Increase Your Chances at Publication.” The article’s author, Laura Moss, is the editor of a scholarly journal.

Moss mentioned submitting a paper with as few grammar errors and typos as possible as one of the ways to boost your chances of being published.

12) You’ll become a better writer.

Proofreaders leave a trail of colored lines and words behind on your digital document as they mark it up. We do this so you can see all the recommended changes and accept or reject each change as you see fit.

When you’re looking over those suggested changes (and maybe comments too), you’ll notice your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

Do you sprinkle commas into your writing like some women sprinkle on body glitter before going out on the town?

If you’re comma happy, it will become apparent when you see we’ve taken out numerous commas.

And if you continually misuse a specific word, it’ll start to stand out.

This feedback will help you improve your writing and have more confidence when you have to send out a document quickly and don’t have time to hire a proofreader.

13) You’ll be more likely to land a job.

To give yourself the best chance of snagging a job, you should try to send your potential employer an error-free cover letter and a refined résumé or CV. These documents serve as a sample of our work.

Bad grammar and spelling equate to carelessness. And who wants to hire a careless employee?

Submitting well-proofread writing shows that you give your best to your work.

The American business magazine Inc. published the following article on their website: “1 Small Mistake Will Get Your Resume Rejected Immediately, According to Google’s Former Head of HR.”

If you think the one small mistake they’re referring to is a spelling or grammar error—you’re correct!

I hope I’ve made a good case for investing in a well-trained proofreader. If you hire a proofreader, you’ll probably be surprised by the errors lurking in your writing.

I authored an article about how much proofreading costs if you’re curious.

And if you need guidance with the hiring process, please refer to my article “How to Hire a Proofreader (in 7 Simple Steps).”

Best wishes to you! 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I should hire a proofreader or a copy editor?

Whether you need a proofreader or a copy editor depends on the level of intervention your document requires.

Proofreading is the final stage of editing; it comes directly after copyediting. A proofreader finds and fixes mistakes with punctuation, spelling, grammar, capitalization, formatting, word choice (discreet vs. discrete), and missing or repeated words.

A copy editor keeps an eye out for everything I just mentioned; however, they also focus on fixing errors with syntax (sentence structure) and making the writing clear, concise, consistent, comprehensive, and correct.

What if I don’t have time to write, or writing isn’t my forte?

Some people benefit from hiring someone else to do all, or at least some, of their writing. Finding a writer who specializes in the content you want to produce would be especially beneficial.

If you’re looking for a writer to create a text that attempts to convince someone to purchase a product or service or persuade someone to take action, you’d benefit from hiring a copywriter.

If you’re interested in learning more about the work of a copywriter, please see my post “Proofreading vs. Copywriting: Exploring Key Differences.” I wrote this article since some people get these two terms mixed up.

Does hiring a proofreader guarantee an error-free document?

Although hiring a proofreader provides numerous benefits, it doesn’t guarantee that your text will be perfect. In fact, it probably won’t be. With more errors to find than most people know exist, a professional proofreader knows better than to promise perfection.

However, we should be able to find almost all the mistakes in your document. After all, our job is to eradicate errors! But even though we tend to be perfectionists who strive to make your text perfect, we’re only human.

If you’d like to know more about why proofreaders sometimes overlook errors, I published a post titled “Do Proofreaders Make Mistakes?”

“By being yourself you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.”

– Edwin Elliot