This week I am focusing on helping my clientsand network overcome one common, yet unacceptable mistake made by people marketing themselves and their services.
TYPOS!! 😩😩
Yesterday, as I was shuffling through business cards I noticed a typo on the front of one card (a marketing business card by the way) and then later I saw another typo on a social media ad (big bold one too) from a person always in the public eye.
Now look, I’ve had many typos in my day (and I’m sure many more to come); HOWEVER if you’re doing something as important and significant as an ad, a business card or a key marketing document that represents you, be wise and check it for errors. Especially if you’re saying you are a ‘go to’ person for marketing, coaching, speaking….etc!
As an HR professional & experienced resume writer and career coach, I know first hand one of the biggest hindering for most people when pursuing new opportunities is typos on your resume.
Hundreds or more resumes are thrown out daily for this exact reason. Ask any recruiter or hiring manager and they’ll tell you the same.
So please….I beg you….
🙏🏽 Take your time and do it right.
When I see mistakes like these, all that tells me is, you didn’t take the time to make sure your marketing document/product was right and it also allows me to come up with my own assumptions about you, your value, product or service, such as:
1. You’re too cheap to hire a professional 2. You don’t take your brand seriously 3. You don’t give your customers quality products/services 4. You’re an amateur 5. You’re not willing to listen to anyone else’s voice but your own – basically you’re not teachable 6. You saw the error, but didn’t think it was significant enough to adjust it which means you have mediocre standards 7. You aren’t surrounded by enough people who believe in you and want you to be great (otherwise they’d point it out for you)
And now all of that (1-7) becomes your brand message, at least in my mind as a potential client/consumer/employer for you.
😳 Fair to you? NOPE, probably not….but that’s what happens!! It doesn’t mean all these assumptions are true. It means you have allowed someone else to create a false perception of you.
😏 I’m no perfect person, and I too, have been embarrassed by typos so I’ve learned to always keep people around me that I run things by, especially important things so I can get a second or third eye.
Note: As a person who understands the VALUE in always learning and growing – 😎I don’t take offense ever when someone points it out. I just fix it and make sure I’m more conscious of it.
We all need to have those people in our circle to protect us from looking like fools (even though we are human and it’s allowed sometimes). 😩
🙌🏽 But here’s the GOOD NEWS….
Because I love you and I want you to WIN
I’ve put together some tips to help you that have worked for me…
Before you hit submit, print or pay for a marketing doc, ad, etc…
1. 👉🏽 Get someone else (someone you respect/ a skilled professional) to look at it & proof it for you. And YES, I’m taking new clients 😎 👈🏽 #TrueStory
2. 😴 Sleep on it before you complete it.
3. Then, 👀 look at it again
4. 🙏🏽 Have someone look at the revised one
5. THEN share it with your audience….but not before. 🙅🏽
