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Because you might think, "What does this Yankee know about copy
editing?  After all, he has more than once butchered the Queen's
English."  Yeah, you're probably right, so here's what other
copywriting professionals say about proofing your own work:

  Bob Bly recommends, "reading your copy from the last line to the
first, as well as reading it out loud."  If you don't believe me,
you've got to believe Bob Bly, the author of more than 20 books on
business advertising alone.

  Denny Hatch says that while proofreading is important, it's more
important to "understand completely everything we write, so
completely that we can explain [it] to our grandmothers." 
Stressing clarity in our written words first, then look at how that
information is delivered for clarity in our readers minds.

But my favorite advice is from copywriting millionaire maker Dan
Kennedy, "hire an editor."  He even tells stories of poorly written
copy making the sale because of it's congruence with the beliefs of
it's reader.

The truth is, you don't have to be perfect, you just need to be a
little better than the other guy.  Because copy editing isn't my
strength, for client work, I hire local editors to review what I've
put together.  They help with clarity, grammar, and help me verify
that the sales concept conveys.

If you spend days mulling over a piece, that piece never gets to
work for you.  Worse, you may seem over educated which may
intimidate the average reader -- who in America reads only at a 6th
to 8th grade reading level.  Rather have a few spelling or
grammatical mistakes, get the customer, than spend a month making
everything just right.

Your focus must be connecting with the emotions of buyers,
conveying the right selling message, and getting a response from
the reader.  In your impassioned words, you might make a few
mistakes, clean them up as you can, but get your message in front
of buyers.  That's how copy sells.

What do you think?

Sincerely,

Justin Hitt
Editor, AdBriefing Copywriting Tips
http://AdBriefing.co.uk/

P. s. Are you making money with what you are reading here?  Would
really enjoy featuring you and your business, highlighting your
successes in coming issues.  In Pat's great tradition, this
newsletter is all about learning, sharing, and getting results. 
Looking forward to hearing about your own.

Justin Hitt doesn't promise to have the most excellent grammar, but
he can write emotionally connected copy that sells, even in
business-to-business.  To see what he can do for your commercial
technical services firm, visit http://HittPublishingDirect.com/