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Blog was last modified on July 2nd, 2016 by Proof Communications Team

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What the f, f, f, f – why we can’t see what we’re reading

May 3, 2019

B2B documents, How to win business, Proofreading tips, Typos, Uncategorised, Writing tips

Give yourself five seconds to read the following line: Fifty florins for a flagon of fluff How many Fs did you count? Six? Seven? There are nine. It’s so easy to miss the obvious when you’re reading a document you’ve written or been involved in writing because your brain knows what’s coming next, so it jumps ahead. We all excel at jumping to conclusions and by drawing on our language experience, we make assumptions about which word is coming next.…

What the f, f, f, f – why we can’t see what we’re reading was last modified on May 3rd, 2019 by Proof Communications Author

Are you guilty of this simple mistake in your content writing?

April 16, 2019

copywriting, Editing, How to win business, Proofreading tips, Writing tips

Copywriting experts may instruct us to ‘write as you speak’, but there are times when it’s better not to. You’ll often hear people say phrases such as: My own house… Let’s connect them together… It’s a true fact… It possibly might… 2am in the morning… We first conceived of the idea… There are 5 different cafes near here … We received a free gift… Exciting new innovation… If you were to write these phrases, a good editor or a good…

Are you guilty of this simple mistake in your content writing? was last modified on April 16th, 2019 by Proof Communications Author

The one thing we do that shocks clients

April 3, 2019

Annual reports, Proofreading tips, Typos, Writing tips

When a client asks us proofread their annual report, financial statements, PDS, RAP or similar, we’re often told: ‘you won’t find much as we’ve read through the document in-house a few times’. The reality is we make an average of 10 mark-ups a page. In a 100-page document, that’s around 1,000 mark ups. Client are shocked or at least, very surprised. The trouble is, it’s so easy to miss what later seems obvious. In 2011, the Australian Defence Forces came…

The one thing we do that shocks clients was last modified on April 3rd, 2019 by Proof Communications Author

Why pandas carry guns

November 28, 2018

copywriting, Grammar tips, Proofreading tips, Punctuation, Typos

According to a recent Google Doodle, this year marks the 187th since the birth of the man widely considered to be the father of modern football, Ebenezer Cobb Morley. Riveting stuff indeed. But even more noteworthy than that particularly fascinating sporting nugget is that 2018 also marks exactly 15 years since Lynne Truss published her widely acclaimed book, ‘Eats, Shoots & Leaves’, the zero-tolerance approach to punctuation. Why is this important? Because within its pages lies the information you need…

Why pandas carry guns was last modified on November 29th, 2018 by Proof Communications Author

How to write compelling business copy for your website

November 21, 2018

B2B documents, copywriting, Proofreading tips, Websites, Writing tips

A website sporting well-written business copy will immediately lift your brand above the competition. Your ‘voice’ will be heard because readers respond positively to unambiguous writing that has a compelling message. Here are six ways to ensure it comes across loud and clear. Decide upon your main message What exactly is it that you’re offering? Really think about that. What’s the most important thing you want your website visitors to know? Whether the main benefit of your product or service…

How to write compelling business copy for your website was last modified on June 5th, 2019 by Proof Communications Author

How one word can make your marketing message go spectacularly wrong

November 16, 2018

B2B documents, Proofreading tips, Typos

This month has seen yet another stand-out example of how just one word can make a marketing message go spectacularly wrong. American soft drink giant, Coca Cola, has been on the receiving end of some well-deserved criticism after failing to perform due diligence before advertising in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Auckland Airport was the unlikely setting for this latest linguistic debacle, when Coca Cola’s seemingly innocuous attempt to greet thirsty Kiwi travelers with the words ‘KIA ORA,…

How one word can make your marketing message go spectacularly wrong was last modified on November 19th, 2018 by Proof Communications Author

Winning business awards – improve your chances with a great submission

November 2, 2018

Award Entries, Business Awards, copywriting, How to win business, Writing tips

If you’re considering entering a business award, take note of these important tips to radically improve your chances of winning. Play by the rules Truly, there’s no point entering if you believe that instructions such as, ‘In no more than 500 words…’ or ‘Show evidence using sales growth figures’ don’t apply to you. They do. And if you don’t comply, your award submission will end up in what’s euphemistically referred to as the ‘circular file’. Award entry rules are there…

Winning business awards – improve your chances with a great submission was last modified on November 7th, 2018 by Proof Communications Author

What’s the difference between copy editing and proofreading? And why should you care?

October 23, 2018

Editing, How to win business, Proofreading tips, Writing tips

If you’re briefing an editor or proofreader, you’ll need to know the difference or you might not get the result you were hoping for. Whilst they overlap to some extent, copy editing and proofreading are essentially separate functions, yet work hand in hand to polish your business documents to make them look and sound as professional as possible. What does a copy editor do? Copy editing comes before proofreading and is focused on getting your document ready for publication. It’s…

What’s the difference between copy editing and proofreading? And why should you care? was last modified on October 23rd, 2018 by Proof Communications Author

And the winner is…

October 19, 2018

Award Entries, Business Awards, copywriting, How to win business

Did you know that Proof Communications writes around 50 award entries for companies and businesspeople every year? Of these, 95 per cent become finalists and an impressive 59 per cent go on to win. We also write successful Order of Australia nominations. Your success Whether you’re entering a local, state or national award, it’s vital that your unique story comes across clearly. As experienced wordsmiths, we know how to transform a multitude of facts about you, your business and your achievements into a…

And the winner is… was last modified on October 19th, 2018 by Proof Communications Author

Houston, we have a problem…how can people get it so wrong?

October 4, 2018

copywriting, Proofreading tips, Typos, Writing tips

‘Communication Shipwrecks’, a recent white paper by American-based business writing school, Hurley Write Inc, gives some cracking examples of the impact bad business writing can have on consumers, corporates, government and academia. Read these and wince. The issue: Metric mishap In 1999, NASA’s much vaunted $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter self-destructed upon entering the red planet’s atmosphere some 100 km closer and 25km lower than planned. This costly space debacle’s post-mortem revealed that Lockheed-Martin, the company which developed and built…

Houston, we have a problem…how can people get it so wrong? was last modified on October 4th, 2018 by Proof Communications Author