Despite the best efforts of even the greatest marketers, today's world of vast digital content can lead to errors happening. Online proofing provides a range of options that can minimize those errors and speed up the creation of great content. 

Understanding Online Proofing 

With online proofing, teams review and sign off content before it is published. Real-time feedback, on any device, anywhere in the world: which makes it possible for distributed teams to correct typos, catch errors and provide input. People can work simultaneously, whether they are on the move or at their desks, and collaborate via these platforms. Online proofing systems help centralize communication and revisions, making it much easier to track what was changed than in paper-based or email-based proofing. 

Benefits of Online Proofing 

Increased collaboration: Everyone is in the same loop: writers, designers, stakeholders, clients and other authors who will share a document. It is easy to comment inline and thus to discuss and resolve issues in real time.  

Better accuracy: Perhaps one of the best aspects of online proofing is actually the better accuracy it provides. When a number of team members can check the content, the chances of an error being found multiply, especially since version control allows the team to work on the latest version of the document and removes the risk of publishing out-of-date content. 

Smooth Workflow: With online proofing the entire process can be streamlined from creating content to publishing. Using automated alerts and notifications, from proof processes and reminders to keeping stakeholders aware, everyone is held accountable and no deadlines are missed or the quality of the content affected.  

Feedback in one place: Instead of sorting through thousands of emails or post-it notes, all that feedback gets brought together into a shared space. That way, your team can work more productively by addressing the comments together in the same place. When all the feedback is tidily gathered and sorted in one online proofing space, you can decide which points to implement and which to ignore. 

Visual Clarity: Because many online proofing tools facilitate online visual proofing (amending a document or image directly), all of the discussion takes place in context – helping to reduce the chance of mistaken comments. 

As we increasingly live in a world where content is king, it's important to make sure that what you're providing is great, without being riddled with mistakes. In today's age where everything needs to happen quicker and faster compared with five, 10 or 20 years ago, online proofing is the perfect way of ensuring that less mistakes are made and your work is more accurate and of higher quality. Whether you're in a marketing team that is tasked with creating more content than ever before, or are part of an organization that has invested in a digital workplace tool to improve collaboration, online proofing should be something to seriously consider and implement in order to create more efficient workflows together.