Start A Proofreading Business

The written word is a big business. Just walk into your local bookstore and browse the latest selections, and it's easy to see that there are
new books being written all the time. But that's only the tip of the iceberg.

In addition to the vast selection of fiction and non-fiction titles that hit the market every week, there's the Internet. New web pages,and even entire new sites, are cropping up every day. Then there are
newspapers and magazines. And let's not forget all of the technical manuals and product instructions that are needed to accompany software, electronics, and even that new piece of furniture.

All of that adds up to a lot of written words, which have to be written by somebody. And smart writers know that they need someone else to look
over their work. Fresh eyes can catch mistakes, misspellings, and typos more readily than the eyes of the person who wrote them.

Sure, most word processors come packaged with spelling and grammar checking programs. But those are limited in their capabilities. There are many words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings, and spell checkers usually do not pick up on the improper usage of those words. And grammar checkers, while worth using to catch obvious mistakes, are also not completely reliable.

Have you ever read a website or instruction manual that was riddled with mistakes? It doesn't make a very good first impression, does it? In the case of the instruction manual, you may find yourself wondering if you purchased the best product.

A poorly written website often leaves visitors with a bad taste in their mouth, and it could even cause them not to return.

These problems could easily be prevented by having the writing proofread by someone with a good eye for spelling and grammar.



Those who do not recognize the need for quality writing are often informed through customer feedback and lack of sales. Still, even those who are keenly aware of the value of proper spelling and grammar sometimes
don't know where to find a good proofreader.

The need for proofreading and editing opens a door for those with an excellent grasp on the English language. Proofreading and editing jobs can be found online and locally. Simply getting the word out about your services and demonstrating the ability to produce results could be all it takes to start getting clients. And those clients will often recommend a good editor to their colleagues, providing even more opportunities.

There is abundant demand for proofreaders and editors, and that demand provides an excellent opportunity for work at home moms. Starting your
own proofreading business could provide you with a steady income for years to come.

The work at home trend has produced many options for moms who want to spend more time with their kids. But the fact is that a lot of these options require you to do at least a small part of the work away from home. There are, however, some exceptions. One of those is proofreading and editing.

Advertising your services online and in publications can provide you with work. That work can be done in the comfort of your home, on your
computer. In most cases, the work can be transmitted electronically, eliminating the need to mail or delivery of the finished product. But
the ability to do the majority of the work from home is just one of many reasons that proofreading and editing are great for moms.

Proofreading and editing do not require a specific degree. While many publishers that hire on-site editors require a college degree, most freelance work does not.

Gaining clients and demonstrating the knowledge and ability to produce quality work can help convince new clients that you are worthy of the job. Even large clients will often consider experience in lieu of a degree.

Flexibility is one of the most desired qualities of a home business. A proofreading and editing business can deliver lots of flexibility. While you will often be working with deadlines, you can work the hours of the day that are best for you. Whether you prefer to work early in the morning before the kids get up, during the day while your school-aged children are in school, or late at night when everyone else is in bed, you can do it.

Proofreading is quiet work,so you don't have to worry about waking anyone up. Those trying to work at home with small children often have a hard time scheduling phone time. Interruptions can make it difficult to have a productive conversation, not to mention that they make a bad impression.

There is little phone work involved in proofreading. An occasional chat with a client may be necessary, but it's not one of those jobs that require you to be on the phone a large portion of the day. Any calls that must be made can often be put off until the children are napping or some other convenient time. Questions can even be sent by email to most clients, cutting out the phone altogether.

Editing and proofreading provide a profitable and enjoyable home business opportunity. The services are in great demand, and providing them allows for great flexibility and minimal travel. These traits make proofreading and editing an ideal business for moms. If you consider good spelling and grammar and attention to detail some of your strong points, you could do well with a proofreading business.

In this 61 page ebook, you'll discover;

What exactly does a proofreader do?: Find out what type of work you can find in this field that offers plenty of variety. Also, discover the difference between proofreading and editing and how it can help you position yourself better in the market.

The growing demand for your proofreading services: Proofreaders and editors are in high demand and the different kinds of clients you can find.

Benefits of running your own proofreading business. Besides the perks of being able to work at home with little start-up funds, this guide will show you many more benefits of starting your own proofreading business.

What kind of skills you need to get started. The good news is you don't have to take any special courses, but there are certain certifications that might help you get ahead of your competitors. We'll tell you where to get them and how to hone your skills on your own.

Costs & equipment you'll need. As we mentioned, the start-up costs are minimal, but we'll give you the inside tips on what you need to make your career as a proofreader much easier.

Setting up your virtual storefront with your own web site. Find out how easy it is to get your website up and running and how it will help you grow your business.

How much you can earn as a proofreader: Whether you just want to earn a little extra money from home or run a full-time high-profit business, we'll show you there is plenty of opportunity to get paid handsomely for your work.

Getting started and finding clients. This is always the toughest part of getting your business off the ground. We'll show you how to get your first clients and keep the momentum to grow your client base.

A typical day for a work at home proofreader: Working at home has its challenges, but the rewards are even greater. We'll give you an idea of what to expect and how to shape your day to make it work best for you.

...and much more!

As a proofreader there are some skills you will need to possess to do this type of work. An obvious skill you will need to have is the ability to spot grammatical errors, in other words you'll need to have excellent grammar.

Aside from grammar skills you will also need good organizational skills so that you can keep all your projects organized. You'll also need to keep paperwork, receipts, etc organized.

You need to be a self starter and someone who is highly motivated. When working at home it's easy to let other things get in the way of sitting down and working. You'll need to be motivated enough to get your projects started and completed in a timely fashion.

Typing, research, and internet skills are other areas you should be knowledgeable in. A couple other areas that are important to have skills in are word processing, communication and the ability to follow directions.

There are many skills needed in order to run your own proofreading business but these are the basic ones and once you have these you will be ready to open the doors to your business.

As you probably already know, with any business experience is key. In a minute we'll discuss some ways that you can gain experience when first starting out. First, there is one thing you need to think about before starting your proofreading business.

Offering only proofreading skills probably isn't going to bring in many clients and if you aren't bringing in clients then you aren't bringing in any income. You will need to offer some other services along with your proofreading business. If you look online at other proofreader's websites you will notice they offer other services. One skill that you will more than likely want to offer with your proofreading skills is editing. There are several different areas you can offer editing services for such as special reports, books, ebooks, technical writing, etc. Now let's move on to ways you can gain experience if you are just breaking into this industry.

One of the simplest ways to gain experience is to check out a site like Elance and apply for some freelance jobs. Freelancing jobs will do a couple different things for you. One thing this will do for you is help you learn how to work for someone, as an independent contractor, while learning how to be professional, reliable and efficient. You'll also become familiar with how to write online and that's going to be important for your business because online writing is different than offline writing. It's also a good idea to pick up a couple local jobs so you can familiarize yourself with editing/proofing paper documents using proofreading marks.



Another option you might consider, if you can find one available is an internship. Generally an internship doesn't pay so you'll have to keep that in mind. If you can't find someone in the proofreading/editing industry offering an internship you always can approach them and see if they would be willing to allow you to do some work for them in exchange for their critique.

Now that you have some experience under your belt, it's important to make sure you add these skills to your portfolio. If you don't then nobody will know you have them and without that it makes you look inexperienced. To find out exactly how you can start your own proofreading business
from the comfort of your own home

Regardless of whether you are building your proofreading business primarily with online clients in mind or local clients, you need a website. This is not an option, it's imperative to your business. There is website building software available if you are interested in building your own. If you do not feel confident in going that route, there is always the option of hiring a website designer to do it for you.

Now that you have your website created you are ready to start doing some marketing. You can market both locally (offline) and online. Online marketing can be as simple as joining some forums that are geared towards writers and editors/proofreaders or purchasing some advertising on some sites that target your niche.

Offline marketing has a wide variety of options available for you. The first thing you'll want to do is tell your family and friends all about your business. Ask them to mention your name if the opportunity ever comes up that your services would benefit someone they have contact with. Business cards are another option and you can even give them to your family and friends so they have them available to hand out.

Some other offline marketing tactics are flyers. You can make some up on your computer and print them off yourself or you can always have a local printing company make them and print them for you. Flyers can be hung at places like grocery stores, if they have bulletin boards available for the community to post things on, libraries, colleges/universities, etc.

Another option is sending out a mailing to businesses you think would benefit from your skills. After you've sent out the mailing, give it a couple days to get to the businesses and then pick up the phone and follow up. Many people don't like cold calling but sometimes it's that phone call that lands you a client. Step out of your comfort zone and make that call.

Last but certainly not least you can always purchase advertising in trade magazines or local newspapers. Advertising in magazines and newspapers may be expensive but remember that you have to invest in your business, especially marketing when you are brand new, to profit in the long run.