But it’s not true.
The fact is, this month marks 25 years since I started writing for business publications. I bring it up not to brag, but to point out how easy it is to let the details of marketing copy slip out of date. Where did the last three years go?
Even after all the research, all the editing, all the nice graphic design, you still need to keep an eye on the finished product to make sure it doesn’t get left behind as the rest of the world marches on.
Often it’s the little things that trip us up. For instance there’s that little line on most newspapers and magazines that says something like, “Vol. XXVI, No. 49.” Every edition should get a new number, and the volume number typically changes ever year or six months. It’s so easy to forget to change the number that many publications make part of their standard production checklists.
Even then it’s too easy to let the mind coast. I have seen weekly publications that dutifully change the number of the edition each week: 49, 50, 51, 53, 54 ...
Eventually someone says, “Hey, weren’t we supposed to change the volume number after 52 and start over with 1?”
If you have been using the same marketing copy for more than a year, go back and read through it with a critical eye.
Robert has been a business journalist for 22 years, both as a reporter and an editor. He joined Business Communications Group in 2005. |
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