Should You Outsource Proofreading? A Look at the Pros and Cons
Proofreading ensures your business content is clear, accurate, professional – and that it reflects your marketing goals. The two options for businesses that want to reap the benefits of proofreading and avoid costly writing mistakes are outsourcing to external professionals or handling proofreading in-house by training existing staff.
We know that proofreading drives business growth, but whether you should outsource the work or cover it internally depends on your business’s unique needs. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at everything involved in outsourced and in-house proofreading so you can make an informed decision that works for you and your team.
What Is Business Proofreading?
Before we dive into the difference between outsourcing and in-house proofreading, let’s discuss what proofreading is and how it can benefit your business. Proofreading business content covers more than correcting the odd typo or stray comma. It typically involves:
- Ensuring consistency in structure and formatting
- Making sure the brand voice is conveyed effectively
- Applying brand style guidelines
- Checking for clarity and accuracy
- Correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation in line with your preferred dialect conventions
In a business context, proofreading covers marketing copy, emails, presentations, product descriptions, internal communications – virtually any piece of written communication a company creates. It produces polished, credible content, keeping your target audience engaged. It also has the potential to boost SEO.
What Is Outsourcing Proofreading?
Outsourcing proofreading means hiring an external individual or agency to proofread your business content. You could be working with a freelance proofreader or partnering with an editorial service – the key point is that they are not part of your internal team. They may not even be in the same part of the world as you or your business. They are based remotely and provide proofreading as a service, charging per project or on a subscription basis.
Pros of Outsourcing Proofreading
There are several advantages to outsourcing proofreading for your business.
Access to Subject-Matter Experts
When you outsource proofreading, you gain access to professionals with a wide range of perspectives and experiences, including subject-matter experts. Freelance proofreaders aren’t just trained to spot errors; they often have specialist knowledge that could benefit your content in other ways (e.g., ensuring you’re effectively conveying your message to your audience). They are also typically familiar with many different style guides and content types, which allows them to quickly adapt to your specific requirements.
Scalability and Flexibility
Outsourcing may be ideal for your business if your content needs frequently shift, as it makes it easier to scale your proofreading up and down. For example, if your business has one busy period a year (such as the holiday season), you can increase the volume at that time without hiring additional staff.
Time Back to Your Internal Team
With outsourced proofreading, your existing team can focus on other tasks and responsibilities without worrying about error-riddled content reaching your audience. This can be especially valuable for businesses with staff who are already stretched thin and can’t dedicate the time to thorough and detailed proofreading.
Cons of Outsourcing Proofreading
While outsourcing proofreading can be beneficial for some businesses, there are also several drawbacks.
Less Brand Familiarity
While outsourced proofreaders may have specialist knowledge, they won’t be as familiar with your brand or voice as your internal team. Style guides help, but there’s often a learning curve, which can be avoided with in-house proofreading. Even the most experienced proofreader won’t know the ins and outs of your brand as well as your team.
More Onboarding and Coordination
Outsourced proofreaders are typically experts at time management (as they may be juggling multiple projects at once), but they still require management and coordination. You or your team will need to explain projects, make deadlines clear, and streamline workflows or processes. This can sometimes be at least as time consuming as coordinating with your in-house staff.
Potential Unforeseen Costs
While outsourcing can be more cost-effective than using in-house proofreaders, costs can increase significantly for rapid turnaround times and urgent deadlines. External proofreaders also typically have multiple clients, so they may not always be able to fulfil last-minute requests.
What Is In-House Proofreading?
In-house proofreading means handling all proofreading tasks internally as part of your editorial process. Rather than sending content out to an external agency or freelancer, proofreading is incorporated into your team’s workflow.
Pros of In-House Proofreading
Below are some of the pros of keeping your proofreading in-house.
Greater Brand Knowledge
An in-house proofreader, especially one that’s part of your core business team, has a deep understanding of your brand, tone, voice, and intended audience. This makes it easier than when outsourcing to maintain consistency across all business content.
More Flexibility for Small Tasks
For quick reviews of short pieces of content, it can be faster and more convenient to rely on in-house proofreaders. With outsourcing, it can take hours or even days just to coordinate work, no matter the volume or size of the content.
Greater Control Over Workflows
Keeping proofreading in-house allows you to better collaborate with everyone involved in content creation, such as content marketers and writers. Internal proofreading can reduce friction between these teams and improve efficiency, as it becomes part of the process instead of a separate, external step.
Long-Term Skill Development
Training your staff in proofreading supports long-term professional development that benefits the entire organization. These skills can raise the overall standard of business writing by encouraging greater attention to detail and clarity. Your team becomes more aware of common errors, and, over time, these improved communication practices can lead to fewer revisions and faster content production. To upskill your content team, consider a proofreading course for busy professionals.
Cons of In-House Proofreading
Just as with outsourcing, there are a few potential cons to handling your business’s proofreading needs in-house.
Risk of “Content Blindness”
While brand familiarity is generally a positive when it comes to content marketing, being too close to the content you’re reviewing can lead to “content blindness.” Essentially, if you proofread your own writing, or content created by close colleagues, it is harder to be objective and easier to overlook subtle errors.
Limited Resources
Effective proofreading takes time and focus, which can be in short supply for overloaded content teams. If proofreading becomes an added responsibility without clear training or expectations, the quality of work will suffer. When assigning proofreading tasks in-house, it’s important to ensure staff have the proper training and support to be successful.
Reduced Scalability
An in-house proofreader can only handle so much in terms of workload. During busy periods, such as marketing campaigns, major projects, and organizational changes, this limited capacity can become an issue without additional support. For businesses with fluctuating content demands, this lack of flexibility can make it challenging to maintain consistent standards using a single in-house proofreader.
Outsourced Proofreading vs. In-House Proofreading: Which to Choose?
When deciding between outsourcing proofreading and handling it in-house, there is no single option that suits every business. When weighing up your options, consider the following factors:
- Content volume and frequency: High or unpredictable volumes may suit outsourcing, while steady, manageable output may work well in-house.
- Content type: Highly technical or brand-sensitive content may benefit from in-house knowledge, while general business content may be ideal for outsourcing.
- Budget: Outsourcing tends to be flexible, while in-house proofreading involves ongoing investment in salaries and training.
- Speed vs. scale: In-house proofreading can be quicker for small tasks; outsourcing often works better for large workloads.
Many businesses adopt a hybrid approach, outsourcing proofreading during peak periods and handling it internally during the rest of the year. Or they outsource longer, more complex content while keeping shorter, more straightforward proofreading tasks in-house. These arrangements allow the best of both options and ensure you aren’t paying for services you don’t really need.
Proofreading For Professionals
If you’re considering handling some or all of your proofreading needs in-house, take a look at our comprehensive Proofreading For Professionals course. It teaches you everything you need to know about the ins and outs of proofreading business content, from understanding common punctuation and grammar conventions to establishing a smooth workflow. Try two free lessons, no strings attached, and see for yourself today.
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