Most of us in marketing/design/communications have been the culprit of at least one epic typo blunder in their career. Usually it’s the result of rushing to complete a project or simply not being able to actually “see it” anymore because you’ve been working on it for a hundred hours already. Two of our favorite typo stories include ones told to us and ones we have witnessed.

A friend was standing in front of the window of a major department store with a new display and the sentence had the wrong word in it. The sentence called for a “Your” but it displayed a “You’re.” My friend went into the store to alert someone of their mistake but no one seemed to care. A few weeks later it was corrected. How many people approved that sign before it went to print and was placed in the window? Big companies are not immune to typo errors.

Our all time favorite typo was this one from a small store we often visit while traveling in Upstate New York. We were sipping our morning coffee the day before Father’s Day two years ago when an email from the store came through. Featured were items perfect for Father’s Day.   

In all seriousness, typos can tarnish your brand because it implies that your work is sloppy. It begs the questions, “ If they can’t get their marketing materials/website/sign right what is the quality of their work?” or “What were they thinking?” Unfair? Sure, especially for those of us that work really hard consistently but sometimes just make a mistake.

All that you can do is slow down and make a commitment to do better next time. If you are a small business, find a buddy in another business and offer to proofread for one another – a second set of eyes can go a long way.