Radix Podcast: Copywriters vs the PDF
Radix Communications invited me back!
Creative Director David McGuire got me in for another chat on their podcast. This time? My favourite content format: PDFs.
First up, Nick and Karla from Turtl discuss their Kill the PDF campaign, and how this pinch and zoom format doesn’t cut it in an online world. When it comes to keeping pace and offering analytical insight, they’re right.
But PDFs still have their place.
Hear me back up this fiddly format (I only refer to my ‘mild hatred’ the once) at 15:33 as I stand in its corner. I share the process I use to proofread PDF marketing materials too. Use it!
Here’s what you’ll find and when…
1:25 – How to share your favourite B2B content of 2019
3:24 – “What did the PDF do to you?” interview with Nick Mason and Karla Rivershaw
9:45 – Radix’s take on the PDF debate and writing for new B2B content formats
15:33 – How to proof a PDF: interview with Lorraine Williams
29:55 – How do copywriters find the PDF proofing process?
31:10 – Attendee tips from the Copywriting Conference 2019
PDFs might not be everyone’s favourite format, but they’re still widely used for reports, white papers and other big-dollar docs. When months of work have gone into a project, quality control isn’t just about the words. You need to be sure the artwork is consistent too.
Spot common inconsistencies that slip through in long-form documents, from spelling variants and punctuation styles to names and formatting choices.
Discover 10 commonly confused words that spellcheck won’t catch, and learn simple ways to spot them before they slip into your documents.
Find out why your brain overlooks mistakes and typos in your own writing and learn practical ways to catch more mistakes before you hit publish.
A step-by-step guide to proofreading PDFs, including checking text, layout, headings and consistency before a document is published or printed.
Use text-to-speech tools to listen to your document and catch a/an mix-ups, awkward phrasing and mistakes visual reading can miss.
Speed up quality control in long documents with Word macros that help you find inconsistencies, duplicated words and common proofreading issues.
A practical process for proofreading spreadsheets, product descriptions and metadata without feeling overwhelmed.
How much does proofreading cost? Learn how proofreaders charge, what affects pricing and why project costs can vary from one document to another.
Learn the difference between smart quotes and straight quotes, when to use them and how to keep quotation marks consistent throughout a document.
A practical guide to UK and US spelling differences, including common exceptions, style choices and consistency issues that often get overlooked.
Learn the difference between ‘that’ and ‘which’, when commas matter and how to choose the right option for clear, consistent writing.
Understand the difference between en dashes and em dashes, when to use them and how to keep punctuation consistent in your documents.
A simple guide to ‘practice’ and ‘practise’ in UK English, with easy ways to remember which spelling is the noun and which is the verb.
Confused by ‘licence’ and ‘license’? Learn the difference between the noun and verb forms, and how they’re used differently in UK and US English.
Learn the difference between ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ with practical examples, tricks to keep them in mind and the awkward exceptions.
A straightforward guide to ‘principle’ and ‘principal’, with tips to help you choose the right word for the right meaning.
Learn the difference between ‘fewer’ and ‘less’, when each should be used and the common exceptions that often cause confusion.
Learn how to use hyphens correctly, including compound nouns, compound adjectives and common situations where clarity depends on them.
Understand when to use colons and semicolons, how they affect sentence structure and when simpler punctuation may work better.
Learn when a comma is needed before ‘such as’, how it affects meaning and a simple way to tell whether you need one or not.
Can any document ever be completely error-free? Explore what proofreading can realistically achieve and what influences the final outcome.
Learn simple ways to convert PDF files into editable Word and Google Docs files so you can run additional proofreading checks.
Why do PDFs still matter? Listen to my discussion with Radix Communications about proofreading PDFs and checking designed documents.
Listen to my conversation with Radix Communications about proofreading, quality control, spreadsheets and catching the details others miss.
Learn how to punctuate bullet points consistently, including when to use capitals, full stops, semicolons and sentence-style formatting.