The apostrophe was curved the wrong way, y’all.

As in, not an apostrophe at all but an opening single quotation mark.

This: ‘, not this: ’

And I didn’t realize it until AFTER hitting send.

The HORROR.

The MORTIFICATION.

The… meh, oh well.

Typos suck. But they don’t define you. And at some point we just need to live with them and move on.

Especially if we’re sending them in newsletters.

I remember the dawn of digital media.

It felt so comforting to realize that, after years and years of trying to achieve perfection for print, we could just log back into a CMS and correct an error. An entire industry of overly anxious editors collectively exhaled.

But, in email, that pressure is back on. I’d accidentally miscurved(?) my apostrophe, and I’d need to live with it. I mean, I did go back and correct the web version, but the damage was done.

Or was it?

Here’s the thing: Somewhere along the way I’ve learned to own my typos.

They’re inevitable.

I give myself grace as long as they’re not so prevalent that they detract entirely from my goals: sharing good advice and building relationships. And they haven’t, yet.

We can’t catch them all.

Not that we shouldn’t try.

But do yourself the favor of speeding through the emotions and forgiving yourself soon after you realize what you’ve done.

Mine are almost always the result of not looking closely enough and using the wrong quick keys.

You see, my eyes are… nearly blind.

I can’t see the big E on the eye chart.

It’s a hazy mess that glasses and contacts are able to correct except in the mornings, when my vision is its most blurry.

A bit of transparency, here: I wake up early on Thursdays, edit and “Ashley-fy” all the curated commentary Samantha helps with, and then race the clock to draft the Opt In Weekly Prologue in attempt to send by 9 Central. I typically have no idea what I’m going to write about until I open a blank Google Doc around 7:30 or 8 and force something to flow out my fingers. Adrenaline rush, maybe?

It’s as if my eyes need time to wake up, but I’m all “It’s fine. I can totally drive impaired.”

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Flashback to first grade when I respectfully asked my teacher why the spelling words on the chalkboard were misspelled.

I distinctly remember “iny” posing as “any”.

She chuckled as she drafted a note to be sent home to the town eye doctor. It read, “Dr. Nichols, your daughter needs her vision checked.”

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So what am I getting at, besides the fact that newsletter typos happen?

It’s more than preaching typo forgiveness.

I want to challenge you to consider your metaphorical typos.

That time you sent the wrong person the wrong email.

That time you dropped the wrong message in the wrong Slack channel.

That time you put your foot so far in your mouth you could practically chew on your ankle.

If your intentions are good, you can overcome it.

If your intentions are good, people will forgive you faster than you forgive yourself.

If your intentions are good, the people you’ve established rapport with will empathize and help you realize the goof up didn’t impact how much they value you.

Newsletters foster incredibly strong writer / reader relationships.

Build something a typo can’t crumble.

Ashley Guttuso