Three Copy Editing Hacks for Content Marketers

Many content marketers are not writers or editors. The good news is you don’t have to be a professional writer to identify great content ─ content that resonates with your audience and leads to action.

The same is true about editing. We can all identify poorly written copy. Sentences that are incomplete, paragraphs that lead readers nowhere and social media posts that include annoyingly misspelled words.

When it comes to content marketing, however, you need to see beyond that (you can always hire a proofer to check for spelling and punctuation). Below are three hacks you can start using today to ensure your copy is succinct and clean.

The 3 Hacks

1. Make your content “scannable.”

2. Edit based on the medium.

3. Choose your words carefully.

Copy editing is a step above proofing. Whereas proofing entails checking for misspelled words and lack or improper use of punctuation, copy editing is the process of making sure your sentences are properly constructed. While copy editing, you also need to check your sentences tie well together.

As a content marketer, ensuring your thoughts flow well is key. Readers do expect you to get to the point quickly and, in some instances, in less than 140 characters. With that said, shorter forms of content can sometimes feel fragmented and disjointed. When editing, you must:

Hack #1: Make Your Content “Scannable” Scannable content helps readers find the information they need. You can’t assume your readers will digest every word. Your job is to quickly guide readers through their information quest. To do this, headlines are essential. Just like titles need to grab a reader’s attention and help them identify what your story is about, headlines must help readers accomplish the same but within your copy.

In addition to headlines, consider breaking your content into more readable chunks with graphics, different font types and sizes (but no more than two or three), and colors that make key words and phrases pop. Sidebars and lists summarizing your key points are also great tools to make your content searchable.

Hack #2: Edit Based on the Medium A blog entry should not be as long as a magazine feature story, just like a LinkedIn post can be slightly longer than a tweet. While removing unnecessary words and jargon is always a must, so is ensuring you are thinking of your publication medium. In other words: Think about how your words will look on screen and on paper.

Yes, you can provide more details in an 800-word blog than you can in a promotional email. But, how will they both look? Do your readers need to scroll or swipe too much? Are your graphics and images close to the text they refer to? If your copy is meant to be printed, do you have lots of widows and orphans? Content needs to be relevant to engage your readers, but the words you choose to keep must feel and look relevant to their publication medium.

Hack #3: Choose Your Words Carefully

You need to copy edit with an eye toward brevity, while not sacrificing overall meaning and flow. To do this, you need to concentrate on keeping information that is relevant to the point you are trying to make and nothing else.

As you start removing words from your copy or shifting sentences around, try to convey your thoughts in as few words as possible. For instance, why write “in order to” when “to” conveys the same meaning?

The single-minded proposition (SMP) approach is a great way to identify the true purpose of your content. Once your have identified what your SMP is, you can cut unnecessary copy, keeping only the words that matter.

In Short

When copy editing: Help your readers identify up front the content they need, keep your medium and delivery channel in mind, and only include words that are essential to get your point across quickly.

#copyediting #businesswriting #writingtips #engagement