Every content marketer knows the struggles one has to go through to be able to produce content in high quality and great quantity. You have to create valuable content and find ways to promote it.
You have to earn the trust of your readers and establish a relationship with them. And of course, you have to model what you are saying by setting some realistic goals and objectives for your own brand, making sure you achieve them.
The content marketing industry is set to be worth over $400 billion and would enjoy an increase of 16% yearly as content marketing remains a reliable and strategic way to drive organic traffic to your brand and earn people’s “know”, “like” and “trust” factor. That’s why there is really great pressure on your side as a blogger to make quality content for your niche. Every blog post you publish will either make you better or break you.
When it comes to making sure that you commit no mistakes in your write-ups, proofreading is very important. Having error-free content increases your credibility and authority as a blogger or as a brand. So before you publish anything on the web, you need to make sure that your post abides by the highest standards through editing.
Here are the top 7 tips for blog post-editing.
1. Run the Blog Post on a Plagiarism Checker Tool
Information nowadays is easily and readily accessible. As a blogger, there are some situations where discussing one topic that you aren’t familiar with will get you tempted in terms of copying an idea from another blog post. This is the number one reason why there is an increased risk of plagiarism.
What is Plagiarism?
Basically, plagiarism is a form of cheating. It is stealing the intellectual properties of a writer or an author and Google doesn’t allow that (or any governing body for that matter). Although, others would argue that there is no absolute original content nowadays and sometimes copying content becomes unintentional. But to get information from other people, it is necessary that you make a distinction between the information in your blog and the information from the source where you get the content. In fact, this will violate the intellectual property of one’s blog post you have copied with.
Citing your resources properly is a must. You may paraphrase some parts or extend for context, but know that there is a fine line between paraphrasing and copying. Make sure that your article is of high quality by providing real value, and not offering a rip-off. As a blog writer, you can get inspiration from the existing ideas made by other blog websites, but make sure you do not copy their entire idea to produce an article on your blog website.
Plagiarism Checker Tool
Unfortunately, there are still instances that you might mistakenly copy an entire idea unknowingly, or unintentionally because of the wide array of information portrayed on the Internet. Consequently, it is really wise to use a plagiarism checker tool that will ensure uniqueness in your article. There may be instances that you didn’t mean to have the same ideas with other blog websites; thus, using a plagiarism checker tool will ensure how original or unique your article is.
To make use of plagiarism checker tools in blog post-editing, there are several online, free, and paid like Grammarly premium, Quetext, Prepostseo Duplichecker, Smallseotools, and more. These platforms do not only measure the originality and uniqueness of your article, but they also correct some mistakes incurred in word usage, voice, grammar, and engagement of your words.
2. Read the Blog Content as the Audience (Not the Writer)
The number one objective of a content marketer is to engage their target audience. That’s why as a second editing tip, it is advisable that you must read your blog post as your audience does. In blog writing, make sure that when editing a blog post, you have to read the blog content as the audience. In this way, you get to see what things must be improved or emphasized as an audience, to ensure that you get to effectively catch their attention. Therefore, you make self-evaluation in reading the blog content.
Blog post editing through reading the blog content as an audience is like taste-testing your own cooked meal in order to serve the best food that your customers will keep on asking about. This would help you in attracting more traffic, earning your readers’ interest, and eventually, their trust.
Well, it would be easy if you write like a normal human does and conversationally by using analogies to make complex ideas simple, be inspiring but at the same time transparent, and lastly, conveying a message of excitement while being helpful. As a self-evaluator, you have to make sure that you have assessed the blog content in terms of the voice used in the article, the word engagement, and other levels of engagement that you can measure in your article.
3. Check the Post for Any Grammatical Errors
As a writer, blog post editing through checking grammar errors may let you check the grammar multiple times. Bad habits may betray you as well as ignoring grammatical errors. It is important to really check if there are issues in the subject-verb agreement or improper use of tenses and punctuation marks. Most blog writers, they typically encounter four to five times revising their rough draft because of grammatical errors. Nobody is perfect in terms of grammar, but checking the post for any grammatical errors will ensure the writer prevents facing drawbacks in terms of errors incurred in grammar.
As emphasized earlier, any blog post you publish will build your brand or pull it down. Even an improper usage of a word or punctuation has an extreme effect on you and your brand especially if you’re a blogger. So don’t ever underestimate the impact of grammar. Grammar, as part of the language, will create a huge impact on your blog post; thus, thorough blog post-editing in terms of grammar is a must.
But don’t be hard on yourself, there are a lot of grammar checkers online, like ginger, grammar checker X, of course, Grammarly, and a lot more.
It will also help if you have an accountability buddy. You can definitely read it in front of them and get honest and helpful feedback. Most grammar checkers are affordable and free. They usually correct mistakes in terms of word usage and grammar.
4. Eliminate Redundancies in Content
Your thoughtfulness in your choice of words will reflect on your content. Edit as much as you can. In blog post-editing, make sure you avoid redundancies.
What is redundancy? As said in the Cambridge dictionary, it is the unnecessary usage of more than one word or phrase that means the same thing. Well, it is quite impossible not to repeat words or ideas especially if you are elaborating. But never forget elaboration is explaining further and building on the idea. Redundancies increase the chance of reducing the engagement between the writer and the reader. Make sure that before deploying a blog post, make sure that you blog post editing by eliminating redundant ideas in an article.
As an editing tip to ponder: To elaborate is wise but to eliminate redundancy is divine!
5. Make Sure the Headlines Follow Capitalization Standards
Like any language, there are basic rules that an individual must follow in order to be understood.
The same with bloggers, it is a must to follow the capitalization standards of certain headlines in order to convey your message well. You must know that every company or industry has its in-house style guide or manuals and this includes headlines.
These capitalization standards include AP, MLA, Chicago, and APA style guide. Capitalization standards differ in terms of the topics you discuss. For cultural and literary content, you can make use of an MLA standard. In terms of psychology and education, you can make use of an APA style. And for blog post-editing, make sure that you observe the proper writing style in accordance with the topic you will discuss.
6. Correct Formatting Issues
As much as you desire a uniform format across all your platforms that represent your brand, you will be facing formatting issues again and again. So the sixth editing tip is you must correct formatting issues. Take note that your content is important and so is the formatting of your blog.
You can never convey the message right or as any blogger wishes if you ignore your formatting issues. However, if you don’t compromise and solve these issues, then your blog will not just be readable but will surely be well-optimized for SEO purposes. You should validate that your format is properly displayed from headings, body paragraphs, bullet points, enumeration, and even spacing. All you have to do is click save and preview if it is the way you want it to be.
Since formatting styles differ from every platform, it is advisable to use and practice the style and template of your own platform.
7. Review the Blog Post for Another Round of Edits
Blog post editing through frequent reviews before deploying it into the website is crucial. It is wiser to review the blog all over again for another round of edits than to carelessly post it without reviewing and editing again. If it tires you, make it simpler by;
- Reading it all over again
- Checking your contents’ cohesiveness
- Checking the subject-verb agreement and sentence structure.
- Checking your formatting
Moreover, it is recommended to read a blog post all out loud. It will certainly help you Identify any left errors.
Lastly, make sure you edit for credibility, engagement, trustworthiness, and transparency. These are the qualities that are non-negotiable for every content marketer.
