When it comes to exceptional marketing, error-free content creation is essential. That’s because it is one of the most important elements that can determine a brand’s entire image. Before reaching for your red pen, here are a few copy and content creation editing tips to keep in mind.
View It With Fresh Eyes
If you feel like you’ve been staring at the same sentence for hours, it’s probably time to take a break. Switch over to another task, go for a walk, or grab a snack to give your mind some time to reset. Although this might seem counterproductive, it will actually keep you sharp and on top of your copy and content creation editing game!
Go Old School with Pen and Paper
Sometimes, we need to take a step back from technology. By manually editing off-screen, you can see the content from a new perspective and notice things you might have glossed over otherwise. Maybe there’s a missing word or a minor typo that spell check didn’t catch. Physically engaging with the work you are proofreading adds another layer of focus, so you’re less likely to skip over the little things.
Read Through Multiple Times for Different Things
Whether it’s an entire PDF booklet or multiple pages of text, copy and content creation editing can feel overwhelming. This is where segmenting edits into multiple rounds can help. While the amount of times you read through is up to you and your timeline; punctuation and spelling, fact-checking and overall messaging are great aspects to proof independently.
Ask for a Second or Third Opinion
Ever heard the saying, “too many cooks in the kitchen”? Similar idea here! While it’s beneficial to have a second or third set of eyes on something, too many can turn into endless rounds of revisions. This doesn’t mean certain people aren’t valuable in the editing process though. It simply means assessing everyone’s area of expertise to find who is best fit for each copy and content creation editing project. Teamwork will always make the dream work!
Don’t Be Tense…But Double-Check It
One of the most common mistakes in writing is the use of inconsistent verb forms and switching between tenses. Before you proof, it’s important to determine which form (present or past) is best suited for the context of your piece. Once you’ve identified this, dedicate one full read-through to checking for consistency.
Why? Because even the slightest error in tense can change the entire meaning of a sentence! For example, if you are speaking about your current company, you wouldn’t say, “We have high standards and our products were always top quality.” Instead, it should read, “We have high standards and our products are always top quality.” It’s a simple fix with a big impact!
Cover the Basics
As you can see, there’s a lot of ground to cover in copy and content creation editing. To keep it simple, here’s a checklist with some common things to look for:
- From sentence structure to comma placement, double-check all grammar and punctuation.
- Spell check doesn’t catch everything, so make sure to review spelling and typos.
- Don’t forget about order, sentence flow, and transitions. These are all instrumental for strong writing!
- Fact check, fact check, fact check! Few things are worse than submitting a project and having an incorrect fact discredit all that hard work.
- Keep verb forms and tense consistent.
- Make sure the message you are trying to convey is clear and direct.
