As an online marketer you probably put a lot of time, energy, and even money into the content and copy on your website. Hopefully your efforts are paying off. You might be surprised to know that learning a few editing tricks can help you enjoy higher conversions and a better response.
Write a First Draft
Most writers, non-fiction, fiction, and copy writers, agree that it’s important to just get the words down on paper first. Don’t worry too much about how it reads or if you’re achieving your ultimate goal. Give yourself permission to write a terrible first draft. By allowing yourself this freedom, you’ll likely find that the end result is better. It becomes easier to write from your creative brain rather than trying to edit, format, and optimize your very first draft. Just write freely toward your goal. Get everything down on paper.
Set it Aside
Once you’ve written your terrible first draft, walk away. Give yourself time to ruminate about what you wrote. This may take an hour or it may take a day or two. During this time you’ll probably rewrite the piece several times in your thoughts. You’ll think of things you want to add. You’ll have ideas about how you want to structure the piece. You may also decide to delete some thoughts or ideas in the piece. Chances are these ideas will come to you when you’re performing mundane activities. You’ll have a stroke of brilliance while you’re walking the dog or doing dishes.
Return for the First Round of Editing
Once you’ve had some time to let the content or copy percolate in your thoughts return to it and begin the cleanup process. Begin formalizing the structure. Add and delete ideas. Flesh out your thoughts and make sure that there aren’t any inconsistencies or questions. Re-work the material for clarity and structure.
The Second, and Third, Round of Editing
On the second round of editing you’ll begin looking for mechanical repairs. You’ll fix questionable grammar and spelling. You’ll shorten sentences to make them clearer. You’ll begin highlighting the keywords and underlining major concepts and ideas. In short, your piece will begin to resemble the final piece you’re going to publish.
The third and hopefully final round of editing involve you reading it through one more time. You may want to read the material aloud. This can help you catch errors and clarity issues. Then it’s time to hit publish. You’ll likely find that this process not only creates more powerful content and copy but it also takes less time to create.