3 Editing Tips to Make Your Content Pop

When it comes to “telling your story” through your content, WHAT you say is just as important as HOW you say it. Writing is an art AND a science. To be effective, you have to think with an architectural mind, especially during the editing process.

We can’t stress enough how important it is to edit your work, but you have to focus on more than comma splices and misspelled words. Editing is where the magic happens. It’s where you take your raw, unfiltered draft and engineer it into a beautiful piece of writing.

To help you make the most out of your written words, here are three editing tips to make your content pop.

1. Hack. Slash. Delete. Simplify.

Editing is 95% deleting words and sentences and entire paragraphs. Simplifying your content makes it stronger.

Trim the fat. Delete useless words and phrases. Break long sentences into two. Do the same with paragraphs.

Kill all the adverbs, fluff words, and redundancies. Example: Instead of “Jim is currently working as a chef,” say “Jim is a chef.” Instead of “Ken is truly a very talented football player,” say “Ken is a talented football player,” or “Ken is a great athlete.”

Here are some other great examples from Boost Blog Traffic:

  • Give your post a proofread – Proofread your post (verb form)
  • Alcohol is the cause of hangovers – Alcohol causes hangovers (verb form)
  • The plane’s approach was met with the scramble of emergency crews – The plane approached and emergency crews scrambled. (verb form)
  • He shows signs of carelessness – He is careless (adjective form)
  • She has a high level of intensity – She is intense (adjective form)

If there is simpler way to say something, say it.

Simple language allows for direct conversation. Useless terms and longer sentences are distracting and put unnecessary obstacles between the reader and your message. Plus, they make it easier to lose focus. To make the point of your content stand out, say more with less.

2. Expand Your Vocabulary

“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do.” – Dead Poets Society.

A great quote from a great movie. Simple language doesn’t mean lazy language. Instead of happy, say thrilled. Instead of dirty, say filthy. Instead of went, say traveled.

There is a long forgotten, ancient text called The Thesaurus that provides writers with a list of synonyms and antonyms to help you diversify your language. Use it (but don’t go for complex words. Remember: simple).

Lazy writing = boring reading. Variation in your vocabulary is more engaging, impactful, and helps keep readers hooked until the end.

3. Read it Out Loud

Like any good rap song, flow is a crucial component to your content. Good flow increases reading comprehension and understanding, so it’s important that your words and sentences move together seamlessly.

The easiest way to check your flow is to read your content out loud. How does it sound to you? Can you read your writing without getting tongue tied or losing focus? Can you do it without having to re-read sentences?

Hearing your words will allow you to identify the areas that need improvement. You should do this after writing your first draft, after your first few edits, and before you submit the final copy.

If you found this blog to be helpful, pass it along to someone else. Also, if you have any special editing tips of your own, share them in the comments!

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