by colleen5 Tips for Copyediting Your Remarkable Content
Creating remarkable content is one of the most important parts of inbound marketing. Remarkable content isn’t just a string of sentences filled with keywords and calls-to-action. It should be well researched, interesting, and educational. Making sure there are no spelling, grammar, or informational errors in your content will help prove your expertise.
If your posts are riddled with errors and inconsistencies, users may click away. They’ll look to other sources to find more reliable information. Compelling content is designed to provide value to readers, so error-free posts are essential.
There are a lot of things that go into the copyediting process. Here are a few tips to ensure your methods are as effective as possible:
Sleep On It
If you are not under a strict deadline, let your draft sit for a day and come back to it. Your brain won’t be as used to what you have written and errors will be easier to pick out.
Focus on Display Type
Display type includes things like headers, titles, captions, and linked text. It’s any text that isn’t normal-sized, plain copy. Display type draws attention because it sticks out from normally formatted paragraphs. Readers often skim display type to determine whether they will read content. Make sure everything is spelled correctly and describes the most remarkable aspects of the content you’ve created.
Maintain Consistent Style
Establish style standards for the content you produce. You can draw from an existing style guide (AP, APA, Chicago, etc.) or incorporate whichever elements are most important into a style guide specific to your brand. Style and word usage should also be relevant to your industry, so set guidelines for the use of industry terminology as well.
These standards will help you stay consistent in spelling and word use. It will help your readers feel comfortable and familiar with your work. If you have a team of copy editors and writers, this will lift a weight off their shoulders as well. They won’t need to search for advice on their own usage, so they will be able to spend more time producing remarkable content.
Read the Piece Out loud
Read the entire piece aloud at both the beginning and the end of the copyediting process. This can help you catch errors you might not otherwise. It will give you a better sense of how the words and sentences flow. When you think you’re done, read it out loud again. You will be more likely to catch unnecessary, misused words, or even some you forgot to include.
Proofread One last Time After Publishing
Once your piece is published, take a final look at your content as it’s displayed on your site. This can help you catch errors you may have previously missed. Although the content has already been published, you’ll be able to fix problems initial readers may not have caught right away.
Copyediting your content should be a given. Content will not attract and maintain viewership if it hasn’t even been proofread. There is no such thing as a perfect piece, but focusing on copyediting will drastically improve the quality. It really is worth the extra time and energy.
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