Editing is an important part of the online content writing process. Not only do you want everything polished and error-free but you want to also reach your goal of appealing to your desired target audience.
When you don’t have anyone proofreading your work, this leaves room for errors that you might not catch. Here are some tips for editing online content…
Let It Rest
Rushing to publish leaves room for error. After you’ve written something, it’s a good idea to let it rest before you proofread it. It’s often easier to see errors once there has been some time and space between the initial draft and the final edit.
Spelling And Grammar Check
Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar check feature is good but it’s not without fault. It may suggest grammar changes when you know that your text says precisely what you want it to say and it may overlook errors in typing. Beyond trusting it to tell you when you’ve made an error, it’s important to read your text thoroughly as well.
If you have trouble with this, you can also download programs that read your text aloud to you. When it’s read to you, this can help you uncover problems you’ve overlooked.
Preview Content Before Publishing
If you are adding content to a system that allows you to preview before publishing, take advantage of this. By previewing, you can see if you’ve got proper line breaks, a photo in the right spot, and determine whether or not the formatting is to your liking.
In Wordpress, you might find that pasting from Microsoft Word leaves a bunch of strange characters. In this case you might prefer pasting from Notepad (available under accessories in the Windows operating system menu) instead. When previewing, don’t forget to check your links to ensure that they’re not broken.
Content First – SEO Second
Very often, the purpose of online content is to drive search engines to your sales pages. But don’t make the mistake of putting SEO keywords ahead of a quality piece of writing.
If you’re writing something to have a high keyword density, write the piece first and add keywords second. This can result in a more polished and readable piece of writing that has the impact you want.
We’ve all made online blunders with writing and editing online content, do be sure to also read it once it’s live to see if you need to go back and fix anything. Another good idea is to ask a friend to check it for you as well.
Have a most outstanding day.
Sean RasmussenAussie Internet Marketing
www.SeanSEO.com © 2008 - 2010
