When you’re tasked with creating a piece of marketing content, the pressure to get it right can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t have an editor or collaborator to offer a fresh perspective. Fortunately, there are effective strategies for self-editing that can help elevate your writing. After gathering insights from fellow marketers and writers, I’ve compiled my own five-step self-editing process, incorporating some of the community’s clever tips.
1. Wait, If You Can
After writing, take a break. Whether it’s a day or just a short walk, stepping away allows you to return with fresh eyes. This distance can help you detach from what you thought you wrote, making it easier to identify typos or awkward phrasing. Many experienced writers, including Ashley R. Cummings and Katya Zimmer, recommend this cooling-off period as a critical first step.
2. Check the Organization
Once you’re ready to edit, start by examining the overall structure of your piece. Before diving into spell-check, assess whether your writing meets its objective and effectively conveys a single idea. Lesley Sim advises that every piece should focus on one central idea; anything else dilutes its impact. For longer pieces, review section headers to ensure a logical flow. Amy Knightley suggests writing a mini thesis statement for each section to keep your focus sharp.
3. Simplify It
Over-explaining is a common pitfall, especially when you’re knowledgeable about a topic. To combat this, utilize tools like text-to-speech readers to listen to your writing. Hearing it can help you spot areas where you may be rambling. The Hemingway Editor can also assist in identifying hard-to-read sentences. Additionally, use “Ctrl+F” (or “Command+F”) to find and eliminate filler words that clutter your prose, as recommended by Deb Tennen.
4. Get a Diverse Perspective
When possible, seek input from team members or peers. If they don’t have time to review your entire piece, ask for feedback on specific sections. If you’re working solo, critically evaluate your assumptions. Have you defined all acronyms? Are all necessary details included? Ryan Law suggests employing a “steel man” approach, where you aim to critique your own work by identifying weaknesses. Changing your editing environment—like reviewing your draft on a mobile device—can also provide new insights.
5. Get Your Grammar in Order
Grammar and spelling should be addressed last. It’s inefficient to fix typos on a disorganized draft. Once you’re satisfied with the content, run a spell-check using tools like Grammarly, which also identifies repetitive language and grammatical errors. To catch remaining mistakes, consider reading your work backward, as Steve Ryan suggests, or reading it aloud to catch errors you might overlook when reading silently.
Conclusion: Embrace the Journey of Self-Editing
Perfection in writing is a moving target. Even after hitting “publish,” you may find aspects you’d like to change later. The key is to recognize your writing weaknesses and actively work on them in future drafts. Remember, you’re not alone; even if you’re on a small team, there are communities available to offer support and guidance. Embrace the self-editing journey, and your writing will continually improve.