The Best Approach to Editing Your Blog Posts

One of the final steps in the blogging process is editing your content. When it comes to this, there are various aspects of the editing process that you should include. 

You may want to consider a streamlined editing process – this may be an outline of a clear, defined, step by step process. This guide can be useful in simplifying the editing process, and if you are one of multiple writers, it can allow for collaboration and consistency in style. 

Not to mention, you can also use collaborative word processing software such as Google Docs for an effective method of editing within a team.

Outlining the Editing Process

This editing process can be outlined in a simple guide or to do list, that may include some of the examples outlined below (in no particular order). These examples provide a comprehensive list that covers all of the basics: 

• Clarify and condense your content; proofread, fix any errors, and remove any unnecessary content (if you want to keep this content, consider putting it in a dedicated file for later use)
• Add any other necessary images and other media 
• Optimise your content for SEO (explained in this article)
• Ensure the structure and order of your writing is coherent and flows well – it should be easy for readers to engage with 
• Consider the visual aspects of your blog – ensure white space and visual breaks (white space or images/videos) have been effectively used
• Ensure that your content has links to other blog posts and content pieces you have created where possible – this improves the visits of your other content and provides a more inclusive experience for readers (and is good for SEO purposes)
• Look for language and tone use – a good blog post utilises coherent sentence structure and length. The complexity of your word choices should come down to the type of content you have created, as well as your target audience.

Other Useful Editing Approaches

As well as having a definitive editing process , there are a few pointers to keep in mind while editing – firstly, it may be useful to allow time to pass in between the writing and editing process – this allows you to edit with a clear and unbiased mind, whereas editing immediately after writing often results in missed errors and poor judgements. 

Secondly, consider that credibility can be gained through a well written and thoroughly edited post. Quality is paramount when it comes to blogging, and will significantly affect the success of your blog. 

Finally, the editing process includes more than just spelling and grammar – although these are extremely important, your writing should get to the point without switching between topics too much, and should be visually effective – not to mention the points already made.

In addition to what has been outlined in this post, you may want to consider the points outlined in the following posts as you are editing:

• PLANNING THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR BLOG POSTS
• CREATING EFFECTIVE BLOG CONTENT
• OPTIMISING YOUR BLOG POSTS FOR SEO

Conclusion

Ultimately, these tips and approaches should ensure that your blog posts are edited thoroughly and effectively – ensuring that no typos or other mistakes are made, while ensuring that your content is concise, readable, and enjoyable.

For more information on creating the ultimate online blog, check out our COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO CREATING AN ONLINE BLOG. It covers everything from identifying and understanding your audience, to promoting your blog.