Competition in the blogging world is pretty high right now. Bloggers cannot afford to upload a sloppy piece of content just for the sake of staying relevant. It will not only reduce engagement but also your credibility among readers. This is why editing for bloggers matters!

This mystic art, if done right, will make you stand out in the world where every second person is a writer or blogger. 

A few grammatical errors or spelling mistakes while writing are unavoidable to some extent. Alexander Pope rightly said, “To err is human,” but not rechecking those errors and correcting them could cost you a significant number of views.

Hence, keen eyes while editing the final draft is important to keep your audience’s interest.

Why is editing for bloggers important?

Here’s a more detailed insight into why editing is important for every blogger.

Helps make a good first impression

The attention span of the audience is decreasing day by day due to the availability of short forms of content in abundance. Hence, the blog must engage readers within the first few lines to establish a good first impression. Editing helps you make the introduction crisp and engaging enough to entice the readers. The use of attractive and compelling words and phrases makes your blog memorable for readers.

Polishes your message and communication

All your hard work will go in vain if your blog is full of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inconsistent sentences. Correct grammar is mandatory for the content to communicate the correct message and information to your readers. With sharp editing, you can polish your blog to convey information clearly and accurately. 

Boosts your professionalism and credibility

The audience won’t see you as a professional if your blog is ambiguously and incorrectly written. Search engines also rank such content very low on their search result pages.

This ultimately decreases your credibility and negatively affects the engagement rate of your blog. Editing improves the quality of text and helps convey everything in your heart and mind with a more professional approach.

Reflects your persona as a field expert

The right content served to readers in ill-formed, badly-spelt sentences with broken links and messy paragraphs breaks their trust. It creates an illusion that you are ignorant and insincere.

However, editing can make you look like an expert in your field, even if you aren’t in reality. Readers prefer well written and easily understandable posts. When text flows smoothly, it seems appealing and trustworthy. Editing cuts out all “beating around the bush” text from your blog and makes it more proficient.

Help find your voice

Editing is a wizard when it comes to finding your voice and uniqueness. Consistent editing gives you mastery over sentence formation along with improving your grammar. It makes you a better writer, and you get more creative liberty to play around with words instead of limiting yourself to set rules. You can use sarcastic comments, phrases, catchy one-liners correctly with the right knowledge of technique. 

Improves Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engines like Google exhibit the best quality results on the top. They prefer content that:

  •       Is clear, real and unique.
  •       Has clear search terms, good meta descriptions, working links and is error-free.
  •       Has worthy information that users are looking for.

Editing helps you to draft a blog that matches the above-set standards. 

 What to check while editing blogs?

Wondering what you should check while editing a blog? Here’s a list to get you started:

Spellings and grammar

Start reading your content with an eagle’s eye, or use spell check to look for errors. You can use various tools such as Grammarly, as well as ask a friend or fellow blogger to check for mistakes in the content that you may have missed.

Introductory paragraph

It’s the face of your article and must clearly state the purpose of the article. The introduction must be in sync with the rest of the article. 

Flow of the post

Your article must have a smooth flow of information from one point to another. It must not make your readers wonder about the context of any piece of information or ask themselves “where did that come from?”

Titles and subtitles

Correct use of titles and subtitles gives readers a glimpse of what they can expect further in the blog. Swing by here for more tips on how to write a catchy title.

Useful editing tips for bloggers

  • Always review your work more than once before publishing. 
  • Don’t rush and focus on the proofreading process to find your errors. 
  • Proofread your content early in the morning because it is when you are wide awake and alert enough to give it the attention it deserves.
  • Take a break between editing and proofreading. This will help your mind to focus more clearly. 

Tools bloggers can use for editing

  • Grammarly: It corrects grammar and spelling errors and the free version catches the most important ones.
  • After The Deadline: This improves your text by using artificial intelligence and natural language processing technology. It recommends alternatives for misused words along with the reason behind using the alternatives.
  • Cliché Finder: It’ll scrutinise your content for clichés and provide you with the alternatives.
  • ProWritingAid: It’s a bundle of multiple tools such as a spelling and grammar checker, a plagiarism checker, a paragraph structure improver, etc. It’s perfect for bloggers who can shell out a small amount per month.
  • Word Counter: It counts your characters and stops you from repeating the same words too many times.