4 Reasons Why You Should Hire an Editor and Invest in Quality Content
Plus, how to find the right person for the job.
Photo: Christina Jones Photography
Most bloggers, influencers, and entrepreneurs know the value of regularly updating their website, writing blog posts, and actively sharing content on social media. These communication tools can increase brand visibility and build expertise. However, if your content includes spelling and grammatical errors, incorrect information, or terms and abbreviations that are unrecognizable to your target audience, you may be jeopardizing your credibility. The key to avoiding these damaging mistakes is to work with an editor who can strategically assess and improve your content.
In my experience working at a public relations firm, we often help our clients develop and strengthen their content by writing and editing byline articles, website copy, company news announcements, and social media posts. Editing is so much more than just proofreading. Editors catch overlooked errors and strengthen your writing to help you grow your brand and enhance your presence as an industry leader or influencer. Here are four ways an editor can improve the quality of content to increase brand awareness and gain visibility for your content and website.
1. Ensure your content resonates with your target audience.
Editors help you talk to your audience in a way that resonates with them. They will be able to look through the lens of your audience and potential clients and make sure copy is tailored to their needs. Editors can identify the geographic and demographic characteristics of your target audience and make changes to your content based on who, and where, your readers are.
Readers’ experience levels are important factors that editors will consider. As an industry professional, it may be hard to know what specialized language is not familiar to your readers. Removing jargon and industry abbreviations will improve clarity. Or, if a specialized language is necessary, an editor will include explanations so that the copy is as clear as possible.
2. Position yourself as a thought leader.
Writing an article for an industry publication, blog, or website can help position you as an industry leader or influencer. However, even small grammatical errors or misused terms can chip away at your credibility. Good writers still make the mistake of using “further” when they should have used “farther” or writing “shoe-in” instead of “shoo-in.” Don’t simply rely on built-in spell checkers. Hiring an editor will save you from making avoidable mistakes.
If you are already known as an industry leader or influencer, using an editor can help protect your credibility. Showing attention to detail in written materials says a lot about professionalism, accuracy, and the attention to detail you’ll show your audience or clients.
3. Strengthen your messaging.
Strong messages will help you communicate who you are and what you can do for your clients, partners, or audience. Editors help you maintain a consistent voice to ensure your brand is memorable. An editor, as opposed to just a proofreader, will help you strengthen your writing with new or additional ideas.
Editors identify redundancies, inconsistencies, and areas that need more explanation. They will improve readability and flow, so your writing is clear and compelling. For example, editors will replace unnecessary nouns and adjectives that make a sentence sound vague with succinct verbs. They’ll favor using an active voice to cut down on words and improve strength and clarity. Strong messages are memorable, concise, and include information that is relevant to your audience.
Editors help you respect your readers’ time. As an entrepreneur or blogger, your business or blog is likely one of your favorite topics—one you could talk on for a while. But if you’re communicating with a prospect, you need to keep it short and sweet. Editors can help you get to the point effectively and quickly to get your message across.
4. Drive traffic to your website.
Well-written content can improve SEO, which increases the likelihood a consumer will find your company on the internet. An editor may be familiar with keywords to include in titles, headlines, and body that will be easily picked up by search engines to increase traffic and improve growth. An eloquent blog post is also more likely to be shared and liked on social media.
Improved SEO can make you stand out to brands looking for sponsorships or affiliate marketing partnerships.
Interested in working with an editor? You have options.
Ask fellow bloggers or entrepreneurs who they work with, and see if you can get a referral from someone in your network. You may also want to check out local PR or marketing firms and freelancers and ask if they offer editing services. The key is to choose someone you can build an ongoing relationship with, who understands your goals and helps you take your writing to the next level.
It may be hard to let someone else review your writing out of fear that they may change the meaning or tone. However, editors work for you, not against you. Writing a compelling piece requires objectivity and distance that is hard to acquire on your own.
Working with a skilled editor will help you become a better writer and can help your business, blog, or website grow. Bloggers are expected to keep new content flowing, and an editor will help you speed up the process so you can work on your next project or post. Keep in mind that what you publish is a direct reflection of your brand, your values, and your capabilities—so make your content count.
About the Author: Kara Weller is an account coordinator at Pierce Public Relations.
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This story was originally published on March 23, 2019, and has since been updated.
MORE ON OUR BLOG
How One 28 Year Old Phenom Got Recruited by Arianna Huffington
And landed her dream job.
At only 28 Callie Schweitzer has a career highlight reel most often reserved for retirement parties. (We think people still have those.) At 24, Forbes called her one of NYC "best networked youngsters." She is also an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, The Huffington Post and PEOPLE. Which caught the attention of HuffPo herself, Arianna Huffington who recruited Schweitzer to be the Chief Content Officer at her new life and well-being platform, Thrive Global.
And despite what you've read (or refused to read), Callie knows that this is an incredibly exciting time for journalism. Here's why.
Who: Callie Schweitzer
Where: Chief Content Officer, Thrive Global
Why: Tell us a little about your background. How did you get into the content world?
A: When I was in fourth grade I earned the nickname “Sherlock Schweitzer.” I was always on the lookout for a good story or the clue to one. I’m pretty sure I’d written a library full of books about Beanie Babies and Junie B. Jones by the time I graduated elementary school. But my actual career in the content world really started as a journalism student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. I was the editor-in-chief of a student-run news site called Neon Tommy, and that experience of running a newsroom of over 200 student volunteers kickstarted my entrepreneurial hunger for great stories and how they’re told. I had always wanted to be an investigative reporter, but it was running Neon Tommy that made me see that I cared much more about making sure people got the news than being the person who wrote it. My path since graduation has been at companies of all different sizes -- Talking Points Memo, Vox Media, Time Inc. and now Thrive Global -- but my passion has stayed the same. I want to make sure great content is widely read.
Q: So more importantly, why have you stayed and climbed the ranks in the content world?
A: This is an incredibly exciting time in journalism. The new technology we have available to us -- from VR and AR to voice-enabled technology like Amazon Alexa—just enhances our storytelling abilities. Digital and social media have had a tremendous impact on how new ideas spread. One of the reasons I joined Thrive Global is because of my interest in helping people live better lives. Thrive is all about action and helping you go from knowing what to do to actually doing it. I love that we’re working to help people put content and stories into action and covering some of the defining topics of our time, like our relationship with technology.
"I want to make sure great content is widely read."
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Q: What about your job do you wish people knew?
A: There’s no such thing as a typical day, and I love that. I might go from a meeting with a partner and brainstorming feature ideas to testing a new product and working on our corporate content curriculum, which we use in our corporate trainings and digital learning programs.
Q: I read something last month about the death of the opinion piece. Would love to know your thoughts on that...
A: The opinion piece is alive and well! I think it’s really important to expose yourself to as many perspectives as possible -- especially in today’s world. Studies show that your weakest ties can lead you to news you wouldn’t have discovered yourself. We have to force ourselves to get outside our filter bubbles and learn about parts of the world where people don’t live the way we do. I so believe in following people and news you don’t agree with so that you always have an understanding of someone else’s “why.”
"You always have an understanding of someone else’s 'why.'”
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Q: And where do you think the world of content is heading?
A: I think that the world of content is going to become increasingly personalized. People are looking to be super-served in areas they’re passionate about. Our on-demand world means that people want the content they want when they want it. It’s our job as content providers to make sure we’re finding people where they are, syncing with their habits and delivering them content that helps them live their lives better -- whether that’s informing them, entertaining them or engaging them.
Q: For sites that are publishing a TON of content, how would you suggest readers sift through it?
A: I think it’s really key to find a format that works for you. For me, that’s email newsletters. I’ve been obsessed with them for years. I think they’re amazing containers for curated content delivery. For someone else, it might be a print newspaper or magazine, news apps, Facebook or Instagram.
Q: And how do you as a reader sift through the content online?
A: I really rely on email newsletters for a lot of my topic-specific news -- politics, media, tech, etc. -- but throughout the day I’m visiting Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and various news sites’ homepages to make sure I’m up to date. I’ve really re-invested in visiting homepages directly since the election. I also do a ton of reading on the subway with my favorite read later app, Pocket. And I subscribe to a ton of podcasts to get even more news and information.
Q: How much time do you spend reading content offline?
A: I am a huge print reader. I still subscribe to about 12 magazines ranging from Businessweek and New York Magazine to Vogue and Glamour, and read them every month.
Q: What was the most crucial skill that you brought to your job?
A: I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and an adaptability for rapid change. That’s been important in every role that I’ve had, but especially at a fast-moving startup like Thrive Global.
Q: What was a skill you were able to develop over time?
A: A big part of what we’re focused on at Thrive is the idea that we don’t have different selves for our work lives and personal lives -- that we bring our whole selves with us wherever we go. So one of my favorite things about working here is that we can be free to be open about our “sacred time” -- the time you need each day/week/month to be your best self. I love that my coworkers hold me accountable for mine and I hold them accountable for theirs. I know them as their whole selves -- not just their “work” selves.
Q: Do you think the role of editor/content creator is more important than ever… and of course, the why?
A: The role of editor and content creator is definitely more important than ever. In a world of fake news and filter bubbles, it is so crucial that we have people who are committed to making sure people get a wide range of real news and meaningful content that affects them.
Photo credit: Golden Rule Excelsior