Creating quality content is an important part of many marketing campaigns. Content draws readers in by offering educational tips or valuable ideas, which builds meaningful connections with the audience and in turn boosts traffic to the brand’s website.

However, content is only truly effective if it’s well-written. That’s where editing comes in. Whether you’re reviewing your own content or proofreading for a colleague, it’s important to thoroughly examine each piece to make sure it’s not only grammatically correct, but also communicates the intended point in a compelling way. During your next content review, use our handy checklist as your editing guide.

Content Topic

Before you dive into the gritty details of the writing, consider the relevancy of the content topic in general. The piece might be engaging and entertaining, but if doesn’t support the goals of the brand or fit the industry, then it may not be valuable to your overall marketing efforts. If the topic is relevant, ask yourself if the subject can be expanded upon or the perspective tweaked to be even more interesting. Make suggestions if you think there are opposing viewpoints that should be added, or if there are unnecessary tangents you feel could be removed.

Flow

Once you’ve made your notes on the content topic, turn your attention toward the flow of the piece as a whole. This is an especially important area for longer pieces of content, such as articles, whitepapers, or case studies. These documents should follow a logical flow, walking the reader through the story or discussion step by step. Consider whether some sections lag, or if others are too short. The piece may benefit from breaking up long copy into shorter paragraphs or combining smaller points into a larger section. In some cases, each section may be sized appropriately but would present a stronger argument after reordering certain paragraphs or sentences.

Keywords

If the document will live online, it’s important to account for SEO opportunities within the content. To help search engines and your audience find the piece, be sure to include keywords in the title that are relevant to the brand and the topic. Keywords should then be repeated regularly in sub-headings and body copy without over-stuffing them. If possible, the piece should also include calls to action and links to other related content to keep readers engaged with the brand.

Formatting

For other long or technical pieces of content, spend time double-checking formatting choices, such as the table of contents, page numbers, or reference lists. It may not seem like the most important step, but small errors in formatting can make the entire piece look sloppy and unprofessional. Check for obvious mistypes and ordering mistakes, as well as consistency among numbered items, bulleted lists, and other unique formats within the document.

Grammar Check

Once you’ve gotten through the bigger-picture edits, now is the time to review content for common grammar mistakes, misspellings, and typos. Remember to pay special attention to homophones and other word misuses that spell check may not catch. For a full breakdown of common grammar mistakes, check out our list.

Fact Checking

After completing your grammar check, be sure to do your due diligence fact-checking statistics, names, and any other citations. The last thing you want is for someone in the comments to call your brand out for spreading misinformation or referencing outdated stats. Before giving the content your stamp of approval, make sure proper nouns are all spelled correctly and data points have appropriate attribution.

Final Touches

Lastly, if you want to ensure the content actually sounds good and is easy to read, consider printing out the document and reading the sentences aloud. We often discover errors that we previously missed after looking at the content on physical paper. Reading the entire piece aloud can also help flag sentences that are too long, too complex, or simply don’t sound right.

Editing can be tough work, but with this helpful list, you can feel confident that you’re providing the writer with constructive feedback and putting out a strong piece of content for your brand.