Content writers are arguably the most dedicated people. Coming up with distinct and new content on a regular basis is something admirable. But it is not always rosy for content marketers. Some struggle to meet their content goals. Some find it hard to perform content editing. In most cases, you would find even the most successful content writers work closely with professional editors.
Admittedly, editing is a whole process by itself. In many writing circles, writing and editing can never be done concurrently. In fact, one is always advised to write first then edit later. We know that editing can be an uphill task. However, there are some guidelines which when applied can make editing an easy undertaking. Let’s consider 5 hacks which can improve your content marketing performance:

1.Avoid All Filler Words and Grammar Expletives

Content writers may at times get overwhelmed with writing especially if the word count is high. This may prompt them to use filler words and grammar expletives to try and meet their word count. Some examples of grammar expletives that are commonly used are as follows:

It is, here is, there will be, it takes, etc.

These filler words normally begin with it, there, here and a verb always follows them. Initially, it may seem harmless to use these literary constructions. But in the long run, they inhibit the driving elements of your sentences thereby making them weak. They also tend to dilute your whole work since they will require the use of support words, for example, when, who, where, why, that, etc.
To illustrate this point let’s look at these two sentences:

There are some investors who like to invest in the money market.
Some investors like to invest in the stock market.

The first sentence’s use of the expletives there are prompted the use of who which was quite unnecessary. Again, the use of the expletive there made the sentence sound as if it was referring to something arbitrary hence making the sentence to lose focus.
The second sentence presents the true focus of the sentence and avoids all literary constructs. One can be able to get the message that is being out across clearly.
Therefore, the use of expletives can never work for you. If you aim to improve the performance of your content, then avoid expletives by all means. While editing your work at https://custom-writings.net, look for these literary constructed words and weed them out. To avoid using them in the first place, condition yourself to write the gist of points rather than looking for a way around it. For example, you could be tempted to write this sentence; “It’s exciting to read.” However, it’s better to write reading is exciting.
Please note that is not an argument against the use of expletive words like it, there, who, etc. If you had already described your object, then you are at liberty to use. To illustrate:

I love reading. It’s exciting.

The first sentence already described the object, in this case, ‘reading.’ Thus, you are at liberty in any successive sentence to use it as you had already described it previously as to what it means.

2. Check Your Tenses

There are three tenses, the past, present, and future. The rule of thumb is to have a tense that is consistent in the whole article. The flow of your work should preferably be in the present tense to allow for tense continuity.
The upside of having a consistent tense is that it makes your work easily understandable. It also aids the flow and prose. You may want to pass a message across, but the tense disallows you.
Let’s take a look at these three sentences:

He walked from school to the town center.
He walks from school to the town center.
He will walk from school to the town center.

The point that this writer is trying to put across is that the person ultimately walks from school to the town center. However, the first sentence denotes that he already did this; the second sentence indicates that he is doing it at the moment; while the last sentence indicates that he will do it at a future date.
When editing your work, checking tenses should be amongst the top five things that you should do. Ensure that if you choose one to write in one specific tense, say, present tense, the whole work should reflect the present tense. This will give your content great clarity which will ultimately increase the performance of your content marketing.

3. Check Your Punctuation Especially Commas

Errors of punctuation are so far reaching that they even change the meaning of a sentence completely. Consider the following sentences:

Let’s eat mom.
Let’s eat, Mom.

As much as the writer may have had good intentions, the first sentence is surely going to send chills to anyone who reads it. Anyone would think that he/she is a cannibal.
This is what happens when commas are not used.
Another common error with commas is failing to place it before conjunctions and placing it after conjunctions. Let’s illustrate this in two sentences:

I bought a book, pen and pencil.
My mum gave me an orange, banana and, chocolate.

Both sentences have misused the commas. When listing items in a sentence, a comma should be used to separate the items. The item that appears before the conjunction should be separated from the conjunction by a comma. Also, no comma should be placed after the conjunction.
The correct form of the above sentence is:

I bought a book, pen, and pencil.
My mum gave me an orange, banana, and chocolate.

Most content writers make these mistakes with commas. They may not realize it at first since they are not easily traced.
To avoid punctuation errors especially those that involve the comma, ensure that after you finish writing, you carefully check your sentences. Place more focus on sentences that have lists. You can even run a grammar and punctuation checker to assist you in tracing these errors. Once you do this successfully, your content is bound to improve hence increasing your marketing success.

4. Tweak Your Call to Action

All articles, blogs, and web content end should end with a call to action. The simple justification for this is that every writer has a goal for every written content. This goal should be embodied in the call to action.
The call to action comprises of a block of text or visual content that advises the reader on the next move. It informs them of the specific action to take after reading the article. With this in mind, the call to action should in all respects undergo intensive editing. It should be fine-tuned to make the reader perform the intended action swiftly.
To that effect, what editing hacks can be done on the call to action make it more effective?
• Include a link on the call to action to another site that has similar content. This may prompt the reader to go through your site.
• Place a subscription form, or say, a newsletter or an e-book. You may do this if you have your own blog and you to develop some leads into actual clients.
• Make a limited, urgent but appealing offer that relates to the subject matter of your content. Utilize the art of persuasion to win the readers over.
• Avoid statements such as, “click here,” “follow this link” etc. They make you sound like a novice.
It is vital to remember that everything you write in your call to action should have relevance to your subject. This should be your editing objective as far as the call to action is concerned.

5. The Large Edits

In any written material, some editing aspects are referred to as the large edits. They comprise of:
• The headlines.
• The graphics.
• Search Engine Optimization.
These large edits should be placed under scrutiny. They should not at any time veer of the gist of your article. They should also not have irrelevancy to your target audience. If they veer off or show any signs of irrelevancy, the readers will feel duped and cheated. They would think that you tricked them into reading your article. They would notice the mismatch between your content and what they initially wanted, and we know how it goes from there.
What are some of the editing hacks that you can employ to guard against this?
• Ensure that your headline is relevant to your content. You can test at least three headlines to see which has the most appeal.
• Include a Meta description. This is where your selling streak begins. It should indulge the readers on why they should read the content.
• The visual content should be available to break the monotony of text. Remember to put relevant images to your content.
• With regard to SEO, ensure that your keywords are well-placed and have a direct relation to the gist of your content. Also, ensure that these keywords fit naturally into the text. Don’t force them to fit into your content.
• Lastly, make sure that you have a page title that contains the keywords of your content.

Editing should not seem like an uphill task. You don’t even need to hire an editor if you follow these 5 editing hacks. When you apply them objectively, you are sure of improving the performance of your content marketing. All the best!