When it comes to PR professionals, writing and editing content is the most important task. Even the most skilled of writers always need help with finishing big batches of work and there are many factors which can contribute to you achieving that.
“Copy editing skills are always important for PR specialist and no matter how many tasks they can handle, employers will always consider them crucial”, notes Sylvia Giltner, HR specialist at ResumesCentre.
Learning how to edit your content correctly comes from a lot of trial and error.The good thing is that there are plenty of tips and tricks which can help you achieve a great and polished result, which will help your copy perform well. In order to help you achieve that, here are some of the best copy editing tips for PR professionals you should definitely know.
Know your target audience
A big part of copy editing is making sure that your content is professional looking as well as appealing to your target audience. In order to achieve that, you should first of all know which exactly the audience you’re trying to reach out to is.This will help you in more ways than one. First of all, you will be able to use appropriate vocabulary which will be easily understood and appealing to all your reads. On top of that, you will be able to also adjust your subject line in order for it to attract more people to your content.These small changes will easily help you improve the flow of your copy as well as a good consistency of the voice and style of it, in order for the final product to be interesting and easy-to-read for your target audience.
Read your copy out loud
A great way to get rid of errors in your copy when trying to edit it is to read is out loud. Studies have actually shown that when you read your own text out loud, your brain receives the information in a new way. That makes it possible for you to notice more things that you did before.Going through a page, trying to find your errors will truly be difficult as many simple mistakes are not easy to notice on the page. Reading your copy out loud will help you notice more grammar and spelling mistakes and it will also help you see the tone and even structure of your sentences.
“If a sentence is too long, or you have used the same words many times, you are way more likely to notice it by reading it out loud”, advises Amanda Sparks, blogger at TopDownWriter.
This way, you will be able to catch most of the mistakes by yourself. If your content sounds good to you when you read it to yourself, it is way more likely that your audience will enjoy it too.
Have a second pair of eyes
Most PR professionals usually have a lot of work to do when preparing for new content to be posted. Copy editing can be tough to do perfectly, especially when you have many other tasks to complete. Even if you are a professional at editing your copies, you should know that having a second pair of eye go through it might truly help you catch any last-minute mistakes.You can easily find someone who does a job similar to yours to help you by taking a second look at your copy. That person can either be someone from your own team, or even a freelancer. In any case, it is not a bad thing to get a second opinion. It will only help you make sure that your content is truly ready to be published and polished to perfection.
Finding the right tools
Last but not least, the easiest and fastest way to achieve a great edit on any copy is by using the right online tools to your advantage. There are so many different tools online which serve different purposed and going through them all can be a little intimidating.The good news is that there are quite a few tools which have been tried and tested and are always helping PR professionals get their copy editing done with the minimal amount of effort. One of these tools is the Hemmingway Editor App. Not only is it easy-to-use, but it will also provide you with information that exceeds simple grammar and spelling mistakes.Kane Paterson, editor at Brainished notes: “If you’re looking for a free and reliable editing tool, Hemmingway will definitely help you with all of your content editing needs”. On top of that, if you’re looking for a simple grammar and spelling editor, the best one you can use has to be Grammarly. This tool offers both a free and a paid version and can produce context-specific suggestions to help you keep your editing under control.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
