It’s hard to remember every little consideration when you’re editing and proofreading content. To make things a little easier, we compiled a complete editing and proofreading checklist you can use to triple-check that your next piece of writing is all ready to go.
Topic Selection
Consider these high-level questions at the beginning stages of the editorial process:
- Does this topic align with your content strategy? Will your readers/buyer personas care
about it?
- Can the angle be tweaked to be even more interesting?
Article Structure & Formatting
Optimizing the way you organize your content and ideas is an important part of the editing process. Ask yourself these questions to determine whether the content is structured and formatted in an optimal way.
- Is this the right format for the content? Does this topic work better as long-form content like an ebook, or short-form content like a blog post?
- Is the flow of the content logical? Are the chapters/headers/ideas organized in an order that makes sense and naturally guides readers through the content?
Is the flow of the content logical? Are the chapters/headers/ideas organized in an order that makes sense and naturally guides readers through the content?
- Are your headers formatted consistently – not just within this piece of content, but across other pieces of content?
- Is the content comprehensive? Are all major points associated with the topic covered?
- How is the formatting? Can you incorporate numbered lists and/or bullets to make it easier for readers to skim, scan, and identify important takeaways?
- Are important points/stats/ideas called out in bold to catch the reader’s attention? (Optional)
- Are supporting images and visuals included where appropriate?
- Are these visuals and images high quality and interesting? For online content, have they been resized and compressed to keep page load time reasonable?
Writing / Copyediting
Here are the critical things to consider as you’re evaluating the writing in and of itself:
- Is the content well written? Is the writing interesting, entertaining, and easy to read?
- Does the content tell a story?
- Do the transitions make sense and flow well?
Does the introduction capture the reader’s attention? Is it interesting enough to get the reader to keep reading?
- Does the introduction tee up the rest of the content well and explain the value the reader will get out of reading it?
- Are the headers compelling and clear? For online content, are the headers keyword-optimized?
- Is the grammar correct?
- Is the content spell-checked?
- For online content, did you test all your links to confirm they work and send readers to the right place?
- Are any proper nouns like full names, city/country names, and company names referenced spelled and styled correctly? (Tip: Pay particular attention to CamelCase, lowercase, one vs. two words, etc.)
- Does the tone of the writing align with the content being presented? Does it align with the persona being targeted? Does it align with the overall voice of your content and brand?
Title Selection
The title/headline of your piece of content is often the first impression it gives off (think social media shares, search results, etc.), so it’s important to put some time and careful thought into its selection. Here’s what to consider:
- Is the title compelling and interesting enough to get people to click through and read on?
- Does the title accurately reflect the content within? Does it avoid being overly sensational or bombastic?
- Is the title brief and concise? (Tip for online content: Keep in mind longer titles will get cut off in search engine results.)
- Is the title keyword-conscious without being keyword-heavy and sacrificing user experience and clickthroughs?
Final Sanity Check
Now that all the nitty-gritty edits have been made, sit back and take a look at the content holistically. Then ask yourself these questions ...
- Could anything in this content be potentially harmful to any of your partners, stakeholders,audience, or your company itself?
- Did we double-check any mathematical calculations you made ourselves?
- Is the content at odds with your company’s mission, philosophy, goals, etc. in any way?
- Did you miss any opportunities to build a relationship with any influencers, industry thought
leaders, etc.?