Copy Editing Hacks for Persuasive, Shareable Writing
And how to give people a great read while maintaining your authentic voice as you write what you love.
“There is no great writing, only great rewriting.”
Justice Louis Brandeis
Writing isn’t easy for most people on the best of days. We have writers’ block, other things to do, and endless imaginations that run wild when we sit down to write.
Similarly, your audience has a rapidly-decreasing attention span, and the best way to make sure they won’t continue reading your piece is by having grammatical and other errors in your writing.
But there’s no need to fear.
This post to help you kick-start your writing with some hacks to create more shareable and engaging work, all the while maintaining your personal flair.
Passive Voice Isn’t to be Used
High school English 101: always write your sentences in active voice i.e. don’t use passive voice. Sentences use an “active” voice when the subject (a person or a thing) performs an action. For example:
Passive voice
The Proletarian Superhero’s social media marketing plan was loved (by them).
Active voice
They loved The Proletarian Superhero’s social media marketing plan.
Passive voice is very wordy, and will make your audience lose interest the more they have to focus on trying to comprehend long sentences. Try and stick to active voice as much as possible.
Spell Out Some Synonyms
Beautiful and stunning may mean the same thing, but the latter sounds less redundant and mundane. While there’s no need to use archaic words in your writing, there are many variants to commonly-used words and phrases you can use that sound more interesting and maintain your viewers’ interest. In addition, try and watch how much you use the word ‘that’.
I really appreciated that The Proletarian Superhero understood our marketing needs so well doesn’t sound as punchy as I really appreciated The Proletarian Superhero for understanding our marketing needs so well.
Skip the overused and repeated words in your written work, and watch the quality of your writing improve.
What about Online Editing Apps?
Yes, we mean editing apps like Grammarly. If you aim to become a better writer, relying on editing apps to correct your mistakes isn’t the way. While these apps are great when you’re just starting out on the writing path, they’re meant to correct mistakes you’ve overlooked, not mistakes made due to a lack of knowledge.
Editing apps’ algorithm can also make the unwanted change of altering the tone and mood of your writing, robbing it of its essence, and not letting your unique voice shine through.
Why Structure and Formatting is Important
Never underestimate the usefulness of headings, paragraphs, and well-fleshed out introductions and conclusions. Writing is more than just words — it’s your tone, spirit, and presentation. Well-formatted writing communicates a respect for your subject and, of course, gets your work more attention.
Carbonate Your Flat Water
Flat water sure is nice, but sparkling sounds more fun (to read).
As you proof-read your drafts, keep fixing up overused words with fresh synonyms, and fine-tune your wording, especially in the beginning of paragraphs and sentences.
For example, if you have a subconscious habit of beginning your paragraphs with “Make sure…” or “Not only this, but…”, try and change it up. Like in this post, don’t stick to normal headings — let your inner artist break through and play around with words and ideas.
So there we have it, some hacks to help make your copy editing as easy and smooth as possible. Now, you can go ahead and give your audience a view to (a) kill.
Originally written for and published on Digital Odyssey.
