How do you edit digital copy for web pages, emails and ads?

Editing digital copy is not just about fixing grammar and spelling mistakes. It's also about making sure your copy is clear, concise, engaging and persuasive for your target audience and your goals. Whether you're writing web pages, emails or ads, you need to apply some basic principles and use some helpful tools to polish your digital copy. In this article, we'll show you how to edit digital copy for web pages, emails and ads in six steps.

1 Step 1: Define your purpose and audience

Before you start editing, you need to know what you want to achieve with your copy and who you're writing for. What is the main message you want to convey? What action do you want your readers to take? What tone and style do you want to use? What are their needs, pain points, motivations and preferences? Having a clear purpose and audience will help you focus your copy and avoid unnecessary or irrelevant information.

Add your perspective

Udi Edery
Report contribution
One of the best things you could do, in my opinion, is first define if you're writing copy, or micro-copy. Are you writing as the voice of the company speaking in general, or are you an entitiy adressing other people on a more personal scale - This is level work, and will allow you to aim your thought more effectively.

Like

2 Step 2: Check your structure and flow

Next, you need to make sure your copy has a logical and coherent structure and flow. Your copy should have a clear beginning, middle and end, with a catchy headline, a strong introduction, a compelling body and a clear call to action. You should also use subheadings, paragraphs, bullet points, transitions and white space to break up your text and guide your readers through your copy. Your copy should be easy to scan, skim and read.

Add your perspective

Udi Edery
Report contribution
It's important to note that you must tailor your copy's structure to the media tool in which you're using. Some toold do not call for an elaborate post or article template, and sometimes you'll need to do some cramping and streching. For example: a push VIA application is very limited in the number of words you can use. A push is a "headline in a take away mode" as I always say, so you need to adapt your writing and includes all the ingredients relevant to the tool you're using - cut then pick and choose: sometimes you can't have it all...

Like

3 Step 3: Cut the fluff and filler

One of the most common mistakes in digital copywriting is using too many words or too complex words. You want to keep your copy as simple and concise as possible, without losing your meaning or personality. You should avoid jargon, clichés, passive voice, redundancies, vague words and long sentences. You should also use active verbs, specific nouns, concrete examples and powerful adjectives to make your copy more vivid and engaging.

Add your perspective

Udi Edery
Report contribution
My best advice here is to remember it's not you're job to give away all the spoilers right at the start. Your copy should include enough details to tickle the reader's mind, thus scraching their curiousity, thus making them click to navigate to *your* desired final destination. All the details should wait for them right there in leangh.

Like

4 Step 4: Optimize your keywords and links

If you want your copy to rank well on search engines and drive traffic to your website or landing page, you need to optimize your keywords and links. You should do some keyword research and use relevant and popular keywords in your headline, subheadings, introduction and body. You should also use synonyms, variations and related terms to avoid keyword stuffing and increase your relevance. You should also use internal and external links to provide more value and authority to your copy.

Add your perspective

5 Step 5: Proofread your grammar and spelling

No matter how good your copy is, if it has grammar and spelling errors, it will lose credibility and trust with your readers. You should always proofread your copy carefully and use tools like Grammarly, Hemingway or ProWritingAid to help you catch and correct any mistakes. You should also check your punctuation, capitalization, formatting and consistency. You should also read your copy aloud or ask someone else to read it for you to spot any errors or awkward phrasings.

Add your perspective

6 Step 6: Test your copy and get feedback

The final step in editing digital copy is to test your copy and get feedback from your audience or peers. You should use tools like Google Analytics, Mailchimp or Facebook Ads Manager to measure the performance of your copy and see how it affects your metrics like clicks, conversions, bounce rate or open rate. You should also ask for feedback from your target audience or other copywriters and see how they respond to your copy. You should use their feedback to improve your copy and make it more effective.

Add your perspective

Udi Edery
Report contribution
Do not use the same people to test your copy on, society is diversed - you're testing should reflect that as much as possible.

Like

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

Udi Edery
Report contribution
We tend to build a lead with a strong headline at the begining of our text, and "bring it" at the end. So once you've finished your writing and you feel there's a bit of sisening missing, try taking your last peregraph, castling it with your first. That way your eye-catching text that used to be on the bottom will make your opening text pop on top, and your strong wording that used to open the text, will now close it with a good desicive bottom line.

Like

How do you edit digital copy for web pages, emails and ads?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Step 1: Define your purpose and audience

2 Step 2: Check your structure and flow

3 Step 3: Cut the fluff and filler

4 Step 4: Optimize your keywords and links

5 Step 5: Proofread your grammar and spelling

6 Step 6: Test your copy and get feedback

7 Here’s what else to consider

Digital Copywriting

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Digital Copywriting

More relevant reading