Editing Your Own Marketing Copy

Why editing your own work is hard

When you read your own draft, your brain fills in what you meant. Gaps in logic, missing words and unclear references slip past because you already know the answer. You are also attached to what you wrote, which makes cutting harder.

Small businesses rarely have an editor, so a routine helps. The idea is to edit in separate passes, each with a single question, rather than trying to fix everything at once. The routine below takes a short piece perhaps 20 to 30 minutes, depending on length.

Step 1: Put distance between writing and editing

If you can, wait before editing. An hour is useful; overnight is better. If you cannot wait, change the way you view the text: print it, enlarge the font or move it into a different document. Anything that makes it look unfamiliar helps you read it more like a stranger.

Step 2: Check the goal first

Before touching a sentence, ask three things:

What should the reader do or understand after reading?
Does the piece say that quickly, ideally within the first few lines?
Is there one clear next step?

Large problems are cheaper to fix early. If the piece has no clear purpose, polishing individual sentences will not help. Sometimes the right edit is to delete the first paragraph, where writers often warm up, and start at the second.

Step 3: Cut

Most marketing copy improves when shortened. Look for:

Warm-up sentences that restate the topic or the title.
Repeated points, often written once in a heading and again in the next sentence.
Filler words, such as “really”, “very”, “in order to”, “basically” and “just”.
Weak openers, like “There is a…” or “It is important to note that…”.
Anything the reader already knows.

A useful test for any sentence: if you removed it, would the reader miss anything? If not, remove it. Keep an eye on where length is coming from. A long page can be fine if each part earns its place; a short page can still be padded.

Step 4: Make it clearer

Now work on how it reads.

Shorten long sentences. If a sentence has more than one main idea, split it.
Replace abstract words with concrete ones. “Improve efficiency” could become “save an hour a week on invoicing”, if that is accurate.
Use plain language. Swap jargon and long words for ones your customers use.
Prefer active verbs. “We reply within one working day” is clearer than “Replies are provided within one working day.”
Put the point first. If the key sentence is buried at the end of a paragraph, move it up.
Check pronouns. If “it” or “this” could refer to more than one thing, name the thing.

Step 5: Focus on the reader

Underline every “we” and “our”. Then look at how many times you address the reader as “you”. Copy that is mostly about the business tends to feel self-centred. Try turning statements about yourself into statements about what the reader gets. This is the same shift covered in features and benefits.

Also check your headline and subheadings. Do they say what the section contains? Someone who only reads the headings should still get the gist.

Step 6: Verify claims and details

This is the pass people skip. Check:

Prices, dates, opening hours, phone numbers and names.
Any number, claim or comparison. Can you support it?
Any condition that should be mentioned near an offer.
Spelling of product and customer names.

If a claim is something you cannot back up, soften or remove it. This is part of avoiding misleading claims and applies to small businesses as much as large ones. Rules differ by country, so check those relevant to you.

Step 7: Read it aloud

Reading aloud is one of the cheapest reliable edits. You will stumble over clumsy phrasing, notice repeated words and hear when a sentence is too long to say in one breath. Mark each stumble and fix it. Some people find a text-to-speech tool useful for the same reason, since it reads what is actually written, not what you meant.

Step 8: Proofread last

Proofreading comes after the other changes; otherwise you will proofread text you later cut. Look for:

Typos, especially in the headline, button text and first line
Doubled words (“the the”)
Inconsistent capitalisation, spelling or punctuation
Broken or missing links in the final published version
Formatting problems on a phone screen

For proofreading, read backwards sentence by sentence, or check line by line with a ruler or cursor. It slows you down enough to see the actual words.

A short checklist

Does the piece have one goal and one next step?
Is the main point in the first lines?
Have I removed filler and repeated ideas?
Are sentences short enough, and words familiar?
Is it about the reader as much as about us?
Are all facts, prices and claims correct?
Have I read it aloud?
Have I proofread the final version?

Build the habit

Keep your own list of recurring problems. Perhaps you overuse certain words, start with long preambles or forget to mention prices. Over time, the list shortens your editing, since you know where to look first. If you have a voice and tone guide, check against it too.

Finally, remember that editing does not guarantee results. Copy that is clear and accurate is easier for readers to act on, but whether they do depends on many things beyond wording. If you have enough traffic to compare versions, A/B testing can tell you more about what your own audience prefers than any rule of thumb can.