Guest Post by Tracie Kendziora: An editor will make you a better writer.

I’ve asked my editor Tracie to share a guest blog post. I’ve always been open about working with an editor and I think it’s important to repeat myself once again that delivering professional results doesn’t mean you do everything yourself. It simply means you ask for help for the things you know someone can do better and faster than you. 

Years ago, I shared an article where I talked about my 80/20 approach to working. Over the years, I’ve learned that the last 20% takes the most time to do, so I delegate my last 20% to an editor (which used to be my beloved Diana and is now Tracie) and I expect them to give me 80% so that I can finish off their 20% and actually publish articles without spelling mistakes.

It’s been such a great asset to have someone call me out on my bull*hit and tell me when I need to explain myself more so others can follow my train of thought. 

Tracie and I bonded because of our shared love of okapis, the cutest and simultaneously weirdest animals on earth. 

I hope you enjoy Tracie’s explanation why having an editor is such an incredible asset. It goes without saying I can highly recommend her services. She’s not just great but also really funny.

This industry “secret” is the solution to creating more compelling and bingeworthy content

I feel like I’m about to peel back the red velvet curtain on a little-known secret about the online business world.

You ready?

The brands and businesses who churn out consistent, valuable content and make it look completely effortless – maybe the ones that have made you wonder, “How do they do it?!” – have a secret weapon: an editor.

Yep, you can heave a huge sigh of relief because they’re not superhumans doing #AllTheThings like you’ve always assumed.

But that probably also makes you think, “Wait. Do *I* need an editor?”

These brands know that having an editor on their team is a smart business move. Because an editor can help you clarify your message, create clean copy, strengthen and focus your ideas, find and use your brand voice, be more consistent, focus on all the other parts of running a business – and a few other things that can have a dramatic impact on how your business looks day-to-day…

An editor can add more oomph and impact to your message

Let’s say you google “business coach.” You’re rewarded with some 1.2 trillion results. That’s a whole lotta people vying for your audience’s attention. So how do you separate yourself from all those other business coaches?

You create a strong, consistent message. (And, yes, you have one — whether you think so or not right now.)

An editor is a second set of (super fresh) eyes on your content. That new perspective makes them oh so perfectly positioned to help you pull out your unique point of view and the ideas that really differentiate you from everyone else in your industry.

When you’ve been staring blankly at that blog post, deleting and rewriting the same sentence, an editor can look at what you’ve written and tell you what ideas need more attention and can be built on, and the things that are muddying the waters and detracting from your message.

A lot of the time, that looks like calling you on your BS and challenging your beliefs about the value of your ideas and messages…and digging deeper than you can (or want to) on your own.

You know that words have power — and an editor will help you amplify yours so you’re consistently creating the kind of valuable, credibility- and trust-building content that shows off your expertise and thought leadership.

An editor actually saves you time (no, for real)

I’m not a mind reader, but I’ve got a hunch you’re thinking something like: “How will adding another step to the content creation process save me time?”

You’re absolutely right that outsourcing some tasks – like rebuilding your website or creating a sparkly new brand identity — can sometimes have long lead times that impact your schedule and your project timelines. 

But an editor’s job is pretty much to save you time.

Here’s a little scenario, pre-editor: You’re planning on publishing a new blog post tomorrow. But you haven’t landed on the topic just yet, so you brainstorm a bunch of ideas until you decide on one that feels doable. You start writing but get stuck picking out a headline that feels compelling, so you jump down to the meat of the content where you go back and forth between two words. You finally manage to get all your ideas down, but then you start second-guessing yourself and spend more time obsessing about whether you need a call-to-action (yes, always yes) and whether that comma should really be a colon.

Post-editor, that process gets streamlined to you having your content pre-planned so you know what you’re going to write when you open up a fresh doc and writing an article that focuses on the big juicy ideas you want to share. You hand off your draft to your editor, who polishes and fine tunes every word, cleans up the grammar and punctuation, and sends you a refined version that communicates your message in a clear, compelling way.

Maybe that saves you a few hours (and some degree of last-minute panic) every week — that’s HUGE, especially when your business is growing and you don’t have as much free time on your calendar anymore.

An editor will make you a better writer

Truth: Not everyone’s a writer. But it’s a universal fact that writing is a critical part of running an online business.

Even if you’re not blogging on a regular basis, I’m willing to bet you’re posting on social media, emailing clients and leads, creating lead magnets, outlining course content, crafting proposals and pitch decks, sending newsletters, maybe even pitching guest posts or writing podcast and video scripts.

That’s A LOT of writing.

You might think working with an editor is an easy way to outsource something that doesn’t fall neatly and squarely in your fabled Zone of Genius. But take a look at that (totally non-exhaustive) list again — wouldn’t it be awesome if all that writing you’re doing in the everyday course of running your business got better? Got easier? Didn’t take seven drafts to land on “good enough?”

When you work with an editor, you get specific feedback and suggestions on your content that will help you identify the patterns in your writing. You’ll learn after your editor changes that comma to a colon for the 10th time WHY. You’ll understand how to give your content structure and flow…all of which will absolutely transfer to every other aspect of your business.

Even if, like most of my clients, you’re already a really good writer, you could be too close to your content to see it clearly. A second opinion is an amazing asset for any brand or business looking to get (even) better at writing…and continue to use compelling words to grow their impact and bottom line. (Yes, even if your editor asks you to kill your darlings. You’re better for it – promise.)

If you’d like to see how working with an editor can transform your content, drop me an email! I’d love to offer you a taster of what I do.