6 Best Practices for Editing Your Sponsored Content Articles

You just got your sponsored content back from your marketing agency. Hooray! Now it’s time to tackle editing that article. That can feel a little less exciting.

If you have concerns about editing, you’re not alone. As a content editor at Zoe Marketing & Communications, I help businesses tell their stories and work with them through the entire writing process. A few common worries I hear:

“I’m not sure how to edit this. I’m not a writer. I feel stuck.”

“Wait, I thought of more we should add. Lots more.”

“This isn’t talking enough about our organization. Should we change that?”

First of all, don’t worry! The editing process is important, but it’s not as difficult as you think. In fact, with editing, less is often more. In this blog, we’ll cover 6 essential tips to keep in mind:

1. Trust your publisher partner’s brand voice and style
2. Stick to the deadlines
3. Consider the needs of your audience
4. Avoid information overload
5. Don’t feel pressured to make extensive changes
6. Make sure your facts are accurate and check for spelling

With these best practices in mind, you’ll feel empowered to quickly and confidently edit your sponsored content.

1. Trust your publisher partner’s brand voice and style

Your publisher partner is an expert on its brand’s voice, tone and editorial guidelines. It’s important to remember that you are trying to reach their target audience. Your sponsored content is written in a style that resonates with its readers.

For example, the audience for Zoe’s sister companies, Chicago Parent and Metro Parent, is busy parents and caregivers of babies through teens who want digestible information. The publication’s voice is casual, upbeat and informative. The content we write reflects this tone so that it feels “native” to the publication — and connects with readers.

In that spirit, try not to be technical in the language you use. Can most people understand your terminology? If not, use less jargon. Remember, you know insider terms like “social-emotional learning” or “bioavailability.” The audience you’re writing for might not.

Many publications or brands have specific editorial guidelines. This can cover things like:

• Punctuation, capitalization and abbreviations
• Voice, tone and verb tense
• Style guides (e.g., AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style)
• The publisher’s own stylebook

Your content will follow these guidelines to reach the brand’s audience. Be sure to understand the publisher’s approach before making extensive changes.

Ask your writer if you’re questioning how something is stylized or worded. They’ll gladly explain — and work with you to make any necessary tweaks.

2. Stick to the deadlines

Another pro tip: Honor deadlines. It’s important to return your edits in a timely fashion. That way, the content is still fresh in everyone’s mind, and you help keep things on schedule.

When you stick to the deadlines, you don’t just help the writers and sales teams — you help yourself. Many topics are seasonal, so you want to make sure they run when you originally planned. If you miss deadlines, this could affect when your content gets published.

3. Consider the needs of your audience

It can feel daunting when you get sponsored content back from a writer. If you keep one thing in mind, it helps simplify the process. And here it is: What are your audience’s and customers’ needs?

People don’t like to feel like they are being sold to, but they do appreciate educational, entertaining and informative content.

Content should always have value to the audience. If you focus on yourself too much, that can be a turnoff. A good rule to follow is the 80-20 rule. In other words, 80% of your content should address a customer’s problem, need or question. Only 20% of what you talk about should be about you or what you are promoting.

The old days of “advertorials” are over. Audiences are looking for trusted information. And if you can give it to them, they will come back to you time and time again.

4. Avoid information overload

It’s wonderful to have enthusiasm for your product or service. In fact, it’s crucial! But cramming too much information into one piece of content will leave your reader cold.

Again, simplicity is key. Likely, you chose a topic with the help of your colleagues or the writer you’ve been working with. Stick to the topic.

Sometimes, especially after some time has passed, you may look at your story and think, “Oh, I should have added this, or we should have talked about that.”

The old show business saying, “Always leave the audience wanting more,” is also true for sponsored content. It’s better to intrigue the audience than saturate them with too much info.

5. Don’t feel pressured to make extensive changes

You may think that you haven’t done your due diligence unless you add a lot of markups or changes to your content. But, if you worked to identify a strong topic and subject matter expert, your content should reflect that. At Zoe, this is part of the process for us. We work with you to make sure we produce content you and the target audience will love.

Before diving into a major rewrite, ask yourself: “Am I worried because we didn’t include every detail in this piece?” If the answer is yes, then see #4 above.

Focused content is the best content. Remember, you can always expand on more features in the next piece of sponsored content.

If you feel things haven’t gone as you envisioned, there was likely a communication breakdown somewhere. Always communicate your concerns. Your writer will happily work with you to make the right changes.

But if it looks good to you, then it probably is! Try to see the content through the eyes of the target audience. Is the content clear, informative and engaging? If yes, you’re good to go.

6. Make sure your facts are accurate and check for spelling

Sometimes the most obvious things are the easiest to overlook. Be sure to check the following when editing sponsored content:

• Names of people and programs
• Professional titles
• Dates
• Spelling and punctuation

Do you need to clarify something with a colleague? Be sure to do this before sending your edited content back to your content writer or editor. Coordinating the schedules of everyone who needs to “sign off” is essential for the fastest turnaround.

Once you’ve taken care of these basics, you can feel confident sending that “approved” email back to your writer.

Next steps for creating quality sponsored content

Remember, editing is the final part of the writing process. It helps to make your message as clear as possible to the reader. And it doesn’t have to be difficult. By following the six tips in this blog, you can confidently edit your next piece of sponsored content.

Are you looking to deliver your message in sponsored content tailored to the Chicagoland and metro Detroit markets? Talk to us. We have 35+ years of experience writing and editing content that engages readers. We can help you connect with the right audience.

Want to know more about creating quality sponsored content? Check out these articles:

• Key ways that sponsored content builds trust
• Making your sponsored content stand out over competitors