If you're using article marketing to drive traffic to your website, learning some basic editing skills will save your life when it comes to creating articles that readers will enjoy reading and publishers will want to publish. This article will show you 7 essential editing steps every article marketer should know.

Tip #1: Put your article away for a few days and then look at it with fresh eyes.

This is what I always tell folks, and from my own experience I know that giving my brain a rest and completely wiping the article from my mind helps me spot errors that I glanced right over just a few days prior. Ideally, you would write a first draft, put it aside for a few days, edit, then put aside your final draft for few days, then re-read it before you submit your article.

Tip #2: Print your article on paper.

There is something about holding a piece of writing in your hands and reading it *away* from the computer that helps with the editing process. I will usually print out whatever writing piece I'm working on the night before, and then the next morning I'll sit at the kitchen table with a red pen close at hand. I'll make my changes, then go to the computer to change the article there.

Tip #3: Read your article out loud.

I use this technique with every single article, and it helps me so much. It's amazing the subtle phrasing awkwardness or grammar mistakes you can notice just by reading your article out loud.

Tip #4: Weed out what is not absolutely necessary.

Every word, sentence, and paragraph must *earn* a spot in your article. Any article that is longer than it needs to be is nothing to brag about. The ultimate goal is to craft an article that conveys exactly the information you want to get across in as few words as possible.

Tip #5: Use vocabulary that is easily digestible.

Did you know that most newspapers are purposely written on a 2nd grade level? Journalists are not trying to insult the intelligence of their readers; they just want to make their articles as easy to read as possible. Follow in the footsteps of the pros-- chop out all fancy words, niche jargon and pretentious phrasing. You should write in an approachable way that everyone can understand.

Tip #6: Customize your writing to fit the medium of article marketing.

Sometimes I'll run into folks who complain that the word count limit of most article directories is too short. You see, they have a 10 page essay that has won awards, and they feel like chopping any bit of it will compromise the integrity of the piece. I always tell folks that their article must be customized to fit the medium. Article marketing publishers are not looking for 10 page essays, and readers won't read all that anyway!

So, if you have some pre-made content, like a book or some essays that you've written that you know are of excellent quality, know that you will need to alter that content to suit article marketing. Most directories have a word count limit of around 400-1500 words, so re-work your content to fit within those boundaries.

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