6 Tips to Editing a Published Article
How to capitalize on the lessons we’ve learned about the Editorial Re-review Process.
FACT: The more articles you have published the more traffic you’ll receive.
FACT: Editing a published (live) article may reduce the traffic you’ll receive.
FACT: Occasionally you need to edit an article after it’s been published.
In February we gave you the option of editing your articles after they’d been approved and published on EzineArticles. In order to maintain the quality of those revised articles, however, it’s still necessary to have 2 human editors review each one as if it were a brand new article. We call this quality-control step the Re-Review Process.
During the Editorial Re-Review Process, your old article version will remain live (published) and will still be working for you to drive traffic back to your site and build your credibility and exposure. Once your revisions to the article are approved, the newly accepted version of the article will replace the old version.
Unfortunately, there are times when the revised article doesn’t get approved. In that case you’ll be notified via email that you have 30 days to make the necessary changes and resubmit your article for another editorial review.
But wouldn’t it be a lot easier to get your edited article approved the first time? Of course. The good news is that over the last several months, our Editors have come to realize that there are 6 key reasons why resubmitted articles aren’t approved on the first attempt. In this video, I’ll share their insights and the tips they’ve developed to help make the Re-Review Process as painless as possible.
Downloadable Versions:
6 Tips to Getting Your Revised Article Approved on the First Attempt:
- Match the Name(s) in the Resource Box to the Author(s) in the Byline – Surprisingly, this is the most common rejection in the re-review process. If you are listed as the author, then the Resource Box needs to either a) Make no mention of anyone (although companies are fine), or b) Clearly distinguish you as the author. This prevents the reader from wondering who really wrote the article they just read – which, in turn, increases your credibility.
- Check All Links – You’ve spent a long time crafting your articles so readers will click your links. Don’t blow your chance to impress them with a link that’s broken or that leads to a site without content! If you need to remove a link, be sure to take out any language referring to it in the body or Resource Box, or the reader will be very confused and dissatisfied.
- Follow our Current Editorial Guidelines – We’re continually raising the bar on the quality of the articles we’ll accept. That means articles previously approved may actually be rejected when put through the re-review process. And remember, that all articles are held to the same editorial standards regardless of author level or submission type.
- Be Certain your Revised Content Delivers on the Article Title – If your title says you’re about to give the reader 5 tips, then make sure you still deliver 5 tips. Make sure your revisions fulfill the promise of your article title.
- Verify that your Revisions have Correct Spelling and Grammar – Take a few minutes to proofread your revisions. Spell checker is not enough. Read your revisions out loud to ensure your revisions are correct.
- Only Make Necessary Changes – Don’t change more than you have to or continually change an article. That will not only waste your time but our editors time as well. If your changes are extensive, then perhaps it’s time for a new article.
Just because you have the option to edit an article, doesn’t mean you should. If you want to tweak the message because you learned something new, don’t edit an already existing article; WRITE A NEW ONE. Allow your articles to keep working for you. Remember, the more high-quality live articles you have, the more traffic, exposure and credibility you’ll receive – so only edit the articles that really need it. Your time can be better spent writing great articles and not agonizing over making each one perfect.
You’ll notice that the tips we discussed here apply to new article submissions as well to those that are being edited and resubmitted. Now take these tips and put them to good use and write and submit your next set of quality original articles … if you have to, edit a few of your currently published articles.
Leave a comment with any other tips you have for making the Re-Review Process a little more painless.
Les,
Yes, every change made to an article will require a review by our editors.
June 30, 2010 at 8:50 AM[Reply]