Content writing and content editing are two terms that have been used together so often, it can sometimes seem like they’re one and the same. But writing and editing are actually two very separate skills that are both essential to creating quality content.
What does a content writer do?
A professional content writer can help you grow your business by saving you time and allowing you to publish professional, high-quality content to engage visitors to your website. Learn more about why you need the services of a professional content writer here.
Content writers typically create content for online use, such as sales copy, e-books and blog posts. Aside from just writing content, these writers may also do research on the specific industry or niche they are writing content for to ensure that they use the right tone and voice when creating content.
What does a content editor do?
Content editors work to improve and hone all aspects of content to a professional and high-quality level. This means they pay particular attention to spelling and grammar, content organization and how each piece of content fits into the overall marketing strategy for the business. They may also find places to link to additional content or add items like photos or infographics to enhance the readability of the piece and reader engagement.
A content editor is often a big picture thinker, reviewing both the details and the overall goals of a piece of a content and determining how it fits into a brand’s marketing and content strategy.
While both writers and editors deal with content and ensure that each piece is in the best possible shape, the responsibilities of a content writer and a content editor are quite different. The two roles work together to produce quality, professional content for use in blogs, on websites and anywhere else content is needed. Learn more about the top things every photographer should know about content marketing in our blog post here.
You’ve probably heard about the right and left sides of the brain. The right side is considered creative and imaginative, while the left side is more practical and analytical. An easy way to understand the difference between a content writer and a content editor is to think of the writer as someone who uses the right side of the brain and the editor as someone who uses the left side of the brain. The writer comes up with the content and puts it together, while the editor focuses on the best way to organize the content, spelling and grammatical errors and how the content best fits into the overall marketing strategy.
A content writer creates the copy for a piece of content—for example, a blog post. That means they take a topic, such as wedding photography, perform research, create an outline and write a rough draft of the content before it is ever posted. Research can include speaking with experts, as well as reading articles and other content online.
The content writer may come up with the content topic on their own or may be assigned it, but either way, their job is to create original copy designed to appeal to and engage a specific audience. To do so, they not only have to understand the topic, but how it fits into the overall marketing strategy, what keywords to use and how to best communicate the concept to the desired audience.
Once the rough draft of the copy is completed, a content editor steps in to read over the content, suggest changes or reorganization and correct any spelling or grammatical errors they find. Editors may also suggest ideas for linking to additional content or adding a call-to-action or other information.
The goal of a content editor is not to change the message of the copy, but to provide suggestions that ensure the content delivers a clear, coherent and concise message that readers will understand. And since no first draft is perfect, an editor also looks for any mistakes the writer may have missed.
In short, a content writer is tasked with researching and drafting copy, while a content editor takes a broader view of how the copy fits into the marketing and content strategy as a whole. By working together, both roles create high-quality copy for publication.
Our MRFP blog posts were written by a professional content writer and proofread by a content editor, and you can access all of those blog posts here.