After the Draft: Tips to Edit That SaaS Article Like A Pro

Writing is easy, editing is not.

Wait, let me rephrase that. Writing a SaaS article is much easier than editing one.

Taking your first draft from a conglomerate of thoughts, research, and personal opinions into something worthy of thousands of reads requires much more than cutting and adding words.

So, in this article, I’ll share tips that will help you take your blog posts from their base form to Super Saiyan. Dive in!

Why Editing is Critical in SaaS Writing

Discussing the benefits of meticulously polishing your SaaS articles may seem needless. Everyone knows that editing makes articles 10x better.

However, the rise of AI-generated content has exacerbated the rush to rank higher, causing many brands to fall into the trap of prioritizing quantity over quality.

So, let’s go over them again, just in case.

Higher traffic

Good content attracts readers. So fine-tuning your articles until they properly address pain points and provide meaningful solutions will draw people to your brand.

That’s why a thoroughly edited post with proper SEO and content marketing will engage much more readers than a first draft with equally invested promotion.

Better ranking

Although SERP optimization and content promotion significantly determine how well your content ranks on Google and other search engines, so does the quality of your content.

Expertly proofread articles have higher accuracy and credibility than quickly drafted think-pieces, making them rank higher on search engines.

In the SaaS industry, where technical details are essential, errors or inaccuracies can lead to your audience losing trust in your brand, lowering your ranking. Thorough editing helps catch and rectify factual errors, ensuring your content is credible and reliable.

Increased adoption rates

Publishing excellent SaaS articles presents opportunities to increase the number of sign-ups your product has.

Furthermore, impeccable CTAs, which increase conversion rates, work best when your content engages your readers well enough to read them.

Consider this: If readers see how helpful your article is, won’t they wonder how much more helpful your product is?

Consistent brand voice and tone

In a rush to meet up with the ever-increasing competition, it can be tempting to push out articles once they pass the basic Grammarly check.

But not bothering to check whether they align with your brand tone and voice can be dangerous for your brand identity.

That’s why ensuring your company's tone remains consistent in your content is essential, as it builds brand recognition and trust with your audience.

Things to consider before you write

Every writer knows to ‘just write’ when drafting an article. However, having a wholesome first draft can save you a lot of editing time.

A detailed content brief is great and significantly cuts down research time. But if you have to start with an empty canvas, here are some helpful tips.

Begin with the end in mind

As a rule of thumb, don’t start any SaaS article without knowing what it’s supposed to do.

It could be creating awareness about a new feature, showing how a product can solve a common problem, or both. Just make sure that you write in a manner consistent with the objective.

Create an outline

Keeping your writing specific is important, as SaaS articles can become very technical. Going off-point risks fatiguing your readers and making them leave.

Creating an outline is a great solution; it helps you streamline your creativity while you write. So draft out your article’s headings and write summaries of the points you want to explore under them.

It’s best to draft an outline after doing preliminary keyword research and competitor analysis, as they can determine the length of your article.

Research extensively

Once you have an outline, conducting research becomes easier. In SaaS, this means reading through several articles, case studies, reports, and SME opinions.

Researching deeply gives you enough knowledge to write your first draft without interrupting your flow to Google info.

Know which keywords to target

One of the most painful parts of editing is looking for spaces to chip in keywords organically. It’s best to avoid this problem by doing keyword research before beginning your article.

When you know which keywords to target, you can include them as you type away your first draft. This cuts down the time you spend optimizing for search engines.

Tips to consider while editing

You’re done drafting. It took you a couple of hours, some coffee breaks, and typing in awkwardly comfortable positions, but you’re done.

And now it’s time for even more challenging work: being your own critique and making corrections thoughtfully.

Thankfully, editing is easier when you know what to look out for. So, beyond the usual spelling, grammar, and punctuation checks, here are some tips to streamline your process and ignite the ruthless editor in you.

Start by cutting fluff

Filler words and sentences are the bane of good writing; cutting them out can significantly improve your work.

To begin, check for redundancy. Delete vague words and phrases and replace repeated ones with synonyms. Here’s an example from Erica Schneider, a seasoned editor and Head of Content at Grizzle:

“Aligned sales and marketing teams boost sales effectiveness. When these teams are aligned, communication and collaboration improve, and revenue grows.”

See how “aligned” feels a bit yucky since it’s repeated 2x?

You can use a synonym instead:

“Aligned sales and marketing teams boost sales effectiveness. When these teams work together, communication and collaboration improve, and revenue grows.”

This rule applies to repeated ideas as well. If a sentence has passed a point already, there’s no need to state it in a slightly different structure.

Edit for clarity and vary sentence length

When editing, ensuring clarity is quintessential. This means that if there’s a simpler way to pass information to your readers, you should go for it.

In the fiercely competitive world of SaaS, ensuring your content is the easiest to understand can translate to hundreds more signups to your product than alternatives.

There are several ways to break chunky paragraphs and complex ideas into simple points. These include using more H3 subheadings, opting for bullet points, and comparison tables when necessary.

Also, keep your sentences short because long sentences bore readers. If a sentence must be above 17 words, it’s best to keep it as a standalone paragraph for easy reading.

Ensure logical flow

Having highly contrasting sentences follow each other can make reading your article difficult.

While adding transitional words can make poorly connected points sound in sync, it’s like putting a bandaid on a wound that needs stitching.

“It's a huge mistake to segment every section of your article as individual arguments,” says John Iwuozor, a contributing writer for Forbes.

“This results in disconnection and disturbs the flow of your piece. Your content should drive towards one goal, and every section should be seen as an opportunity to achieve that goal or edge closer to it. Watch out for transitions and connections between concepts,” he adds.

Fact-check your work

Verifying the accuracy of your content is a great way to establish trust with your audience and save your brand from embarrassment.

So, when editing, check all the facts and figures you stated in the article. Does authentic research back up every point? Even if your data is genuine, make sure to reference your sources.

Optimize for search engines

You can worry about search engine optimization once you’re done with the intricate parts of editing. Make sure to chip in as many essential keywords as often as you can.

Insert all LSI keywords organically, and make sure they flow with the article and make sense in their position.

Ensure no inserted links are broken; add relevant images with alt text if necessary.

Rewrite your intro, conclusion, and CTA

Consider the intro, conclusion, and call-to-action you wrote in your first draft as placeholders.

Your intro is the first thing most readers see and a significant determiner of whether they continue reading your article. So, it only makes sense to rewrite or thoroughly edit it until it sounds too good to skip.

This rule applies to your conclusion and CTA, the coup de grâce of your article. Wholesome articles need great endings. Furthermore, you can’t convince people to sign up for a SaaS product with sloppy copywriting.

So, edit these parts until you make your competition consider switching to your product.

Final thoughts

Editing a SaaS article is painful work, regardless of whether it makes your article ten times better. However, it becomes slightly tolerable when you know what to look out for.

Proofreading is much easier when you have a great first draft. So this article contains not just best practices for post-draft editing but also things you should bear in mind before writing.

If followed, the tips in this article will ensure your brand stays above the crowd with quality, engaging content.