Commercially powerful editing deals with more than words. It also considers format and makes intelligent use of empty space.

1. It’s really important to break your text into bite sized bits
2. headers and subheads let visitors pick out key facts fast 
3. dividing content lets you split vital information into logical blocks so it’s easy to digest
4. breaking chunks of text into short paragraphs helps visitors read and understand your message
5. bullet points and lists help you communicate complex information in a simple format so people can easily sort through and evaluate it

The space between headers and body text, paragraphs and subheads is equally important:

• Including space allows readers to pick out key facts fast, helping them find what they want quickly
• Spaces make your message seem more manageable, so people linger for longer
• Spaces make your copy more visually interesting, so people read more

Obviously a happy, well-informed, entertained visitor will buy more stuff than one who is frustrated, bored and confused.  So canny editing is a must rather than a ‘nice to have’!

• As your site evolves, it can get cluttered. Old stuff gets shoved into corners and archived all over the place. Its
  always worth making a regular date to evaluate what you really need on site and what can go. A clean, clear site
  means visitors can find their way around easily and don’t get blinded by too much content. 
• You might have several people providing the content, which soon starts to sound inconsistent… not good for your
  brand, no matter what size your business is. When you speak with a consistent voice, your message comes across
  with much more authority. 
• You might have written the site yourself to test the concept of your business. To take things to the next stage, you’d
  want to get your site into professional shape. Editing’s a cost effective way to get you where you want to be and
  saves you the cost of having your website written from scratch. 
• Stuff gets out of date. Before you know it your site’s full of broken links, old stock, events that have long passed.
  Which makes you look out of touch. When did you add your last new customer testimonial? If it isn’t recent, it’ll look like nobody loves you. 
• Your existing copy might, simply, be a bit pants! Intelligent, creative editing will bring you in line with the competition. One of the biggest advantages a professional copy editor brings to your party is impartiality. You live and breathe your business so you probably (be honest!) can’t see straight where your site content’s concerned. A regular, intelligent, marketing-focused edit will help you grow your business from a solid, effective, inspirational base.

Talk’s cheap! So here’s a quick sample showing what editing can do to liven up your website content.

First, a chunk of original text:

Last year the state’s sorghum production was 505 million bushels, 40% of total US production. Kansas growers value grain sorghum because it is well suited to perform well in many types of soils and weather. Kansas is a diverse state with soils ranging from sandy to clay to loam, and with summertime weather patterns ranging from hot and humid in the east to hot and dry in the west. With these varying weather and soil conditions throughout Kansas, grain sorghum is a crop that Kansas farmers can depend on.

And my edited version: 

Kansas has some crazy weather conditions. From blizzard to heatwave to twister, humid hot to freezing cold. The state’s challenging soil conditions don’t help: from sandy to clay to loam. And everything in between. Luckily, Kansas farmers can depend on grain sorghum. Despite everything, last year Kansas produced a massive 505 million bushels of this hardy, resilient, dependable crop. That’s 40% of the US’s total grain harvest.