Spoiler: as an assistant (not a replacement).
We’ve been interviewing many professional copywriters and communication managers recently.
One insight we’ve consistently heard is that pros don’t use AI to generate entire texts — they use it as an assistant for brainstorming and editing.
Rather than replacing human creativity, AI can augment it, helping copywriters and brand marketing managers streamline their workflow without compromising authenticity.
How exactly do they use AI and how could you, too?
Find out in this blog post that includes:
- The most important editing goals.
- Key insights from the most famous books on editing.
- Tips on self-editing.
- The essentials of editing with AI.
Let’s start with the basics. What exactly happens during editing?
Why Editing Is a Crucial Step in Text Creation
Writing a marketing text is a multi-step process. It begins with research and planning, where you define your audience, set objectives, and gather key information about the product or service.
Next, move to ideation and outlining, brainstorming key messages and structuring the content to flow logically.
The drafting phase comes next, where you write the first version, focusing on engagement, benefits, and a compelling call to action.
Once the draft is complete, enter the editing and refining stage, where you — or another editor — polish the text for clarity, conciseness, and tone consistency, ensuring it aligns with brand messaging.
Finally, conduct testing and optimization, reviewing performance through A/B testing or feedback and making adjustments to maximize impact.
As some with a background in journalism, I’m a firm believer that editing is the stage where the real magic happens.
No matter how skilled a writer is, the first draft is rarely perfect. Editing is the crucial step that refines raw ideas, polishes language, and ensures clarity, coherence, and effectiveness.
Without proper editing, even the most well-researched and creatively written text can fall flat.
These are the key areas where editing makes an impact:
Come up With the Right Angle
Many writers specialize in a specific niche. This can be intentional or happen organically if they work with agencies serving a particular industry.
If you've already written over 200 blog articles on, say, fishing, writing another 50 can be challenging. Even coming up with one more title may be tricky. What context can bring a fresh angle to the story?
This is where LLMs come to the rescue. When you need to brainstorm, they provide steady results—in seconds. But you’re still in charge, deciding if the ideas are good enough.
Didn’t like anything? Iterate. Your assistant won’t complain (and that’s one of the reasons we love it).
Transforming Ideas into Impactful Communication
At its core, writing is about communicating ideas. However, first drafts are often cluttered with unnecessary words, unclear phrasing, and unstructured thoughts.
Editing allows writers to refine their message, ensuring that every word serves a purpose. It helps eliminate ambiguity, making sure that the reader understands exactly what the writer intends to convey.
For instance, a marketing copy may start with a compelling idea, but if the message isn’t edited for clarity and precision, it might not persuade the audience as effectively as it should.
Editing sharpens the focus, ensuring the message is not only clear but also compelling.
Ensuring Logical Structure and Flow
A strong narrative or argument follows a logical progression, and editing ensures that ideas are presented in a way that makes sense to the reader.
Without careful editing, a piece of writing might jump from one topic to another without clear connections, leaving readers confused or disengaged.
Editors look at the big picture, rearranging sentences and paragraphs, adjusting transitions, and ensuring the text flows naturally from start to finish.
Strengthening the Tone and Voice
Every piece of brand writing has a tone and a voice, whether it’s formal, conversational, persuasive, or authoritative.
Editing helps maintain a consistent tone that aligns with the intended audience and purpose.
For instance, a brand that wants to establish itself as friendly and approachable should ensure its marketing materials maintain a warm and engaging tone.
If certain sections sound too formal or robotic, editing will bring the voice back in line with the brand’s identity.
Eliminating Redundancies and Enhancing Conciseness
One of the most common issues in first drafts is unnecessary wordiness. Good editing trims the fat, removing redundant words and phrases without losing meaning.
The goal is to make the text as clear and concise as possible, making it easier and more enjoyable to read.
Catching Errors That Undermine Credibility
Even the most well-crafted argument can be weakened by typos, grammar mistakes, or inconsistencies.
Editing ensures that a piece of writing is polished and professional. Editing also ensures consistency in spelling, punctuation, and style.
Refining Persuasion and Engagement
For marketing, advertising, or sales copy, the effectiveness of the text often depends on its ability to persuade and engage the audience.
Editing strengthens arguments, improves emotional appeal, and ensures that calls-to-action (CTAs) are clear and compelling.
How Can You Learn To Edit?
The best editors I’ve worked with did master their craft not only by practicing but also learning from the stars of the profession.
What are the most famous books on editing and what are their key insights?
The Elements of Style – William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White
One of the most enduring style guides, The Elements of Style is a must-read for anyone who wants to write with clarity, precision, and elegance.
Strunk’s original principles focus on conciseness, avoiding unnecessary words, and structuring sentences for maximum impact.
White later expanded on these ideas, adding sections on tone, voice, and the writer’s responsibility to their audience.
Beyond mechanics, the book also addresses the art of style, reminding writers that while grammar and structure are important, good writing must also have personality and rhythm.
It teaches that strong writing should be both efficient and engaging, using examples to illustrate common pitfalls and improvements.
Even though the book is brief, its lessons have influenced generations of editors, journalists, and writers.
On Writing Well – William Zinsser
Zinsser’s On Writing Well is a masterclass in writing clarity, simplicity, and readability.
Focused primarily on nonfiction, Zinsser argues that good writing is about stripping away clutter and getting to the heart of the message.
He emphasizes the importance of rewriting as a natural and necessary part of the process, urging writers to embrace editing as a way to refine their thoughts and sharpen their prose.
The book also explores elements such as confidence and the writer’s relationship with their subject matter.
Zinsser insists that writing should be enjoyable and encourages writers to find their unique voice.
He covers different forms of nonfiction, from journalism to memoir writing, always reinforcing the idea that the best writing is clear, direct, and full of personality.
**The Chicago Manual of Style – The University of Chicago Press
A cornerstone of professional editing, The Chicago Manual of Style is the definitive resource for writers, editors, and publishers.
It provides detailed guidance on grammar, punctuation, and formatting, making it indispensable for anyone working in publishing, academia, or journalism.
Covering everything from citation styles to manuscript preparation, the book is designed as a reference guide rather than a cover-to-cover read.
It also includes sections on writing style and editorial decision-making, offering advice on how to maintain consistency and clarity in long-form writing.
While it’s heavily focused on technical accuracy, The Chicago Manual of Style also acknowledges that writing is an evolving craft, encouraging editors to adapt rules when necessary to maintain readability and coherence.
_Dreyer’s English – Benjamin Dreyer
Benjamin Dreyer, the longtime copy chief at Random House, brings humor and personality to editing in Dreyer’s English.
The book is part style guide, part personal reflection on what makes writing sharp, engaging, and correct.
Dreyer’s approach is both educational and entertaining, offering memorable lessons on grammar, punctuation, and word choice without feeling dry or overly rigid.
A key takeaway from the book is that while grammar and structure are important, great writing also requires an understanding of rhythm and style.
Dreyer offers insights into common mistakes, overused words, and industry secrets that can help both professional writers and casual editors refine their work.
He balances prescriptive grammar rules with a modern, flexible approach to language, making this a refreshing and useful book for contemporary writers.
The Subversive Copy Editor – Carol Fisher Saller
Carol Fisher Saller’s The Subversive Copy Editor is a practical, witty, and realistic guide for professional editors.
Unlike traditional style guides, this book focuses on the human side of editing — how to collaborate effectively with writers, navigate editorial disputes, and balance perfection with efficiency.
Saller, a longtime editor at The Chicago Manual of Style, provides insider tips on managing workflow, avoiding unnecessary edits, and respecting the writer’s voice while ensuring clarity and correctness.
One of the book’s key messages is that editing is not about enforcing rigid rules, but about improving communication between the writer and the reader.
Saller encourages editors to be flexible, diplomatic, and thoughtful in their work, ensuring that their edits enhance rather than overpower the writing.
This makes the book an essential read for anyone who works with writers, whether in publishing, content creation, or journalism.
Some of these books work for situations where the writer and the editor are two different people. But that is not always the case — many people edit their own work, and nowadays, professional copywriters also use AI to edit their drafts.
Editing Your Own Text vs. Having Another Person as an Editor
In journalism you typically would have another person edit your draft. I’ve always considered it a luxury, but some people find it dreadful, because it exposes them to the judgement of another person at a vulnerable drafting stage.
And sometimes, another person is just not available. How do these scenarios differ?
External Editor
Having another person edit your text — whether a colleague, professional editor, or even a trusted peer — brings a fresh set of eyes that can catch overlooked errors and inconsistencies.
External editors provide valuable feedback on tone, message clarity, and reader impact. They can also help eliminate jargon, tighten weak arguments, and ensure the text aligns with brand messaging.
Self-Editing
While external editors provide invaluable insights, self-editing done strategically can still yield high-quality marketing texts.
The key is to approach editing with fresh eyes, structured techniques, and iterative improvements.
When editing your own writing, it's essential to create distance from the text to spot errors more objectively.
Take a break before reviewing your work — this helps reset your perspective. Read the text aloud to catch awkward phrasing, redundancies, or unnatural flow.
Edit in multiple rounds: first for structure and clarity, then for conciseness and grammar, and finally for tone and engagement.
The Case For Collaborative Intelligence: Editing With AI
AI-powered editing is becoming an increasingly popular choice not only for situations where an external editor is not available, but also for saving time for a human editor.
At Writitude we strongly believe that the best use of AI is not to replace human creativity but to enhance it.
Using AI to edit texts can save time, improve accuracy, and provide valuable insights that might be missed in manual editing.
Here’s why AI should be an essential part of your writing and editing process.
Speed Up the Editing Process
AI-powered editing tools such as Writitude can analyze text in seconds, instantly identifying issues such as misalignment with brand’s tone of voice, awkward phrasing, and inconsistencies.
This allows writers to focus on refining ideas rather than getting stuck in minor corrections.
Instead of spending 30 minutes reworking a paragraph, Writitude can suggest improvements in real-time, allowing you to polish your work in minutes.
As you probably already know, Writitude provides real-time feedback on style, tone, and readability of the text, ensuring every piece aligns with the brand’s identity.
It enables copywriters to cut unnecessary words, enhance the flow, and fine-tune phrasing without losing creative control.
Let’s say, Writitude points you to a overly wordy sentence that does not align with a bouncy and dynamic character of the brand you are writing for.
It’s not always easy to see, how you can shorten it without losing the key message, and this is where AI can help you do it effectively.
For professionals working on tight deadlines — whether it's a marketing campaign, a blog post, or a brand presentation — it can be a lifesaver, making the editing process more efficient without sacrificing quality.
Improve Accuracy and Catch Hidden Mistakes
Even the most skilled writers make mistakes, and even the most experienced editors can overlook details.
That is how high-profile typos have made some publications famous, but generally, this is not the result you are aiming at.
Writitude acts as an extra layer of scrutiny, catching typos, grammar mistakes, and punctuation errors that may be missed during manual proofreading.
It doesn’t get tired or distracted, meaning it can maintain a high level of accuracy regardless of workload or time constraints.
Enhance Clarity and Readability
AI-based rewriting and rephrasing built into Writitude can help make writing more concise, clear, and engaging.
Not every sentence lands perfectly on the first try. Sometimes, a sentence is too long, overly complex, or just doesn’t flow as smoothly as intended.
By cutting unnecessary words, it refines the message without altering its meaning, making it more impactful.
After all, cutting the unnecessary words, squeezing the water out or whatever metaphor you prefer, is the first principle of all the iconic editing guides we discussed earlier.
Maintain a Consistent Tone and Style
For brands, maintaining a consistent voice across different pieces of content is crucial. And this is the essence of Writitude, the task it was built for — to ensure that every piece of content aligns with a brand’s writing guidelines.
Even if no other kind of feedback is available, Writitude will guide you so that your texts stay on the style and tone track.
Overcome Writer’s Block and Get New Ideas
Editing isn’t just about fixing mistakes — many times it’s also about getting unstuck. Writitude can suggest alternative word choices, rewrite sentences, and expand on ideas to make the writing more engaging.
Sometimes, a great idea gets cut short due to time constraints or creative blocks. Writitude can help flesh out a brief thought into a well-developed argument, making sure no valuable insight gets lost in translation.
This can be incredibly useful when you feel stuck or unsure of how to improve a section.
By acting as a brainstorming partner, Writitude helps writers break through creative blocks and produce stronger content.
If you haven’t tried AI-enhanced editing, try it now. Smart editing is a game-changer for writers, marketers, and businesses.
It accelerates the editing process, ensures accuracy, enhances clarity, and maintains consistency in tone and style.
Whether you’re a solo content creator or part of a large marketing team, it will speed up the process, cut feedback loops dramatically and make you happier with the final result.
