I’m sharing the quick version of a writing workshop I did earlier this month for marketers. It may help make hitting “publish,” a little less scary.

I’d love it if you could forward this email to a friend who's in business and interested in content to help their marketing. I would appreciate it. And if you’re that friend? Subscribe today.

— Ann Gynn

🟩 ATTRACT → 🟧 CONVERT → ⬜ RETAIN → ⬛ AMPLIFY

You finish drafting a blog article, newsletter, or social media post. It’s time to trade your creator hat for your editor chapeau. Wearing both can make hitting “publish” scary. 

I've learned firsthand that editing works best when you stop trying to fix everything at once. Use a five-pass process. Each round does a different job so you can confidently launch your content into the world.

Before you worry about the words, look at the content as a whole. Does it deliver something useful to your intended audience? Does it accomplish what your business needs it to do?

For example, if you wrote a blog post that could help prospective customers understand a common problem, will they leave with a better understanding? If your business goal is to attract future customers, does the content give them a reason to consider your business when they’re ready for help?

If the content doesn’t deliver for the audience or the business, fixing the grammar won’t matter.

Check your facts, statistics, examples, and claims. Can you verify them? Have you accurately represented the sources?

Pay particular attention to words like “always,” “never,” “guaranteed,” and “proven.” They often turn reasonable observations into promises you can't support.

And if you used AI to research or write any portion, verify the information against the original sources. AI's confidence isn't evidence of accuracy.

Read your headline. Does the content deliver what it promises?

Then look at the intro. Does it give people a reason to continue reading? Does it become clear what they'll get from the content?

Read the subheads on their own. Do they tell a logical story? Does the content flow naturally from one point to the next?

Remember, people shouldn't have to work hard to understand what you're trying to tell them.

Now you’re ready to focus on the words and sentences.

Replace unnecessarily complicated language. Cut repetition. Choose stronger verbs. Look for opportunities to make the content more conversational and interesting.

But don't edit the personality out of it. Your voice is one of the things that makes your business different from everyone else's.

Finally, check spelling, grammar, punctuation, names, and numbers. Look for inconsistencies. If you use a term one way at the beginning, make sure you haven't changed it halfway through.

Don't rely exclusively on spellcheck. A correctly spelled word can still be the wrong word. And if numbers are involved, check the math.

You don't have to complete these five passes in separate sittings. For a short social post, they may take only a few minutes. A lengthy article may require more time.

You can enlist AI as your assistant throughout the process. Think of it as your sous chef: It can help prepare and check the work, but you're still the one responsible for the finished product. Ask it to assess the content against your goals, identify unsupported claims, flag confusing transitions, or proofread the final version. But don't automatically accept every suggestion. Remember, you're still the editor.

Once your content passes all five checks, it's ready. You could probably keep changing it, but that doesn't mean you're improving it. Stop editing and hit “Publish.”

Got a question you’d like me to answer in a future edition of The Hotline? Call or text Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.

This week: With your next content draft, give it the five-pass edit: strategy, credibility, structure, language, and proof. Do it on your own first, then enlist AI to help with each pass.

At Content Marketing World, I attended 20 presentations, taking notes and photographing slides along the way. Afterward, I uploaded my raw notes and slide images to ChatGPT, along with the session schedule. Because the photos were timestamped, ChatGPT could match them to the appropriate presentations. Then I asked it to organize everything. Each session got a folder with the text and slides, plus a synthesis document that analyzed my written notes and the slide content.

Instead of spending hours sorting photos and notes, I got to writing about the presentations in 15 minutes.

Have any AI tricks of your own? Hit reply, call, or text the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.

61% of marketers say this is the biggest marketing shift in decades.

Get the data and trends shaping growth in 2026 with this groundbreaking state of marketing report.

Inside you’ll discover:

Download your 2026 state of marketing report today.

Get Your Report

Review the call to action in a recent blog article, email, or social media post. Does it clearly tell readers what to do next? Does it give them a reason to do it?

Make changes if necessary. Instead of “Learn more,” try “See how the service works.” Instead of “Contact us,” try “Schedule a 15-minute consultation.”

That small change can make your offer more compelling.

💬Social proof: An SE Ranking analysis finds that a social or community site was cited in almost 77% of Google’s top 10 results for 100,000 keywords across 20 niches. So think of a Reddit thread, a YouTube video, or a Quora answer as valuable content.

🤝Connection system: The US Chamber shares 10 free or low-cost tools for customer relationship management tools. CRMs are essential for long-term prospect and customer marketing.

📊Indirectly direct: UTM tracking parameters from links in ChatGPT seem to have been removed by OpenAI. Visitors from the AI tool may now be incorrectly classified as direct traffic in website analytics.

Not a subscriber? Join the Marketing By One community today. Sign up for the free weekly newsletter!

Got a question you’d like me to answer in The Hotline? Email me or DM me on LinkedIn. Even better: Text or leave a message on the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.