When you edit your blog posts, be sure to catch this common mistake… [Become A Better Blogger]

Published: Tue, 04/05/16

This is going to be a short email.

But with an important tip for editing your blog posts.

I personally edit and press publish on most of the blog posts that go live on 5MinutesForMom.com. 


And in almost every guest post and many of those written by our contributors — including Janice — I make this one change, over and over.


First let me say, writing and editing are a matter of personal opinion, and so you may not agree with me. But if you are submitting blog posts to other websites, I do recommend you take this advice.


Take out (almost) all exclamation points!


It’s okay if you sprinkle your first draft with tons of exclamation points as you type out your thoughts with your excitement bursting.


But then go through and remove most of them. If you really need one or two, let that be the limit.


I’m not a professional writer or editor, I’m simply a blogger who has been reading, writing and editing blog posts for a decade. But trust me, the blogosphere has too many exclamation marks already. 


Your writing will appear more professional without asking your reader to raise her voice at the end of your sentences.


Now, let me say… this advice doesn’t not apply to social posts on Twitter, Facebook etc. In more casual channels, lots of exclamation points are more acceptable.


And if your blog style is super casual, by all means, use as many exclamation points as you want.


However, if you are blogging at a professional level where you are being paid to review products, I recommend that you read through your blog post before you hit publish. If you have more than a couple exclamation points in the post, just change most of them to periods.


It’s a simple edit and your blog post will look more professional.


​​​​​​​​​​​​​​What Do You Want To Know?

What would you like me to cover next week? Shoot me back a quick reply and let me know.

Talk soon,

Susan (and Janice)
5 Minutes For Mom

ps. To tell your friends about this "Become a Better Blogger" email series, you can send them here.