Learn the “secrets” behind the changes #1 editors make
and how to do them yourself
The ONLY content editing course that gives you tools & frameworks to improve your writing and cut editing time. Guaranteed to kill decision fatigue and build confidence.
Dear writer (new, experienced, or somewhere in between),Imagine every piece of content you write engages readers from start to finish.People are hooked, intrigued, and convinced by your lessons and stories.You tap into people’s emotions whenever you post or publish and attract dream clients into your pipeline.
This dream can become a reality, but only if you understand how to edit your content.
Your content deserves to be seen, read, and remembered.But…Weak editing skills sabotage your reach and conversions.If you don’t have a process for what to change and why, you’ll freeze.
You’ll never remove friction points because you struggle to identify what needs to get cut and what should stay.You’ll never kill your darlings, even though deep down, you know “clear, not clever” is the best way to keep readers in flow.And you’ll never become a faster writer because you edit as you write instead of separating the two and following a proven process.
This is a huge bummer for everyone involved.Your hard work gets ignored, and readers feel disappointed, confused, and bored because your content didn’t live up to its potential.There’s an easy fix to this, and it doesn’t involve going back to English class or studying grammar.See, Justin gets it:
Before I get into how editing works, let me tell you a little story:How I went from a low-paid Upwork writer furiously applying to 50+ jobs a day to becoming Head of Content and helping 1000s of writers upskill and earn more money.
Back then...
2 years later (with editing)...
Why editing is the key to good writing
Growing up, I loved writing but had no clue how to make money from it.I thought you needed an English degree or to become a journalist, neither of which I had or wanted to do.So, I zig-zagged my way from job to job, picking up valuable skills but feeling zero passion.
In 2016, I left my startup job in Boston and moved to Thailand to teach English. I was craving a change and playing with the idea of becoming a teacher like half my relatives were.I re-learned English grammar basics and taught it to 5-10-year-olds in a small Thai village.
It wasn’t like high school English class, which made most people (including me) sweat.It was fun. Checking my students’ work reignited my love for the English language, words, and wordplay.But the experience made me realize I didn’t want to teach forever—I wanted to play with words forever.
So, when I stopped teaching in 2017, I immediately started writing and editing. I applied to 50+ jobs daily on Upwork and accepted whatever I could get.But the second I started getting feedback, I realized I had a problem.For articles, social posts, you name it, I didn’t know how to write for people reading online.
My sentences averaged 25 words. My transitions were messy.I wrote in passive voice. I overused adverbs. I leaned into clichés.The way I'd learned to write in school, even the way I'd taught it to my Thai kids had been, well, pretty flawed.
Luckily, I had an Upwork client school me (kindly):
This was the first time I ever got editing feedback. It opened my eyes and immediately impacted my mindset and momentum.Over the next few months, I furiously paid attention to and applied every bit of feedback I got.I quickly improved, which helped me deliver better work and raise my prices.I also learned an important lesson…
Anyone can learn to edit
Editing is a skill anyone can learn, but only if they have a good teacher.Unfortunately, most people don’t have access to great editors.
Out of the 122 jobs I completed on Upwork, and dozens more referral gigs before I went in-house, I only ever had two good editors.And that’s more than most writers get. Typically, as a paid writer, you get no feedback or bad feedback.
The unhelpful kind of feedback says “Change this” rather than something helpful like, “Change this because X, Y, Z.”And if you’re a content creator or entrepreneur going it alone, you’ve got a .01% chance a professional editor will ever review your work.
So even though I got lucky with good feedback, I wanted to teach myself in tandem to speed up the learning process.But I quickly noticed finding decent editing resources online is nearly impossible.This is especially true for creating content and posting on social.
And if you do search for editing help, most advice on page 1 of Google tells you to “take a break” and “come back with fresh eyes” to edit later.True, sure. But so basic.There's next to nothing here about how to approach editing, what to look for, and what to do when you find it.
And if you turn to social media, the writing influencers you meet are obsessed with preaching that editing is a cutting exercise. Again, true, but only half the story.
I don’t blame people for conflating editing with cutting. Editing involves cutting tons of fluff. I even named my newsletter after this metaphor.But at its core, editing is a value-adding exercise, not a cutting one. Because when you’re cutting fluff, redundancy, and wordiness, you’re increasing value, not decreasing it.
When you remove friction, you add clarity.
This is why I loathe most editing advice on social media and page 1 of Google.It’s overly simplistic.The reality is that free editing advice is terrible and good editors are super expensive if you're lucky enough to find one.
Most people want to edit their content but don’t know what to do
Most people I talk to will spend hours on a first draft, check it for typos and obvious errors, and call it a day.That's "editing" to them.But they know deep down that even a few minutes of more purposeful editing could make what they wrote twice as engaging or effective.
If you feel stuck wanting to learn how to edit but are lost on where to start, you’re not alone.What are you meant to do with zero resources or guidance?I hear this from writers and content creators all the time, especially when I ask, “What is your biggest struggle with self-editing?”
So a common experience plays out…
You sit down to edit, and one of two things happens:
You don’t edit enough because you’re working off instinct and have zero processes
You edit too much because you second-guess every decision
Both situations absolutely suck.
You end up making your content worse, not better
You waste so much time because you don’t know when it’s “finished”
You pull your hair out, stare at the screen, and yell “What is the point of this?!”
Well, maybe the last one’s a bit dramatic. But I bet it’s not far off.It’s time to take back control of the editing process.
You deserve an editing roadmap.So you can stop feeling confused and start feeling confident about what changes to make and why they’ll improve your content.
When I built myself a step-by-step editing process, my content transformed.It took my writing from good to great and completely killed the endless cycle of second-guessing my decisions.And here's something I didn't expect.My writing started taking less time even though my content quality had gone up because of this "extra" step.
I quickly realized the impact this could have on other writers.So, I became obsessed with teaching writers, content creators, founders, or anyone writing online how to self-edit their content without feeling overwhelmed.
The result?Their writing improved.They enjoyed editing.Their engagement skyrocketed.And they grew their businesses.
...And the comments kept coming:
Once people noticed my tips were helping them, they started asking for an editing course:
Which is why I'm...
Announcing:
Content Editing 101
Most online writers try to learn and apply editing best practices all at once.
This is a ticket to overwhelm city and a great way to forget everything you've learned.You'll second-guess every decision you make. Obsess over small details. Get annoyed. And make no meaningful progress.And then, you'll give up. You’ll decide content editing is a waste of time or something you’ll never wrap your head around. You lean hard on spell-check and call it a day.
I built this course to save you from feeling overwhelmed by or hating this critical part of the writing process.And to give you a roadmap of what to do, when, and why.Content Editing 101 is designed to help you slow down and take it one step at a time.
I've also teamed up with AI Whisperer Rob Lennon to create a Learn → Do → Play experience.While AI is not great at content writing (yet), Rob has trained it to edit like a pro.
He's taken all of my lessons and built AI bots to help you apply what you've learned right away.So the course is both self-directed and interactive.And you walk away knowing the principles of editing but also having a set of automated editing tools to apply those principles more quickly.
Here's how the course works:
We’ll teach you the basics of how to self-edit
We’ll give you manual exercises to lock in your new knowledge
We’ll give you AI bots to help you immediately test and refine your skills
This expert advice + AI approach is powerful.We pioneered it in our Hooked on Writing Hooks course bundle, and it went so well, we're doing it again, but better.
Here’s what people who’ve used our collaborative products before have had to say:
What people are saying
"Erica goes beyond copywriting. She breaks down great writing into actionable frameworks with the examples and receipts to back them up."
— Amanda Natividad
VP Marketing @sparktoro, Contributor @adweek
"Erica is one of the writing accounts I actually pay attention to. She's a brilliant teacher, knows her stuff, and writes with style. When I have a writing question, I go to Erica."
—Kieran Drew
Ex-dentist turned content creator and entrepreneur
“Erica is a gift to the content marketing community and THE ONE to follow if you want to learn how to make edits that help your writing shine."
—Ashley Cummings
SaaS freelance writer and mentor
Here’s what you'll get:
The Content Editing 101 System
Part 1
Content Editing 101: Reset Your Writing Brain
Mindset Makeover for Writers: Reprogram yourself to see how cutting the fluff is actually adding to your content.
Overcome the Myth: Editing isn't only for professionals. Anyone can do it.
Editing Essentials Bootcamp: A quick dive into the three types of editing.
Part 2
Sentence Surgeon: Craft Powerful Sentences with Ease through Copy Editing
Redundancy Removal Toolkit: Techniques to eliminate unnecessary repetition.
Active Voice Activator: Transform passive to active voice for more impactful writing.
Tense Mastery Class: Understand tenses and why one rules the others.
Sentence Structure Simplified: The 4 types of sentences for strong and clear writing, plus when to go concise and when to go long.
BONUS! Specific Hook Secrets: One of our most popular lessons from Hooked on Writing Hooks (also a great editing tip).
Part 3
Big Picture Blueprint: Master Developmental Editing
Navigate the Narrative Gap: Identify and fix gaps in your content.
Amplify Your Argument: Techniques to make stronger, more persuasive arguments.
Structural Strategy: Master the flow from 'What' to 'Why' to 'How'.
All this will teach you everything you need to know to quickly sweep through your first drafts and take them from good to great.
Bonus #1: Content Editors Workbook ($50 value)
A convenient companion document for all of the exercises in the course.
Bonus #2: Your AI Learning Guides and Editors ($350 value)
This entire course is AI-Enabled
Explore each lesson with its own AI bot: Run your content through bots to see examples of the principles in action.
2 Editorbots: Access to a duo of virtual editors that are trained on the Content Editing 101 system for development editing and copy editing.
The addition of AI makes the course fun, easy, and interactive.It increases skill lock-in by giving you an extra mode to interact with the information.And you walk away with a suite of auto-editing tools to accelerate your journey.
Bonus #3: Live Editing Masterclasses (INCLUDED FREE)
Rob has written millions of words and self-published 47 titles on Amazon. I've edited millions of words and trained and managed content teams.Together, we sit down and put all the principles from the course into action in two mini masterclasses (~30 minutes each).The copy editing and developmental editing modules each come with a masterclass video where we focus on the types of edits talked about in that module.These are fun, insightful videos and for many people they'll end up being the most valuable part of the course.
With Content Editing 101 here's what happens.You'll get an editing roadmap and learn the frameworks from a series of video + written lessons.You'll get a workbook with short and fun exercises to quickly apply what you've learned.You'll get a set of interactive AI bots that can reveal similar edits in your writing.You'll get our video masterclasses with even more real-world examples.
Total Investment:
$799 $399
Purchasing power parity available in some countries. If eligible, see the top of this page for details.
More of What People Are Saying
Erica's Editorial Guarantee
I'm 100% confident in this course, enough to stick my name on the guarantee.If you don't find it valuable, if you don't feel your writing and editing skills improving, or if you simply feel it's not for you, request a full refund within 30 days of purchase and I'll help you out, no questions asked.I want you to feel completely at ease with your investment.Because I've seen over and over how powerful editing can be, and I know you will too.
Your FAQs Answered
Answers to some of the most common questions are below:
Q: I'm not a professional writer. Is this course for me?
A: Absolutely. The course is designed for anyone who wants to improve their writing skills, regardless of their current level or professional background. The editing techniques we teach are simple but nuanced — great for beginners but also sophisticated enough for seasoned writers.
Q: Can I expense this?
A: If you write for work, your boss would probably be delighted to invest in you.Here's a template you can use to ask your company to pay for the course:
Subject: quick expense requestHi [Boss],Just came across this course Content Editing 101 that I think could help us.It teaches techniques that transform your writing. The gist is that most people focus on that first draft and don't know how to improve it beyond fixing typos and obvious issues. This course gives a step-by-step roadmap of how to edit content from good to great.It's taught by Erica Schneider (content expert and editor of 3+ million words). She brought in Rob Lennon (AI educator & speaker) to enhance the course with interactive activities and AI editorbots.Would you approve me expensing a $299 investment in my skills? I'm happy to share my learnings with the wider team once I complete the course.Let me know if you need any other details! I'm excited about leveling up my skills.Thanks,
[Your name]
Q: I'm already a good writer. What can I gain from this course?
A: Even experienced writers often have blind spots when it comes to editing. Plus, the AI-powered tools can help you get an "outsider's" opinion on your writing to improve your content editing process.
Q: How long do I have access to the course material?
A: You get lifetime access to all the course materials. Plus, you can learn at your own pace, as there are no deadlines to complete the course.
Q: What if I don’t see any improvement in my writing?
A: If you diligently apply the techniques taught in the course and still don't see any improvement, simply reach out within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
Q: How long does it take to complete the course?
A: Most of the modules are on the shorter side, but also include 5-20 minute videos, examples, and activities. It's probably around a 3-4 hour total investment for most people.That said, if you just blast through the written lessons and exercises, you could probably finish in an hour. (Great for a refresher later down the line.)
Is Content Editing 101 for you?
How many of these sound familiar?
You want to be seen as a great writer
You enjoy up-skilling in a way that balances proven expertise with a fun, fast-paced style
To you, editing often means spell check and Grammarly and you want to change that
You can find flaws in your writing but it's stressful and defeating to try to fix them without a roadmap
You don't feel like your editing does justice to the effort you put into your first drafts
You struggle to cut the parts of your writing that most readers skip.
Sometimes you feel like editing is never-ending (and therefore sometimes it is never-beginning)
It's your turn to edit
By now, you know that the Content Editing 101 will transform your content writing from good to great.You've seen how it gives you an editing roadmap and teaches the material in a fun, interactive, self-paced way.The only question left is: Are you ready to take the leap?
Take the Content Editing 101 Challenge
Here's a challenge: commit to editing 3 posts or articles using the frameworks from Content Editing 101.We're confident that you'll see a difference in not just how you approach the writing process, but in how your writing is received.And if for any reason you don't, you're covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Content Editing 101 System
Content Editing 101: Reset Your Writing Brain — Mindset Makeover for Writers, Overcome the Editing Myth, Editing Essentials Bootcamp
Sentence Surgeon: Craft Powerful Sentences with Ease through Copy Editing — Redundancy Removal Toolkit, Active Voice Activator, Tense Mastery Class, Sentence Structure Simplified, BONUS! Specific Hook Secrets, Mini Copy Editing Masterclass
Big Picture Blueprint: Master Developmental Editing —Navigate the Narrative Gap, Amplify Your Argument, Structural Strategy, Mini Developmental Editing Masterclass
BONUS: Content Editor's Workbook ($50 VALUE) — A convenient companion document for all of the exercises in the course
BONUS: AI-Enabled Learning ($150 VALUE) — Each lesson and module comes with AI tools so you can see these types of edits in your own content
BONUS: Copy EditorBot and Developmental EditorBot ($200 VALUE) — AI bots that automatically suggest copy and development edits for your content
Erica's Editorial Guarantee (TRY RISK FREE)
For a total Investment of only...
$799 $399
Purchasing power parity available in some countries. If eligible, see the top of this page for details.
© 2024. All rights reserved.
Welcome to Content Editing 101!
Within a few seconds you'll be getting access to the course via email.And thank you so much for your support. Truly.The money we make from these projects all goes right back into supporting our families. It means the world to us because when you invest in yourself, we can invest in our kids.You're a rock star 🙏. See you inside!
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Content Editing 101
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