A Content Writer's Life

Grammar and Content Writing

2008-11-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Grammar is a very tricky subject when thinking about content writing. Most web writing articles out there will tell you that you always have to use good grammar in your articles. Well, this rule is meant to be broken if you will gain advantages from it. What you will consider good grammar is not necessarily something that your reader will think good grammar. The good news is that you can basically manipulate English grammar in order to gain something. Sometimes the strict rules associated will hinder easy reading. Remember that we are writing for everybody and for the Internet. It is not as we are writing a book that is to be published and used as material in a college. Here are some things that you should consider when writing!

Paste Tense and Present Tense Use

There is one English Grammar rule that says your sentence must continue with Past Tense if it starts with Past Tense. For Instance, if we say that "BBC reported that Malaria was still a problem in the world" it would be correct. If we were to say that "BBC reported that Malaria is still a problem in the world", English grammar would tell us that it is a mistake. Now that particular report meant to say that Malaria is currently still a worldwide problem. Why not say exactly that when we write about it for the Internet? Confusing the reader is never a great idea, especially when talking into account the Basics of Web Content Writing.

Bullet Lists

Now we all know that bullet lists are very good to draw user attention. On the other hand, grammar use tells us that you have are not allowed to use capital letters at the beginning of the listed items and at the end you need to use punctuation. For instance, this bullet list would be correct:

We Like to Write About:
- news;
- gadgets;
- fitness;
- nutrition.

Now let us imagine we would write everything like this:

We like to Write About:
- News
- Gadgets
- Fitness
- Nutrition

We are basically expressing bullet ideas. What need is there for punctuation? Also, is it really necessary to NOT use capital letters? The truth is that punctuation is distracting when reading on the Internet. Do not use small letters and use capital letters and no punctuation in web content writing.

First Sentence of a Paragraph

Now we are used to a structure of an article that is based on Introduction, Content and Conclusion. While this is always correct, the paragraph itself is never really considered in the good building of an article. Always start every single paragraph with the most important sentence you want to highlight and then motivate it. This will keep interest alive and will help you getting constant readers.

Writing Web Articles Fast

2008-10-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

Most good content writers out there will write good articles of 400 to 500 words in around 20 minutes. This might seem like a long time for some people or short time for others. The truth is that this is around the medium time frame for such an article, especially if we are writing for the Internet. Let us think about some ways in which you can write your articles faster than you are already doing. We are basically talking about writing for yourself, for your sites and not necessarily for others. That is another thing we will discuss in the future and is also linked to Re-Writing text.

1. First of, you need the main ideas of the article. Lay them out in a list form so that you know what you want to touch in that article. For instance, if you are thinking about writing on the benefits of buying one software, your list needs to be exactly these benefits and nothing else. Make sure that you also read The Basics of Web Content Writing to properly understand why.
2. Look at the list you created! Most writers end up writing too many ideas and the end result is an article that is too long and very hard to follow.
3. In order to be successful, at the moment in which you get a good idea put it down on paper and if you can, start writing about it!
4. If you feel that the article you are working on is not working right then you should stop. Simply work on something else or go for a walk! You will see that there are moments in which you simply can not go faster and you are actually going really slow.
5. One trick that some content writers have is working on 3 to 4 articles at the same moment. They simply work 5 minutes on the first, 7 on the second and so on. Then cycling! Keep in mind that this basically works when you are in a writing flow and might be bad if you are not. All depends on the style you have developed or will develop in the future.

I hope these small tips can aid you a little in your content writing experience!

The Basics of Web Content Writing

2008-10-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

Writing for the World Wide Web is simply different! If you want to write high quality articles for an Internet audience there are things you need to be aware of at all times. This is why we do need to discuss The Basics of Web Content Writing. Let us take a look at the modifications you do need to have in your style.

! Short is Better in Content Writing !

First of, you need shorter sentences, paragraphs and even words. You should only have one main idea per paragraph and your text really needs to be concise (unless you are getting paid to write extra but we will discuss this in the future). A simple rule of thumb is that the text on a web page needs to be around HALF in word count when compared to print writing. Always use simple words and do not exaggerate with your claims. Using words like "tremendous"or "great" is not really recommended, even if it does sound right to use them!

! Formatting Counts !

Talking about formatting, you should try to use bullet lists as often as possible (if it is justified). Highlight the important phrases or words by using BOLD text or COLOR text. Headlines and sub-headlines are also very important so make sure that you BOLD them and make them stand out as much as possible. Try to start your articles with an important piece of information or even the conclusion. For instance, if you are writing about a low carb diet, you should start by pointing out that it does not work and not state this at the end. Start with "Low Carb Diets Do Not Work" instead of more conventional writing beginnings like "People have been trying to lose weight through low carb diets".

! Web Readers do not Read !

It is a very well known fact that reading documents on a computer will tire your eyes. This is why people usually read 25% slower on web sites when compared to regular print. Content Writing for the Internet NEEDS to be around 50% shorter than regular print versions. Web users are inclined to first scan the text and not read word by word. This basically means that a lot of your article will not be read. Using highlighted text like BOLD or Hyperlinks will aid in making this scan process easier and will captivate the attention of the reader!

! It is all about Attention !

Studies have shown that an average user will have its attention drawn to the web page in the first 10 seconds. If you do not hook him then he will leave. If you succeed you then have around 55 seconds to properly explain what the article is about. If he does not understand he will leave. We are dealing with a lot of competition and content writing on the Internet needs to take this into account. Always put the most important information you have to offer at the start and always use text that is concise and clear. Do not overdue it with information as Readers Are Not Impressed and they will leave if there is too much info offered that is not linked to the point of the article. Let us take the Low Carb Diet example above. If the reader wants to know about the low carb diet then he/she will not be interested in the history of low carb diets. They will want to know if it works and if it does what to do and how they should start. You basically need to point out the strict information linked to low carb diets as fast as possible and avoid talking about other diets or any other subject. Stay right on the point! This will aid you a lot!

These are just the Basics of Web Content Writing! There are a lot of tips and tricks that you need to know but first you really need to master the basics. It is just like in boxing. You can not learn to lean properly or punch combinations until you learn how to throw a right hook properly or a direct jab. You can not write well for the Internet if you do not properly understand what is written above!

Content Writers - Use Rent A Coder

2008-10-21T09:09:00.001-07:00

A lot of people that are into freelance content writing will avoid sites like Rent A Coder. It is hard to understand why as this is one web site that can make you a lot of money. We are basically dealing with one site that puts freelancers and people looking for freelancers in the same place. Content writers usually avoid this site because of thinking it is only aimed towards programming. This is far from being true as Rent A Coder has everything for everyone. You will find buyers that are looking for all sorts of jobs from creating complex web sites to data entry. There is even one special section that is entirely dedicated to writing. It includes ghost writing jobs, content writing jobs, technical writing jobs and even translation jobs. Let me tell you how you can benefit from this web site.

Content Writing Benefits on Rent A Coder (RAC)

The biggest problems that content writers are faced with today are linked with money and payment. Rent A Coder does a great job at that because everything is secured and there is absolutely no way that you will write or do the particular job you are hired for and not get paid. When one job is accepted the money will be escrowed and this means that the buyer will not be able to retrieve it and not pay you anymore. All is secured and you will surely get your money for what you work.

Rent A Coder is very serious and there is a lot of security implemented and even an audition based system in the event that the buyer does not want to pay you for what you did and is giving reasons that are not true. In this event you will go through arbitration and if you are right and you did what you agreed to do for the buyer then you will get your money.

Payment for what you do can be received through checks, PayPal or Western Union, whatever you want to and payments can be done twice per month or once per month. I personally use PayPal as there a lot more benefits that go through towards having part of the money in the PayPal account.

Diversity offered in Rent A Coder

Keep in mind that you will be faced with a very big market for exposure. Most successful content writers today and web promoters (even marketing gurus) started through a freelance system. Rent A Coder simply makes it a lot easier for you to start. You can opt to go for content writing jobs or whatever you feel you are good at and can do. If you want to do data entry you can do that! If you are capable to do a PHP programming project or a web site that combines content writing with PHP or HTML then you can do that and get paid for it. The only real problem is that the site will stop 15% of all the money you make as a freelancer. This basically means that you will need to make your price higher with this ammount to included it in your bids for jobs. Do not worry as everyone is doing so! Rent A Coder is a great way to start your content writing experience.