You may wonder why many people become very particular about grammar and word usage, especially when it comes to online article writing. In this post-Internet age, many of us assume that the content we read will be easily understood. While the quality of online content has generally improved in recent years overall, the use of proper grammar and word usage is still lacking in many corners of the internet.

Some people believe widespread use of instant messaging is partly to blame for people not using grammar properly. With these services, poor grammar is excusable if the message is decipherable by the receiver. Many people texting on their phones use shortcuts for many words for speed. In regular written communications, though, this simply doesn't work well.

Most people would agree that it's not acceptable to use text lingo on a business website or even on a personal blog. Yet, we daily come across websites and blogs that don't read well. There are many practical reasons why proper grammar is important. Let's go over some of the most important points of why grammar is so important in your article writing.


Improper Grammar in Your Writing Gives Readers a Bad Perception of YOU and the Business You Represent!

Of course, correct grammar helps readers to perceive the writer as a well educated and knowledgeable person. On the other hand, improper grammar causes poor perceptions of not just you as a writer, but whatever brand or business you represent with your writing.

Why so many legitimate businesses allow articles and webpages to go live with improper grammar as guest posts is mind-boggling. Yet, it happens, and this is why poor grammar is a common issue in online writing.

Some people even find poor grammar and slang being used in online content to be offensive. Let's be fair: most readers aren't that judgmental about grammar. But, that doesn't mean that the article is written clearly enough for the reader to get the most value from it.

There's really very little excuse for obvious grammar mistakes to happen. That's because there are so many free grammar checkers online and in most word processor programs now to catch the obvious stuff. So, do what you can to fix the obvious grammar mistakes in your writing right away.


Bad Grammar Can Lead to Miscommunication, Hurting Current or Potential Customer or Client Relationships

You must always ensure the message of your content is received by your audience in the accurate context. When proper grammar isn’t used, your message may not be clear. Some readers may just laugh at poorly constructed articles. Others will simply ignore them and never return to that website again. Neither of those outcomes is a good thing for your future as an article writer.

Even errors as simple as using the wrong form of a verb can throw off the flow of an entire article. Content is an important touchpoint with both potential and current customers. So, being clear with your writing’s message should always be your first priority. 


Using Proper Grammar Gets You Better Job Opportunities, Not Just As An Article Writer

Many employers make writing and speaking proficiency a top priority when sifting through candidates. Poor grammar on a resume or cover letter is going to make recruiters throw out your candidacy for many jobs. Strong communication skills are important in any job capacity, even positions that don’t deal directly with customers or even list it in the job description.

In fact, candidates with college degrees in English or communications often get second looks for job openings thanks to their academic proficiency in those skills. Yes, more specialized certification and training is required in many fields. But, communication skills are still a top priority in choosing the best candidate for a wide range of positions in just about every industry.


Improper Grammar in Business Marketing Materials Leads to Lost Sales

More often, businesses will outsource the writing of their product and service marketing materials. While it’s not all the time, there are companies that go to trade shows or give their salespeople materials that are clearly not well written. 

To be honest, most people skim marketing materials. This is why some companies will try to skate by with materials written with grammar that’s not quite up to par. Sure, not all consumers are super picky about the occasional grammar mistake. Some will probably just chuckle about it. But, materials ridden with poor grammar are going to lose sales.

The problem is when you have headlines or paragraph headers with misspelled words and awkward grammar. The bold text is what most people skim. When most people see this, they’ve already decided not to buy. They may not be rude about it, but the more expensive the product or service you’re selling is, the more picky about bad grammar they are likely to be. So, make sure your own grammar is up to par when writing sales material.


Poor Readability Not Only Confuses Readers; It Also Confuses Search Engines

Poor grammar not only affects an article’s readability for readers, but it can confuse search engines, as well. For example, subject and verb agreement improperly used in a sentence could confuse readers about the number of subjects involved. The harder a reader has to work to understand what the article says, the more likely they will leave frustrated. 

Unfortunately, grammar errors tend to stand out more in reader’s minds long-term than even the overall points written about in the article. The most common readability issues include fragmented sentences, run-on sentences, and awkward use of commas and other punctuation. Not only do these problems make articles harder to read for humans, but the search engines will often have trouble understanding the context of the written text. If you’re writing for online venues, it’s important to fix these readability issues as soon as possible and learn how to avoid them.


Good Grammar is Important to Help You Become a Respected Writer Who Takes Their Writing Seriously

Practicing good grammar habits helps you not only become a more effective communicator, but a more respected person in your topics, as well. Even the best, most respected writers have struggled with their own grammatical issues, but take time to correct them or have someone copy-edit their work before it gets published. In any case, authors who put out highly readable material are going to be a lot more respected than those who are sloppy with their grammar.

Also, if you are writing serious pieces, you want to be sure they are grammatically correct. It’s very hard to take any writing seriously that has any grammatical errors. As said before, readers will often remember the mistakes more than they remember what they actually read. Don’t let a silly grammar issue mess up the overall tone and potential impact of your writing.


Consistently Improving Your Grammar and Word Usage is the Key to Great Article Writing

Speaking well and writing well are two important skills in acquiring the admiration and respect of your peers. Even if you have a great message to share with people, how that message is communicated is extremely important.  The great news is that it's never too late to start improving your grammar in both speaking and writing. 

There are many grammar tools and courses on the internet you can use to discover your short-comings and help to overcome them. Even if you need to hire a writing coach or copy-editor, the investment in one or both can be invaluable in becoming a better writer. Especially in online writing, choosing your words carefully and organizing them correctly is extremely important.

So, always be mindful of catching those nagging little grammar fails. Even if you need help doing that before you hit publish, your writing needs to be proofread carefully. Remember that a single annoying grammar issue can be what makes an effective piece into one that can hurt your writing’s credibility. Protect both yourself and your clients and make sure your grammar is flawless before you hit publish.

by Phoenix Desertsong

There's a myth out there that article writing is easy. Yes, when you start writing articles online, you can write about whatever you want. But, don’t think that online writing doesn't need lots of thought or effort put into it. You can’t just type whatever comes to you and hit 'publish' and expect it to be good web writing. As an experienced article writer for hire, I can tell you writing online content is not as easy as it might look.

Article Writing is NOT Easy

Technically, you can write whatever you want online. But, as with anything, the more thought and effort you put into writing your article, the better results you’ll get out of it. So, while you can write content on any topic, you need to be sure that you write it in a way that people can find it.

Sure, there are some easy topics for article writing out there. Something that you have a lot of knowledge or expertise about is going to be a lot easier to write than something that requires you to do a lot of research beforehand. But, even if you think you know something very well, it's still good to research that topic. The trick to writing successful articles is to make that piece an authoritative topic on that particular topic.

You don’t have to write the perfect post every time, though. Yes, there are those of us that can whip out a blog post in 15-20 minutes, slap a Creative Commons or public domain photo on it, give it a snazzy title, and publish it with an immediate audience.

But, is that true of most article writers? Certainly not.

Write Fast, Fix Later

There are article writers who can write 1000 words in 20 minutes. But, don't feel bad if you can't write that fast right now. It takes LOTS of practice to be able to write so quickly. For me, it was years of journal writing that started back in junior high. But, what helped me the most over the years was retyping my journals into the computer. It helped me practice typing. Also, it also made me rethink how I worded things.

Obviously, when you’re writing in your own journal, you're not going to worry as much about how you're wording things. You're just going to write whatever comes to you. It seems many people think that writing perfect prose just comes naturally to experienced article writers. That’s not true. For every post I whip out in 15-30 minutes, there are five more on the back burner. Of these five, three or four of those will likely end up scrapped.

There are also plenty of articles I whip out, then go back and revise. Online article writers are always tweaking. After all, what you write is live to the world. If you’re not happy with it, you’re going to change it. You want to always show something that is strong work. Even if it’s not your best, you want it to be something you’re fine with having your name associated with when it comes to web writing.

Another mistake people make is to just write for what the search engines want right away. It's much better to just write first and optimize later. It’s easy to have an idea that you’re not sure how to optimize for search. That’s fine. Write it first, then figure out your keywords. It’s easier to SEO a post after getting it completely written. While many people write to keywords, I usually write first, then keyword later. It sounds backwards, but it helps me to just get words out and not sound like an article spinning machine.

While knowing target keywords is important, you may find yourself shutting yourself off to topics, just because you don't have a high-volume search phrase. Not all topics will get a lot of search traffic to begin with. Not everything you write has to be Page One of Google material. That's OK. Just write what comes to you and optimize for what you can later.


Write Ahead, Always Be Ahead

To make up for those times where the writing flow isn’t working, many online article writers write ahead. This is why you see so many web writers hammer out a lot of posts at once. That way, you can go back and decide if something is ready to publish or not.

Still, everyone's writing process is different. Some of us take a lot of time to craft the best blog post that we can. When I have a post that I really want to come out the right way, it can be a long process. That post can take days or even weeks to get published online.

In 2020, many blog posts take the better part of four hours to craft. Today's best performing articles online are much more thoroughly researched and comprehensive than in the past. While that's a good thing, that content quality is improving dramatically over the years, it also means you have to put a lot more into your articles than ever to make them work out well.

But, if you just get your ideas down and worry about making them full blown articles later, you'll be in better shape. You can spend an entire day on a post, but when you come up to needing something new to post for the week, you may find yourself starting with next to nothing. It's best to get the ideas down first, find the piece that's most relevant to your target audience and/or interesting to you and go with fleshing that article out before moving on to the next one.

What Makes a Good Article or Blog Post?

Plenty of thought has to go into articles and blog posts. Much of it is research. Not only are you fact-checking or looking for additional info, but you have to know if that article is going to actually get interest. Will this topic resonate with your intended audience? Is it a subject people will even care about? There's so much going on behind the writing that most people never think about.

Sure, you can just sit there and use a blog as your personal journal or as a way to curate content. That's perfectly fine. I used to do web writing that way. That’s when I just wanted to connect with others through online writing without really thinking about it as a career. Article writers and other web writers should just do whatever works for them. But, if you want to take your web writing to another level, that’s when you have to start treating it with far more care.

Yes, it's absolutely a myth that article writing doesn't require a lot of time and effort. It really does, especially when you're trying to grow it into a career. Yes, just starting a blog and writing anything takes time and effort. Even if you’re just writing for fun, it's never as easy as it looks! After all, you're publishing your article to the general worldwide public. That’s nothing to sneeze at! But, article writing for profit gets more complicated and requires a lot of time, effort, and patience.

So, the old saying “if you blog, they will come” isn't exactly true. You have to put in a lot of time and effort for a blog or website to live on. For those that can do it consistently, be proud of them for doing something they love! If you have the passion to put extra thought into effort into everything you publish online, there will be a pay-off in the end.

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

Even though I’m a writer, I don’t have a constant and endless supply of ideas. Every once in awhile I’ll find myself idea-less and in need of writing something. Most writers will call it writer's block.

I don’t actually believe in writer's block. There’s always something to write about. There’s always an idea somewhere. It’s just a matter of finding it and pulling together enough thoughts to make it happen. Here are six idea tips and tricks for finding something to write.


Read the News for Writing Ideas

The first thing I do every morning and read the news. The news can be a plethora of potential ideas and plots. This morning there’s an article about the Yemeni president refusing to leave. Europe is on alert for an Icelandic volcano ash cloud. There’s something about Newt Gingrich’s Tiffany’s account. Lightening struck two Indianapolis homes. Purdue is thinking about raising fees for foreign students. There was a tornado in Missouri.

The trick is to think about all those headlines and to think about what you know. If you know something about Yemen and the president, that might make a plot for a short story or novel or political commentary if you’ve read enough previous articles. The same can be done for all the rest.


Think About Things That Make You React: Angry, Sad, or Happy

The second thing to do is to sit back and think about what makes you angry, sad, or happy. Just pick an extreme emotion and an event that would trigger that emotion. The only thing I caution on is writing about recent family strife or death. A good first draft can be gotten immediately, but a polished draft doesn’t happen until six months or a year later. Raw emotions take time to heal, and the mind needs time to objectively process the events.

Sit and Observe at a Favorite Spot

The third idea would be to go to once of your favorite places; coffee shop, bookstore, store, park, or parking lot and sit and write everything you see and hear. This is an indirect way to find an idea. Still, it's a very good way to set a future scene.


Write About Something That You Want to Know More About

The fourth idea is to think about something you would like to know more about and start researching it. I like history especially ancient history and the Roman Empire. I also like the Victorian era. I few years ago I started purchasing all the books on ancient civilians and Rome I could find. I’m currently in the process of writing a historical novel from the books I’ve read.


Purchase Writing Idea Books

The fifth idea involves purchasing writing idea books. I own several of these as well. My most recent purchase was “The Writer’s Idea Book” by Jack Heffron. I like it. I haven’t used it extensively but I like some of the ideas in it. Some of them I’ve heard before. The book goes through brainstorming, clustering, cutting pages into sections and literally tossing them on the floor and rearranging them. I’m not a fan of the latter because it makes a mess. But, I am a fan of brainstorming as a last resort.


Just Write Whatever Comes

The last idea involves just writing through it. If you have a topic, but nothing concrete sometimes the best solution is to just write it out. I have started off many a paper and a story with the words “I cannot think of anything to write,” then I go from there. A lot of times the topic forms within the page, and I can take out that initial line and edit the work into something concrete.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Phoenix Desertsong

There are many schools of thought when it comes to the best article length for SEO. The good news is that there isn’t a perfect article length that ranks best for SEO. Both short articles and long articles can perform well in SEO. The best length for an article really depends on the topic itself and how in depth you’re looking to write about it.

Are Short Articles Good for SEO?

At one time, a common piece of SEO advice was to write 300 and 500 word articles based on a very specific keyword phrase. But, are these still best for SEO? With the focus appearing to be on longer content that covers a topic more in depth, this no longer seems to be the case.

Still, short articles do have SEO value. Many content marketers argue that 300 to 500 word articles are a good length for readers who want a specific question answered. For awhile, 500 words was considered a solid length for a useful article. Short articles are best for topics that don’t require a lengthy look. So, it comes down to just how specific the topic you are looking to cover is and if a more in-depth look is even necessary.

What is true is that many internet readers are looking for quick answers to their questions. They’re not sitting down to read a book, after all. Sometimes, if a topic can be split into several articles, it’s probably a good idea, as long as each article answers a reader’s question.

One suggestion is to create a short series of articles with a keyword phrase as part of the title. Then, break it into several different articles that are accessible from one another. That way, you can list them so readers can pick and choose the specific topic they’re looking for. The advantage of this for you is that if someone is truly interested in everything you’ve written on the topic, they’ll read the entire short series.

Can Long Articles be Good for SEO?

While short articles, and series of short articles, are a good idea, long articles can be good for SEO, too. Just as there are those that preach that short articles are best for SEO, there are others that preach that long articles are even better for SEO. The argument for long articles is that search engines consider longer articles to be more valuable resources. So, they tend to rank better in search results.

But, just as is true for those that say shorter articles are better for SEO, this isn’t the complete truth. If a topic deserves an article that’s 1000 words or even 2000 words or more, then it’s probably worth doing. If your article is really long, one really good idea is to use subheadings that separate your longer article into shorter chunks. You may even consider a short table of contents at the beginning of your article that links to the different sections of the article. That way, readers who may otherwise just skim will click on that specific section.


The Best Articles for SEO Are Targeted and Relevant

If you’re looking to write the best articles for SEO, just be sure to stay on topic. It’s fine to write about multiple ideas in an article. But, for the web, it can be best to split it into multiple articles, or use the subheader tactic mentioned above.

Basically, see what articles that keep visitors on your own sites. Watch for the lengths of those articles. If your audience likes shorter articles, write shorter articles and break up longer ones. If they favor longer articles, see if you can combine some shorter pieces into longer ones, and create more long-form articles. If it’s somewhere in between, just keep up what you’re doing already! Essentially, the best article length for your content is whatever your audience likes best.

What do you find is the best article length for your own web writing?


Need to make sure that your article or blog post is properly copy edited for grammar mistakes, free of typos, and optimized for SEO? Check out the Editing services from Brand Shamans & Intent-sive Nature!

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Some of the best advice I've ever read on outlining an article came from the book “How to Write a Book for Beginners" by Ryan Stephens. While this advice had to do with outlining a nonfiction book, it’s applicable to any kind of nonfiction writing, including article writing. When you think about it, a nonfiction book is really just an article or a collection of articles that’s dozens or hundreds of pages long!

When Ryan asked his friend about how he outlines his books, his friend told him it's as simple as answering two types of questions. There are the questions people actually ask and the questions they should be asking. In the case of a nonfiction book, you want your chapter titles to be the questions people ask. Then, the subheadings are made from the questions you believe people should be asking.

The best part about this advice is that it works for article writing, too. As someone who used to be rather allergic to traditional outlining, this simple approach is refreshing. But, while it looks simple on the surface, how easy is it to know what questions to ask, and how can it help you write better articles?


What Questions Do People Actually Ask?

The type of research involved in finding the questions people ask on a regular basis on a given subject used to be rather time consuming. Fortunately, today we have good old Google Autocomplete to give us a treasure trove of what people actually search around a given word or phrase. Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines offer a similar question to help us dredge up further ideas. 

The idea is that if an autocomplete feature is suggesting particular search queries, then there’s obviously more than a handful of people asking that same question. These autocomplete features are helpful places to begin keyword research for your articles. Or are they? 

As I set to writing on this topic, I ended up asking myself: ”What if the best questions people want to ask aren't even being typed into Google?” Now, that is a question that I wouldn’t see people typing into Google! It's funny how when you start asking yourself questions how you come up with more questions. 


What Are the Questions People Aren’t Asking Google?

This is when I figured out what Ryan's friend was really onto when he said you should outline using questions. The thinking behind using topics people search online is that they are questions that will continue to be asked. But, when people have questions, do they always turn to Google or another search engine?

As a writer of web content, it seems like I began to sort of assume that if people don’t search for it online, it’s not relevant to what I have to write. For so long, I’d dredge up keyword phrases based on my autocomplete research. But, after reading that Ryan Stephens book, I started to wonder how learning the secrets of successful nonfiction books could help me write better articles. 

The idea dawned on me that I should seriously look into learning more about writing nonfiction books. But did I Google it? Nope. I searched Amazon for free Kindle books on writing. That's right. People still look for answers in books. Who would've thought? Believe it or not, though, there isn't a book readily available for every topic.


Articles are Great, But Books Can Be Better

What I learned through this exercise is this: even if people write a hundred thousand articles on a topic, it doesn't mean there's a good book on it. So, why does it matter if you can't find a book on Amazon for a question you have? To me, it screams opportunity. As a writer, this smells like fresh blood does to a shark.

So, now we've established that people search Amazon sometimes before they even think about Google. That's not a tip you see everyday. But, I do have a friend of mine that suggested using Amazon to see what titles are out there on a given subject you want to learn more about. I’m positive he’s not the only one who does that.

Yes, Amazon has its own autocomplete feature in its search bar. It’s actually going to give you some different results to Google, as people are searching for subjects they are looking for books about. But, beyond Beyond, there are a lot of other places to look for answers to your questions. You can't possibly check them all. So, where do you look for your questions to answer?


So, How Do I Find the Questions People Should Be Asking?

The best way I've been finding questions to ask - the ones people should be asking like Ryan’s friend said - is not by doing keyword research. You certainly should still do some initial keyword research, because you can find some good opportunities to target your content that way. But, when you set yourself to answer a question, you should never limit yourself to just what people type into a search engine. The best way to know what questions people should be asking is to think of the questions you would ask yourself.

If you have a topic or question in mind, write it down. Then, ask yourself the questions you would ask in order to be satisfied that your question has been sufficiently answered. But, how do you know you’re asking the right questions when outlining your article?

I'm loath to say it, but I'll say it anyway because it will help illustrate a point. There's no such thing as a stupid question. Some will rebut that with: until you ask it. Others will follow up with: only if you don't ask it. I'm inclined to agree with the latter rebuttal.


So, What’s the Best Way to Find the Questions People Need to Ask on a Subject? 

It turns out we’re not all brilliant masterminds who have billions of unique thoughts everyday. In fact, none of us are. But, I do have good news. The genius is in making the connections between thoughts and ideas. Anyone can do this if you work at it. 

So, yeah, if you're thinking something, it's highly likely someone else has thought the same thing. But, if you're acting on it, then you're doing something creative. That's an important distinction that people don’t often realize.

As someone who usually skips outlining an article entirely, why do I suddenly seem keen on taking a step back and really asking some hard questions? Because by asking questions, I find myself asking even more of them. Eventually, I'll recognize which ones seem the most important to answer. Then, I set to work.

What people actually ask is what you'd probably be asking yourself anyway. Yes, seeing what people are asking through a sort of social proof is important, too. But, when you are trying to write an article, you turn the idea faucet on and let it flow for a bit. Then, when you’ve come to a point where you need to turn to finding answers, this is when you know you have a whole bunch of good questions.

So, how do people even look for answers in the first place? It’s not always as simple as...

Should I Google It?

...or, in place of Google, insert your favorite search engine. Keep in mind people use Amazon and YouTube search to look for answers, too. There’s also Quora and other Q&A websites. Google can be a great discovery tool, but that is all that it is. Finding the answer you’re seeking may in fact be a click away. But it may not be. Even if there are results, will they satisfy you? 

In my experience, if it's not a simple question, most of the time you'll find irrelevant results or feel underwhelmed by what you do find. Don't blame Google. No one has answered it well enough yet anywhere the Google spiders can find it. For writers, these queries are fresh blood for article writing!

But, not everyone asks Google their burning questions. Not too many people actually type into Google “should I Google it?” when they’re figuring out how best to find answers. Choosing to use Google is an internal decision. There are so many other search engines out there. While Google is the most-used, by a crazy large margin I may add, not every good question people ask will be easily revealed to you that way.


Should I Look for Answers in a Book?

Turning to books to seek an answer to your question may seem like a quaint solution to some people. If you are even considering turning to books, though, I applaud you - even if it’s an ebook. There’s solid reasoning to this decision making process.

By no means is a Google searcher lazy or lacking in any sort of capacity. But, there are some questions that require some digging for good answers. You can do this through Google, too, of course, but hitting the books means you want more than online articles can give you - no matter how well-written and researched they are.

I hate to break it to you, but what you read online is not always accurate. I also hate to break it to you that what you read in a book isn't always accurate. However, books seem to be much more trusted. Why is that?

Yes, it's true that books tend to be more robustly researched, edited, scrutinized, and peer reviewed. But, online articles can be all of these things, too. Plus, pretty much anyone can self publish both e-books AND print books in our on-demand age. So, there isn't too much difference between what you find online or in books, right?

Here's the key difference: books are longer. Even short ebooks are longer than the vast majority of articles published on the web. Books require more effort to create on the part of the writer and a lot more research to be done right. If you’re turning to books to answer your questions, you're no longer just a searcher, but a researcher. Likely, you’ll have to visit your local library or buy books to seek answers. If anyone goes to that much effort to learn more about a subject, it must be important.

This is where we must bridge the gap to what people should be asking. 


What Questions SHOULD We Be Asking in Outlining an Article?

Many questions people are probably only asking internally, but not actually searching. Others have questions that may require more research than many people actually want to do. So, because we writers are wonderful human beings, we go do the hard work so others may benefit from our immense labor. 

Or, we're self absorbed jerks who hope to get paid the big bucks for becoming the top expert on subject X. 

Either way, same result.

The questions that require the most digging, the ones not answered well by existing literature, or at all through the results of a Google search, are the ones we should be asking in our articles. Those are the ones we should be writing about and answering. Yes, it can be hard work, but the end result is going to be something pretty cool that probably hasn’t been done before. 


How Does Asking a Bunch of Questions Help You Outline an Article?

It's quite ironic that when I first began writing this very article that I neglected to even outline it. But, as I went along, I realized that I had something rather profound here. At first, I began to ramble and lose focus. Fortunately, I found a way to right the ship before the article turned into a complete mess. I took a step back and just asked the questions I felt I needed to answer for the article to feel complete.

So, is there a process to outlining an article using these questions? 

Turning the more common questions into chapter titles helps you get into the mindset of your audience. If you’re writing an article, this is how people are going to discover it in search. If you’re writing a book, people will find these in your table of contents, if you choose to make that part of a free book preview (which you should). You also show your audience (and potential publishers) that you have your finger on the pulse of your audience for a given topic.

People also like it when you’re asking questions that echo the ones they themselves have been asking. You position yourself as an authority by asking the right questions. It may entice them to follow you or actually buy something you have to offer!

While turning your article or book into an FAQ of sorts isn’t a terrible way to go, you want to get down to creating something more. That’s where the sub-headers come in. They’re quite useful in keeping your audience’s attention and allow skimmers to  get some value from your work without reading closely. By turning your subheadings into questions, you force yourself to answer them well.

While asking these questions are really helpful in outlining and focusing yourself on the questions you need to answer, they’re good to keep in the final version, as well. Many people, myself included, have long used subheadings that read as statements or even like commands. While there isn’t anything wrong with this, asking questions instead adds a new dimension to your writing. Not only do people appreciate that you’re asking good questions, but you make your readers ask more questions of themselves.

By asking the right questions people really ask and those that should be asked, your article writing will be a lot more focused. You’ll also find yourself driven towards writing good answers more quickly and more often. These questions can serve as the backbone to any piece of nonfiction writing that you’re doing. Once I started writing this way, I can say I write more quickly and more effectively than ever before.

Plus, I started asking a lot more questions on my own. Is that ever a bad thing?

If you’re a web writer, there are some things you’re probably doing that you just shouldn’t. Learn how to examine your web content to find the painful truths you can fix in your online writing.

You Need To Write For Search

This is where many people new to online writing often struggle. But it’s really not as hard as one might think. Start with one easy good SEO technique, such as LSI and build up from there. Stay away from blackhat methods, as these may appear to work at first but can be the downfall of your entire site or blog.

You're Not Writing For Your Intended Audience

Are you writing to yourself or to your targeted readers? Sometimes, that’s the same thing. But occasionally, it's really not. The good thing is you can fix that. Simply pay attention to comments in your online writing, as well as where your readers are coming from.

Your Content Needs To Be Shareable

Read your online writing back to yourself. Is it something you would share if written by someone else? The title should make someone want to click and read it (but please avoid clickbait). The main image and first paragraph should make them want to keep going. The rest should provoke them to reshare it when finished.

Proper Grammar And Spelling Is A Must

If you can’t spell correctly or use way too many commas, do you really think people are going to take you seriously? Study up on your grammar and spelling and use free tools to analyze your online content writing before hitting publish. Even better, hire a professional editor. Your readers will thank you by not clicking away when you avoid the nonsense.

If You Can’t Word It Right, Your Audience Can’t Read It Right

This falls in line with grammar and spelling. If your posts are all over the place or are nonsensical, your readers can’t follow along and will just go away. Be sure you are saying what you mean so that people can actually read your online writing and understand it as intended. Otherwise, you’ll either get misinterpreted or skipped over very quickly.

LAST UPDATED BY LYN LOMASI 7/23/2022

by Lyn Lomasi; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Most web writers will get questioned about their price at least once, but usually quite often. Who doesn't like a bargain? But your writing's worth is dependent upon what you make it. Here's why.

Discounts Are Fine, To A Certain Point

It's fine to have sales or deals for new or regular clients. But you still should keep the worth of your writing in mind. The lower you are willing to go, the less valuable people will see your content as being. Give discounts, but don't go so low that it's not worth both your time, as well as the value the client will get from it.

The Proof Is In Your Work

Quality web writing is getting more difficult to find. More and more people are discovering they can put their words online. This is a good thing, as far as communication. But those looking up specific information need accuracy and quality. This is where you come in as a web writer and prove to your client that your work is worth top dollar. Sometimes it takes that client paying a low quality writer less and finding out the hard way that they should have continued coming to you. I’ve had clients return after doing this more than once. It’s like the old saying goes “You get what you pay for.” Some people charge less than they’re worth, but in many cases, quality writing will cost more because of the time and energy put into creating a quality piece. 

Word Gets Around

Remember that business owners talk to each other often. This includes many topics, but who they hire for writing and other services essential to success is very common. If you charge one client a fee that is significantly less than you usually charge, other business owners will learn this and expect the same deal. The reason for the deal often doesn’t matter. Keep things consistent and accurate where your prices are concerned. You want the word to get around regarding your quality, instead of your low price.

Price According To Actual Value

The lower your price, the less value is likely to be given to your content. Remember that word gets around. So, whatever one business owner feels it’s worth may be what others are saying as well. In order to keep your value high, you need to keep your quality high and price your work accordingly and consistently. Obviously, there is some customizing involved in most web projects, based on topic matter, research, word count, and so on. But try to be as consistent as possible and consider the value of your time, as well as what the client will potentially get from said work.

Your work is worth what you make it worth. So, be sure to price it accordingly, limit the bargaining to a reasonable point, and show your clients what your worth via quality.

Many factors go into determining work and payments from business owners and other clients. These can differ depending on several things. While following this guide may not guarantee that you will receive more work with higher payments, you may see greater opportunities by adhering to the following suggestions. The key is not necessarily to increase every single payment, but to maximize the opportunities available, as well as maximize your long-term benefits from said work.

What types of content are eligible for payment?

All of it! Whether you are soliciting jokes, articles, blog posts, recipes, web page content, product descriptions, photography, or any other creation, it deserves payment if it’s quality material. The key is to submit to the most appropriate venue for best results.

Focus on a specific issue

When you have a tight focus on one topic, readers are more likely to be looking for your content. Think about the things you look for when searching online. For instance, instead of general tips on pet adoption, you may want something geared specifically toward the pet you are considering adopting. “Where to adopt a poodle in Denver” should perform better than “How to adopt a pet,” as an example. Write your articles on specific subjects that will be relevant and useful to readers looking for that topic.

Follow assignment details

If you are hired for an assignment, be sure you follow the exact instructions. That means if the instructions say something different from any advice herein, defer to the assignment. When editors and business owners see that you can follow all assignment details reliably, they may be more likely to offer you future opportunities. Remember that, while you should be creative, the content you’re creating is not for you. It’s for the person you are creating it for. Therefore, it should be the way they want it. It’s good to suggest corrections of facts that might be wrong or improvements that might help the client or their website. But again, if they do not agree, unless you are breaking the law or doing something you are strongly against, just do things the way the client wants.

Do your research

When you need to back up your content with facts, be sure these facts are from reliable sources. Also, make sure to cite those sources properly, according to submission guidelines and any additional assignment guidelines. Using multiple highly-trusted and relevant sources also helps to build credibility. Wherever possible, use sources from your client’s website, in addition to the others. This helps them build more relevant inbound linking. When  client chooses to hire an expert, they expect expert material.

Examine the intended website

If you are submitting to a new client, study the website you are interested in writing for. Think of topics that could work well there but are not yet covered. Having an idea of what could potentially align with a particular property can give you a greater chance at getting accepted. Being unique is key. That means that you don't want to submit something you already see covered on the property. Instead, try submitting something that works well alongside existing content, provides a new angle, or has not been covered at all but could appeal to that property's audience.

Consider the audience behind the topic

Are you writing about parenting? What stages? Think of the age of the kids you're writing about - and then think of what ages the parents are likely to be; they are your most likely audience, and you should cater your content to them. The tone and style used in your article should be something readers can identify with. For instance, if you are writing an article for kids, using complicated business terms is not going to keep them reading. Acceptances of paid submissions are more likely on content that shows attention to detail in this and other areas.

Personalize the experience

When you write an article or blog post, readers should see the real person behind the story (unless your client is not interested in first-person accounts). At the same time, you don't want to ramble about something that has nothing to do with the subject matter. Find that perfect level at which the article provides the information needed with relevant personalization where it fits in with the main point of the article.

For instance, if I'm writing an article about picking the perfect daisies, instead of telling a long story about a time when I picked daisies, I would mention how I determine which daisies to pick. I would do that in a way that readers can tell I am knowledgeable and passionate. But it would also need to be something readers can benefit from to answer their questions. When you can use your own unique experience and style, readers can relate more easily. But at the same time, you don't want to say so much that they get bored and click away.

Focus on evergreen material

Focusing on evergreen material is one way to maximize your earnings, as most business owners can use long-lasting content. Evergreen content is that which will draw a reader's interest for long periods of time, such as unique ways to solve common parenting issues. Evergreen slants can also be applied to trending topics. Some editors may value those topics that have a longer shelf life. This is not to say that other content will not be valued, as articles with a shorter shelf life can be useful as well. They each have their own place and are both great ways to maximize your work in different ways. Getting the most out of paid opportunities often involves taking advantage of more than one way to earn.

Pay attention to spelling, grammar, and style

Category and vertical style guides are used for many assignments that offer pay. For the best chances at getting those assignments accepted, be sure to follow them closely. This also goes for any and all other instructions mentioned within the assignment details. Proofreading, even after using spelling and grammar checkers, has always been a lifesaver for me when writing for any venue. Yes, I am a great editor. But, I am also human, so it’s best to double and triple check. Read silently, out loud, and even have a writing buddy take a gander. Programs can miss little things, such as skipped words or typos that are actual words, but not words you intended to use.

Optimize your content for the Web

Studying The Yahoo! Style Guide is a great way to learn basic html, grammar, editing, formatting, and style as it all pertains to writing for the Web. Most content that is submitted to potential clients must be publish-ready. While some venues may have an editor, never rely on editors to fix poor writing. If your writing needs to be thoroughly edited, it is much better to study up so that your submissions are more likely to get acceptances than rejections. You can then submit at a later date when your skills allow you to submit content that is more in line with the platform's needs.

Good Web content displays certain qualities. Apart from being interesting, it must be easy for a wide audience to read. It also must be easily found by search engines. Keep your articles concise and informative in an easy-to-scan format. Web readers often look for something that answers their question quickly and accurately in an engaging manner. For more on writing for the web, again, The Yahoo Style Guide is an invaluable resource.

Maximizing payments on your content is about taking advantage of the many ways to earn. It's also about covering your bases all-around. A solid article is not just well written, but also speaks to the intended audience, giving them exactly the information they expected and needed in a clean, easy-to-scan format.

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

You're in the midst of a writeup and everything's going great. You just got an amazing quote from the perfect source. But suddenly, you've forgotten the rules surrounding that. Does the period go after the quotation? Or does it belong within? That depends on your sentence. In my years of experience in web writing, this has been a popular question. This tutorial combines my experience along with the time I've spent studying the Yahoo! Style Guide. The following is meant to help readers solve that and other mysteries surrounding punctuation and quotations.

Example of correct placement of a period when quoting a source:

--Tina Baker stated that "fries are better than chips when accompanied by hamburgers".

Because the noted quote was the end of a sentence containing it, the period belongs outside the quote. Had the quote been by itself, the period would have gone inside the quote.Example of correct placement of a period when the quote is a stand-alone sentence.

--Yesterday I spoke with Dr. Allen. His comments: "Looks like we're going to have to do surgery. This a rare occurrence."

Since this quote contains complete stand-alone sentences, the punctuation belongs inside the quotes.


Proper Punctuation When Quoting Exact Text

If there is a string of text that must be typed in an exact way, the punctuation belongs outside the quotation. For instance, if you want to put emphasis on a phrase, you would put any following punctuation after the quote. Some get confused on this because it may not look right to see a period after quotations. However, this is the correct way to construct such a sentence.

Examples of correct placement of punctuation when using exact text:

--To submit that assignment, click on the button labeled "submit".

--To check your daily views, first click on the "content" tab.


When In Doubt With Exact Text, Try Boldface Instead

If you are confused about the exact text and where to put the punctuation, consider using a boldface font instead. If you put emphasis on the text with bold characters, that avoids the need to use quotes.

Examples of using boldface to avoid quotations:

--To submit that assignment, click on the button labeled submit.

--To check your daily views, first click on the content tab.


Exclamation Points and Questions Marks Used With Quotes

When using question marks and exclamation points with quotations, unless that punctuation is a part of the statement being quoted, it belongs outside the quote. If a person exclaims something and you quote that, the exclamation point belongs inside the quotation. But if your sentence including the quote was an exclamation, it belongs outside.

Examples of correct placement of exclamation and question marks in quotes:

--Tommy said he "ran 150 miles today"!

--When Amy saw that yummy taste concoction, she exclaimed "It's all mine!"

--I ran into Brook today and she asked "How do you find the time to write so often?"

--Do you enjoy those sweet pickles - you know, the ones called "bread and butter"?

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network