The Style Files
My thoughts on design, writing and entrepreneurship.
Photo credit (background): www.pexels.com
Photo credit (background): www.pexels.com
I've said it before and I'll say it again: just because content exists somewhere on the web doesn't make it good. Just because someone writes for a living (or as a hobby) doesn't mean he or she knows much about grammar, spelling, word choice, syntax or anything else. I've only recently started my quest to guest post on other websites but some of the writing is jaw-droppingly bad. Like a good blogger, I thought I'd pass this juicy information along to my readers! 1. Errors, errors everywhere! Back when I was a translator, it always bothered me how much content was really saturated with errors. The worst was yet to come! You should know that many sites that accept guest posts do so because it's a way to get free content. Some are excellent sites with many visitors and a high caliber of writing while others fall somewhere on the lower end of the spectrum. If I had to pick one issue that comes up the most in the world of guest post hunting, it would absolutely be text riddled with mistakes. 2. Acceptable level of plagiarism This was a new one! I read this today for the first time and have to say it caught me by surprise. In the interest of avoiding drama from potential backlash, this particular website shall remain anonymous. What I can tell you is that it lays down the law by stating, "We only accept blogs with 10% plagiarism." Yes, really. It's a thing. I don't recommend it nor should hopeful bloggers associate themselves with questionable practices like this one. Next! 3. Paying to post The idea of guest posting is normally that you write an article or blog for free in exchange for a published piece and more visibility. It's considered a return on investment (ROI) because you spend your time and effort writing but ideally make up for it in other ways. That's all fine and dandy. It has come to my attention that a lot of websites advertise guest posting but actually make a profit in return. That's right: you pay for the privilege of writing for them. It doesn't matter if their website doesn't get much traffic or their content has tons of mistakes. No, no! (In fact, the sloppiest websites are often the worst offenders.) Be thankful for the opportunity lest you forget they're the ones doing you a favor. Sigh! Language skills are important to writers for obvious reasons. Photo credit: www.pexels.com 4. Native speaker invincibility The truth is I'm sure we all know people like this regardless of who we are or what we do. Believe me, life gets a little easier when we can all laugh about it. Call them know-it-alls, smart alecks, smarty pants, whatever! The identifying characteristics are a holier-than-thou attitude and absolute refusal to admit they're (maybe, possibly, sometimes) wrong. Boy, have I come across this lately! I contacted a design blog and offered to edit some of their content. Turns out Americans don't make mistakes because if you didn't already know, they speak English. Game over. What you likely also fail to realize is that people who speak English write perfectly. Without exception. You got it! Again, this is because they speak English. Don't follow the logic? Yeah, me neither. Here's the reply sitting pretty in my inbox: "That text was written by an American English native speaker. So there are 0 mistakes." Roger that. "As I said - we dont need "official" language, that's boring and readers hate that." As you can see, this guy is confusing official with correct. The problem is they're apples and oranges. For those of you who have been fooled into reading correct language, let me be the first to tell you that it's actually boring! And you hate it, you just haven't realized it yet. Now you know, though, and knowing is half the battle. In case any of you are wondering why there are mistakes in the quotes above, please know I left them in on purpose and give full credit to the author. Quotes are normally left alone even when they might benefit from some TLC. More importantly, making any edits to the original writing would run the risk of making his writing more 'official.' Who's got time for that? 5. Automated responses This one may come as no surprise. The business of words is often a question of speed and volume so there are a lot of automated responses and skimmed emails behind the scenes. It's a total quality killer. Still, it never ceases to amaze me that you might write a short email with a question about a post, an edit, etc. and get a robo-reply in return that doesn't correspond at all. The world of copywriting is full of people trying to make a quick buck so there's not much to be done about this one, unfortunately. There's no time for human interaction. Sigh! Photo credit: www.pexels.com 6. Colorful language Those of you who are familiar with writing or marketing might have heard of content mills. According to Allena Tapia, "[a] content mill or writers' mill is a slang term used by freelance writers and given to a company, website, or operation that provides cheap website content by paying very low rates to writers" (www.thebalancesmb.com/writing-for-content-mills-1360505). In other words, it's basically a company that treats you like a cheap commodity. You have already read in number 3 that paying to post is unfortunately not a unique practice although some sites are worse than others. One website, for example, charges $80 per post (a price not mentioned publicly on their website) and had a few choice words for me: "We're not content mill because we don't give a $%^& about free people like you." Please disregard the writing error in this quote and the others on their website if you know who they are because that's about standard for online businesses interested in profit and profit alone. Luckily for anyone serious about writing, Allena Tapia went on to explain later in her article that writers don't have to put up with content mills once they're more established. Amen to that! One last thing: I like to give credit where credit is due though I think it best not to name slithery people or businesses quoted in this article. I do thank them for shedding light on the industry and providing me with valuable raw material. Ingredients like you've never tasted! Photo credit: www.pexels.com 7. Word salad I have a feeling this particular post will continue to grow because the internet is full of absurdities. Take this quote, for example: "I precisely needed to say thanks all over again. I am not sure the things I might have made to happen in the absence of the type of pointers shown by you regarding my subject. It had been a challenging matter for me personally, but noticing the specialised style you dealt with it forced me to leap over contentment." What the what? That string of incoherent nonsense is what psychologists refer to as 'word salad.' Believe it or not, the quote above was written in the comment section under a post about log cabin designs. Many blogs that advertise guest post options are both set up to make easy money and (presumably) written by non-native English speakers. You know the picture on the front of Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein? Turns out it's the exact location writing as an art was laid to rest. 8. Ruffled feathers The funny thing about language is people often don't respect language service providers as professionals. People are less than open to hearing feedback about their writing 99% of the time. Nevermind relevant examples, a tactful approach and other complimentary tactics to soften the blow of (totally normal and perfectly acceptable) human error. Most of the time, I'm met with a cold shoulder or a defensive tone: "I’m happy with my website as written; it represents my voice, flaws and all." Not having it. Photo credit: www.pexels.com It's worth noting that these are the same pros who know the importance of people pleasing since the design industry is a notorious magnet for difficult clients. Meanwhile, I don't put on airs if someone drops off a flyer asking to mow my lawn or paint my roof because I assume they take me for an incompetent slob. Why should (experienced, qualified, professional) writing be any different? 9. Greasy sales pitches So here's the thing: I can't really complain about a company setting up their terms the way they like. That's up to them. What I can do is notice when a content mill stands out among the rest for especially greasy sales pitches. I recently contacted a website about writing a guest post. Their content seemed fine presumably because it was mostly written by people unassociated with the actual business. I got an email response peppered with errors explaining that there were numerous ways for me to post if I paid to provide content including about 15 references to PayPal. I decided to pass and went on my way. About a month later, I received a reminder email asking (generically) if I was interested in guest posting. It's not enough that a company lures people in with the prospect of guest posting; it's likewise not enough that they don't bother writing correctly as a business steeped in content creation. Instead, their website is all about false facades, pushy attitudes and unearned gains. Not my fave; thanks! My thoughts on for-profit phonies. Photo credit: www.pexels.com 10. For-profit phonies I recently made the mistake of assuming that if a website appears to have correct writing, a decent presentation and a high domain authority, it must be legit. Wrong. (It may have a large following but because it sells guest posts like hot car parts rather than quality content for the benefit of its audience.) Considering respected writers aren't encouraged to write for content mills, I'm both surprised and disgusted this is a thing. Here's a response I just got a few minutes ago: "We allow paid guest post with permanent dofollow link. We charge 70$ for each regular guest post on X DA55 DR63. For CBD content it would be 180$ With dofollow permanent link after the approval of admin." Are you kidding me? Let's break it down: •Does she mean a guest post? Because the article ('a') is nowhere to be found •This person doesn't speak English natively (or doesn't care one tiny bit how to write an email while representing a writing business; bad marketing 101) •Anyone familiar with American English knows it's $70, not 70$ •Girl doesn't know how to use a comma. But wants me to pay her for the favor of demonstration. •The capitalization is all messed up not to mention another missing article. What's the moral of the story? The sales industry (including copywriting) has a craptastic reputation for a reason. I know that intellectually but am having a hard time with the reality. As someone whose phone has been inundated by international scam calls lately, I'm also over the idea that Americans are so stupid we're nothing more than moving targets for a cash grab. Not on my watch. Last but not least, this chaps my hide as a former translator since I think very highly of intercultural exchange and communication. Assuming that native English speakers won't notice the difference between a fluent post and a lackadaisical approximation for a dishonest living crosses the line. Lady, you know who you are! I'm watching you and not in a promotional, approving or dofollow kind of way. 11. Info-phobes From time to time, I apply for jobs on www.problogger.com. There is a section for freelance writers to apply for blogs, articles and related material about a variety of subjects. The site is thankfully free to freelancers though many of the posts are very poorly written. To attract writers. What? Sometimes, I tell the poster there are some writing mistakes which reflect poorly on their business. One guy wrote me back as follows: "I was wondering if your comment is just a rant, or was it a machiavellian strategy to get hired as an editor/proofreader?" Aside from the writing errors (unnecessary comma, lowercase letter for an adjective derived from a proper noun and name of a person), there were two problems with his premise. 1) Apparently I'm in no position to speak to my profession even when it's concerning a job for which I'm applicable to a person who is soliciting experts and 2) Machiavelli was generally known for his philosophy of fear outweighing love. If this guy has a fearful approach towards knowledge, I do believe I'm the least of his concerns. As a general note, I'd venture to guess that most writers prefer to work for people who treat them with respect and kindness; the beauty of freelancing is we choose who's in or out. Let this be a lesson to others to welcome information and expertise into your life. Final thoughts That's all I got for now! The road to guest posting is paved with all kinds of twists and turns. Since this is only the beginning, chances are I'll come across more exciting finds as time goes on. Feel free to share your own trials and tribulations as a fellow writer or tips you'd give to newbies. Thanks for your readership and stay tuned for more! Photo credit: www.pexels.com
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AuthorHi, my name is Martha Oschwald and I'm a content writer focused on design. This page is meant to give you a taste of my writing style and latest musings. Archives
April 2022
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