I’ve been writing on the Internet for a long time. It started, of course, with e-mail, back in the day. That’s even how I met my wife. But by 2004, Internet Writing was my full-time job and profession.
Along the way, I’ve made some pretty big blunders. I’ve also seen some other folks make some pretty big blunders. Here are eight of the most common blunders I’ve made, and how you can learn from my mistakes:
Not Proofreading. My Eighth Grade English teacher, Mrs. Gorske, pounded the idea of proofreading into my head as a lad. Still, there are times when I just say, “screw it, I’m a damn good writer, I don’t need to proofread.” Invariably, the thing I’m writing bounces back to me, and not in a good way. You’ve heard it a thousand times before, but you have got to read through your work before you submit it, whether it’s a blog post or a document for a client. This doesn’t mean just running spell-check; it means reading what you wrote, line by line, looking for spelling, grammatical, or logical errors.
Being too informal. I will never forget one of my biggest blunders with a client. I had decided to put out an e-mail to my friends, telling them that I had hit a certain goal in my weight loss program. I included “before” and “after” pictures. Some of them were shirtless. I made the mistake of including one of my newer clients on the e-mail list. I haven’t had any new work from the client since then. This one applies mainly to your business communications, but it can apply to certain types of Internet Writing, as well. Just because you are writing on the Internet doesn’t mean that you don’t have to follow normal writing conventions. Yes, some formats of Internet Writing, like the Blog, are more conversational in tone, but you still need to maintain a certain level of professionalism.
photo credit: virgo200745 
Not Understanding the Market for Your Internet Writing. It’s not just enough to be a good writer. You might be the best writer there is, but if you’re going to be writing a history of your Great Aunt Mable’s hair styles in the 1950s, there’s not going to be a market for it. You’ve got to write about something that matters to people if you’re going to make money.
Not Correcting Grammatical Errors. I like to overuse commas. My Creative Writing professor in College pointed that out to me. You know that it’s bad when you’re using too many commas in poetry. I still do it today. But, notice that I didn’t say “Making Grammatical Errors.” Everybody makes them. But, there are a handful of grammatical errors that you have got to be able to avoid and/or correct if you want to maintain credibility as an Internet Writer. You have to know the difference between “there,” “their” and “they’re,” for example. Editors, clients, and the web-reading public can be unforgiving of simple grammatical errors, especially if they happen on a repeat basis.
Going Too Deep. Most of the time, the articles that you are going to write on the Internet, whether they are for a website client, for an article directory, or for a blog, will probably be somewhere between 300 and 1,000 words. That’s just about the right amount of information for a human being to consume in those mediums. Keeping your writing narrowly focused will keep you from hitting your word count goal before you’re out of material to write about.
Expecting Something for Nothing. You’re going to get out of something what you put into it. It’s a law, built into the universe. If you don’t do your best, you’re not going to keep getting business, plain and simple.
Being Impatient. The Internet moves at the speed of light. Unfortunately, your clients don’t, search engines don’t, and Internet Traffic doesn’t. It takes time to establish yourself as a credible source in your particular area of endeavor. Just because you haven’t sold one copy of your eBook in six months doesn’t mean that a year from now you won’t be selling a dozen of them a day. If you’re looking to make it as a Blogger, especially, expect to be in it for a long time before you turn a profit.
photo credit: silverbelly
Being Distracted by Your Topic. I once had a writing assignment where I needed to write a handful of articles, around the 500 word mark, on Deep Sea Diving. I’d never gone deep sea diving, and I was fascinated by the topic. I went to the library, and spent the better part of a day reading up on it. I even looked into vacation packages featuring a dive. The entire project only paid $50, and I put a day and a half of “work” time into it. It’s all too easy to become distracted by the topic you’re writing about, especially if it is an interesting topic to you personally. Don’t be afraid to check a book out to be read later, or revisit a web site at another time, or to subscribe to RSS feeds and come back to them when your work is done for the day.
45 comments ↓
Excellent tips. I like how you included practical examples – it’s better than all of those generalized statements I’ve read at other blogs.
Keep up the good work.
Hi Max! Thank you for the kind words. Come back any time!
That’s crazy! A handful of articles for only $50? I hope you charge more now.
Hi Alyice, and thanks for coming by!
$10 for a 500-word is fairly standard for newer web content writers, and when you’re talking about a volume of 100 articles in a week from a single client it starts to look better.
I have most definitely moved up since then. I now have the luxury of hand-picking clients that can afford me, and I feel like they get their money’s worth.
Great advice. I especially like the bit about getting distracted by a topic – that is all too familiar and has slowed me down quite a bit when researching for an article.
[...] The Eight Most Common Internet Writing Mistakes – We all know how important writing is, especially if you’re a blogger. Watch out for these mistakes! [...]
Good advice. The best articles are informal and stick to the topic without pointless wandering. Even though these are all rather basic tips we should all know; it sometimes takes a reminder!
Going too deep is the bane of my career as a graduate student. When you’re writing a research paper that has to be a reasonably comprehensive review of the literature, your mind just gets pulled in a million directions. The more interesting the subject, the deeper it goes
As far as blog writing, the thing I struggle with is compartmentalizing my ideas into bite-sized nuggets. I tend to think of things as big integrated fields of knowledge, so it’s hard to break off useful pieces in order to deliver a steady stream of quality content.
One thing I do find about blogging though, for the exact same reason, is that it is making me a better writer in general, and a better conversationalist. People like to be titillated by a piece of information that points to a vast store of knowledge but does not require or expound upon it.
Great advice. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Going too deep into a topic, and becoming distracted by the topic are two of my biggest faults. I have difficulties defining the appropriate amount of time to invest in a project. I always get too caught up in the excitement of learning about a new topic, or market.
@ Susan – Thanks for commenting! Glad to see you made it over here from Helium.
@ Phil – it’s the basics, the stuff we should always remember, that trip us up. Heck, the Internet writer that avoids these 8 mistakes is way ahead of most of the competition.
@ David – I’ve been waiting for you. I bet you never hear that one. Sam Beckett must be on your hate list. At any rate, I had the same thing when I was in Grad school. In fact, one of my professors constantly harped on it, which I think is why it’s so important to me now.
@ Pamela – I could make twice the money I do if I could keep from being distracted by my work. I truly believe that. At least 20% of my work time, most days, is spent on distractions that feel like work but aren’t productive.
Ha, I love Beckett.
Way I see it, everybody’s been waiting for me
Well, those seems useful to me. It’s good you point examples to better understand what you’re talking about… I’m still a novice when it comes to internet writing. Hence this post is very much useful to me. thanks for this post!!!
@ David – That’s awesome. I really appreciate someone with a good sense of humor. A good sense of humor is also a necessity in Internet writing.
@ VA08 – Thanks for coming to the blog! I’m glad to have you, and hope you enjoy the rest of it. Thanks for commenting!
Hi!
Interesting blog. Seems many here lean toward Helium. I am also looking at Assoc. Content. for earnings. Quick question — any idea of how many articles out of 100 are accepted for Upfront Payment at Associated content? Lets just say they are a decent writer– perhaps at your level of experience just for kicks
Hi, just discovered your blog. Some great points being made, especially the issue around correcting simple grammatical errors. You’re right, we all make mistakes, but it’s finding them and correcting them that marks you out as reliable. Couldn’t agree more. Keep up the good work.
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
your articles are pure gold. thank you thank you thank you
Michael Sorianos last blog post..Photoshop Express – Not Too Exciting
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
Thanks for the good advice and content. It’s bookmarked for when I need to start writing more.
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] Anyway I wander off topic, I found this little tidbit which might help to avoid Common Mistakes When Writing. [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
Thanks so much– I just started my blog (today!) and I feel like I’m trying to fly without wings. This seems like a great place to pick up some tips
Steph
Hey,
Thanks for those marvellous tips and you just passed on that info in the right manner. I feel like I do commit a lot of those flaws stated. It seems like I’m now totally into writing, being aware of the tips to be recalled.
Thanks a lot
Bye
Kaveris last blog post..Daily Games & Free Trials
[...] The 8 Most Common Internet Writing Mistakes [...]
When are you going to write that article about your Aunt Mable’s Hairstyles in the 1950s?
Christopher Garlingtons last blog post..13 Back to School Resources!
Thank you so much for your advice. Every little bit helps, and the info you provided was easy to understand.
Have an awesome day!
[...] loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
Great Insight, Bob! I often get absorbed by the topic and find myself wandering off into uncharted realms of ‘research’. It’s hard to reprimand myself because it is so easy to justify any opportunity to learn more about an interesting topic. I mean, if you ever write about diving again you’ve already done your research!
Still, when hours of the day disappear into breadcrumb trails about SEO, CSS, Photoshop, etc. I come back to an unwritten article/post and a mind swollen with ideas and concepts that are more jumbled then when I began. Yes, the information is useful but it would be more useful in limited doses AFTER the writing is done.
Great points!
Rebecca Laffar-Smiths last blog post..Bloggers And The Wall: Breaking Through Barriers
[...] writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their [...]
[...] The Eight Most Common Internet Writing Mistakes [...]
going too deep seems to be the biggest problem every blogger almost has on the internet.
Web Design Windsor´s last blog ..Web Designers in Windsor
[...] Dreams Blogger – Bob Younce; writer Love – Wise observations, coaching, no nonsense Read – “8 … Internet Writing Mistakes” by B. [...]
[...] The 8 Most Common Internet Writing Mistakes [...]
Leave a Comment