Should I keep writing?

28 replies
I have mentioned in the past I have had a lot of success on fiverr, but this may be down to my price as opposed to writing. Could someone possibly look over these two articles I wrote earlier; one was for my gaming website, the second for my SEO website. Constructive comments would be absolutely wonderful. Please bear in mind I have only written articles for around 1 month.

Regards,

Ryan Gillam
#writing
  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    Your writing isn't bad at all, I would say that you have the ability to continue (definitely outside of fiverr).

    A couple things you can work on:

    1. Personality: There is no personality to your posts, they just kind of say what they have to say and are done with it. This isn't horrible (it's what they teach in school after all); but to really evolve as a writer you are going to want your personality in your work more often than not.

    2. Introductions: Mainly your lack of having any. You delve straight into the content. I would personally recommend against the practice.

    Work on your craft a little bit, and you will be good to go warrior.
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  • Profile picture of the author fin
    Just read the first one and I liked it.

    I'd keep going and getting better.
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanGillam
    Many thanks for your replies! I will work on the personality and introduction part.
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  • Profile picture of the author kalens99
    You have enormous potential. I think you will evolve over time and have big things going for you. Joe gave a couple of tips that I agree with. Another I would like to add is that you should consider the purpose of what you are writing. The style for each type of writing varies. I think the essays you wrote are great, but they may be a tad long for certain purposes. It might not work for a blog post but could work great for a mini-essay. Just learn the style and voice you need for each type of writing and you will can go very, very far my friend.
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    • Profile picture of the author cashp0wer
      I see potential also. No introduction is not good. You should always have an introduction in all articles. I also noticed a lot of grammar issues. No commas where there should be, etc. You might want to look into this also. Overall though, a good start and I have read a lot worse.
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  • Profile picture of the author darrenchow
    Yes, You should definitely keep on writing.
    I see value in your articles.
    If you continue to write, I believe you can charge at least $7 per article. =))
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanGillam
    Is there any course I can use to learn how to write introductions? Schooling has taught me that all I need to do for an introduction is to write briefly about what I am going to discuss, clearly this isn't the case for online article writing
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    • Profile picture of the author cashp0wer
      The main purpose to an introduction in an article is to introduce your reader to the subject matter you are writing about, and to also state the intent of the article. It does not have to be long. A few lines should be enough, depending on how long the article is.
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      • Profile picture of the author Legit SEO
        First article looks really good, but it is spelled "optimization"
        What is your username on Fiverr? I have a lot of money sitting around on there and I need some articles
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        • Profile picture of the author RyanGillam
          Originally Posted by Legit SEO View Post

          First article looks really good, but it is spelled "optimization"
          What is your username on Fiverr? I have a lot of money sitting around on there and I need some articles
          English Spelling is optimisation, the article is for an English website.

          Also username is same as what I use on here, I have a pretty long queue at the moment though.
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          • Profile picture of the author Legit SEO
            Originally Posted by RyanGillam View Post

            English Spelling is optimisation, the article is for an English website.

            Also username is same as what I use on here, I have a pretty long queue at the moment though.
            Oh whoops, sorry I wasn't aware of that!
            I will look you up on Fiverr! Cheers
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            • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
              Banned
              Originally Posted by Legit SEO View Post

              Oh whoops, sorry I wasn't aware of that!
              I will look you up on Fiverr! Cheers
              Psh, my boy is graduating fiverr :p.
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              • Profile picture of the author fin
                Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

                Psh, my boy is graduating fiverr :p.
                100%

                I think it's an insult to yourself you would even consider writing for Fiverr again.
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                • Profile picture of the author RyanGillam
                  Originally Posted by fin View Post

                  100%

                  I think it's an insult to yourself you would even consider writing for Fiverr again.
                  There is nothing I want to do more than write away from Fiverr, the thing is I lack the confidence to really just break away. I have guaranteed orders there and I am afraid of rejection on other sites. I have started a lot of gigs on iwriter but stop as I feel that the person may not like it. I will write away from Fiverr soon, hence why I made this post. I wanted to know if I am actually good enough to do that, and clearly I am.

                  I suppose I just need to face my fear of failure.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
                    Banned
                    Originally Posted by RyanGillam View Post

                    There is nothing I want to do more than write away from Fiverr, the thing is I lack the confidence to really just break away. I have guaranteed orders there and I am afraid of rejection on other sites. I have started a lot of gigs on iwriter but stop as I feel that the person may not like it. I will write away from Fiverr soon, hence why I made this post. I wanted to know if I am actually good enough to do that, and clearly I am.

                    I suppose I just need to face my fear of failure.
                    This might come across as harsh: but man the f*** up. You didn't come online to make McDonalds level wages, and that's what you're doing dedicating your career to fiverr. You aren't even getting fee burgers out of the deal.

                    You have enough talent already to charge more, and with practice can make a nice living writing for others (and soon after a great living writing for yourself). Those "safe" gigs aren't building your confidence or business, so stop wasting your valuable time on them.

                    Just do it. Thank us later.
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    • Profile picture of the author WebPen
      Originally Posted by RyanGillam View Post

      Is there any course I can use to learn how to write introductions? Schooling has taught me that all I need to do for an introduction is to write briefly about what I am going to discuss, clearly this isn't the case for online article writing
      It kinda comes from 2 things

      1) Seeing how other marketers are doing it, and

      2) Practicing

      That sounds lame, but it's true. There are lots of different ways to write online (product reviews, press releases, articles for syndication, articles for SEO), and getting good at them just takes some knowledge and practice.
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    • Profile picture of the author danr62
      Originally Posted by RyanGillam View Post

      Is there any course I can use to learn how to write introductions? Schooling has taught me that all I need to do for an introduction is to write briefly about what I am going to discuss, clearly this isn't the case for online article writing
      Read this post on Copyblogger:

      A Fool-Proof Formula for Easily Creating Compelling Content | Copyblogger

      This will give you a good outline for an entire article. Pay attention to the section that discusses the hook. This is what you want your introduction to do, hook the reader into reading the full article.
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  • Profile picture of the author danr62
    Like Fin, I only read the first one. It was good and you have been given some great advice here on how to improve further. I would suggest you take the suggestions to heart, improve your craft, and start to charge what you are worth.

    No one can make a full time living writing quality articles for peanuts. Not unless you live in the Third World, that is.

    Get away from Fiverr, start your own site, and seek clients who will be willing to pay you $50 per article, at a minimum.
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  • Profile picture of the author fin
    Copyblogger has some good articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author tantivy
    hi,

    you write pretty well considering you are doing it for only a month... regarding your first article, i say go straight ahead with what you want to say to your targeted customers.

    here's my simple summarized version of it

    'If you happen to have a website for your local business, your primary concern is how your customers can find you online. Internet users who do searches only favor clicking the first three search results they find on Google; and if your site is not there then your effort to make an online presence can be considered useless...
    ....
    ....
    If you find yourself at a loss on how to push your site on top of search query results, hiring a local seo company can be of great benefit to you.

    Hire me!'
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  • Profile picture of the author jasono
    Articles written not bad. If you keep writing I'm sure you'll be doing good at it. Experience is the best teacher dude. As you write, you will know which part you need to improve and which part you are best at and you going to keep doing it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trevor M
    Having a queue on Fiverr should give you the confidence and reason to believe your writing is up to scratch.

    I only read your first article, and you're definitely worthy of advertising your services on WF or any other outsourcing website.

    Believe in yourself and take the leap. It will be worth it. Trust me.

    - Trevor
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  • Profile picture of the author ShellC
    I saw your gig on Fiverr, you shouldn't be worried about lack of confidence. Everyone seems to like your work. Just look at all the positive feedback you've gotten. It shows that you have talent.

    It's time to take the other foot off the curb and start promoting your talent.
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    Your articles are definitely good enough to continue writing. I have never thought of Fiverr as a good place to base your writing career on. It's good for a little side income when it's really needed, but you should focus on freelancing marketplaces to get long term clients.

    There are a lot of people who regularly post writing projects on various sites including vWorker.com: How work gets done. Guaranteed! , www.odesk.com , Freelancer.com - Hire Freelancers & Find Freelance Jobs Online and www.elance.com You should definitely sign up to those websites. Writing can be a little frustrating there will be moments where you will want to quit, mainly because it is not worth it. But once you find clients who pay for quality rather than quantity, I am sure you will enjoy writing much more. Keep writing!
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  • Profile picture of the author JeanneLynn
    I think your writing is real good! I'd love to get quality articles like that for $5. Your writing is worth more than that.
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanLima
    I read them bith, good stuff! I am going to have to agree with Joe Robinson on this one! Personality is certainly key in all writing and I felt yours lacked it a bit. Absolutely! Keep going.... You will find that readers connect with you more if your personality shows through! This is really true in email marketing!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Cali16
      Ryan, I just read through the SEO article. Based on that, I think you definitely have a genuine knack for writing (something far too many article writers lack).

      As for feedback - one thing I noticed is your over use (overuse? sorry - it's late and my brain is mush!) of commas. As a result, some of your sentences are too long and could easily be turned into two or three sentences. The very first sentence of the SEO article is a good example of what I'm talking about.

      The other thing I noticed is that you often used capitalization when it wasn't appropriate or needed - e.g "search engines, "search engine optimization" and "campaigns" (after PPC) are some examples of words that shouldn't be capitalized as a general rule. I understand you were introducing the reader to SEO and why it's important. A better way to do that - and only when you first use the phrase in the article - would be to put it in bold letters or italics (or maybe quotation marks) instead. (Might be okay to keep the caps in the last paragraph when you're highlighting the service offered...)

      I'd say you're off to a very good start! Get off Fiverr and start marketing your writing services. And don't sell yourself short when it comes to pricing!
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      If you don't face your fears, the only thing you'll ever see is what's in your comfort zone. ~Anne McClain, astronaut
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanGillam
    Many thanks for your all your wonderful feedback. I'll work on perfecting the personality a bit and get off fiverr as soon as possible!
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