Surely you jest you are likely thinking. How can a simple, little punctuation mark save a life? It is simple really.
Commas indicate a pause, or break in thought. In a direct address, a comma (or pause) makes it clear to whom you are speaking or writing. When that comma is missing, you can drastically alter the meaning of your words. Consider the following image:
There are many word pairs that are similar in spelling but very different in meaning. Choosing the wrong word can mean conveying the wrong message or confusing your readers. If you struggle with some of the following word pairs, use this guide to always know which word is the right one.
Whether you are new to writing for CrowdSource or a seasoned pro, using Turker Nation can enhance your experience by providing an invaluable resource that allows you to communicate with, ask questions of and get to know or complain to other CS workers, and other general turkers.
The ability to write good descriptions for products is an integral part of writing e-commerce pieces for CrowdSource. While there is much more to creating excellent copy than choosing your words carefully, it is a great place to start. Many words and phrases are overused, inappropriate or fluffy. Keep your e-commerce writing free of the following, and you are sure to produce stronger and more engaging content with substance.
There are a few things that are overused by some writers in writing e-commerce style paragraphs, sometimes in articles as well. Referring to “here” within the content of writing product or brand information multiple times and using too many exclamation points.
It is okay to refer to “here” once in any product description or article, but only once. In most cases, it is possible to use alternative phrasing to avoid using it at all. The reason for only using it once is that with any word or phrase, repetition of the same word, words or phrase makes for pretty boring copy.
Here are a few examples of alternative phrasing to replace “here” and provide a variation in word choices:
This collection offers…
Housed in this collection…
In this selection, you can find…
These are just a few examples of alternate phrasing to avoid using “here” too many times; there are many other more descriptive ways to say “you can find it right here” or “here, you can find.” Variety in words and phrases is the spice that makes engaging, interesting copy that sells products – the goal of any well-written product description.
While referring to “here” too many times produces boring copy, it is also possible to produce copy that is TOO exciting when too many exclamation points are used. This punctuation shows excitement. In fact, it is often referred to as a screamer, startler or gasper. Only one exclamation point should appear in any e-commerce paragraph or article. Using more than one comes across as spammy and overselling.
It is important to choose the right punctuation to set the right tone. Exclamation points convey strong feelings or very excited shouting. Because of this, it is important for writers to remember that there is not a product or brand on the planet that warrants the use of multiple exclamation points, especially one following every sentence.
An exclamation point is well used to emphasize a very strong point about a product. The use of one is not appropriate for most products – it is hard to get that excited about computer motherboards for example. There are instances where one is appropriate, but as a general rule, exclamation points should stay limited to one per writing HIT.
By avoiding the overuse of “here” and exclamation points, any writer is well on the way to writing more engaging and interesting copy.
Keep the following eight tips in mind to write effective content that keeps your readers interested in what you have to say and provide relevant and useful information.
Keep rambling diatribes far from your content. It causes confusion, and your readers often lose interest much in the same way that loud music while you are studying makes it hard to concentrate. Concentration is important for a variety of reasons, and you can help your concentration by taking over-the-counter supplements.
See? Rambling turned the previous paragraph into something about everything BUT avoiding rambling prose. Avoid this type of off-subject writing at all costs. It only serves to undermine the message you want to convey.
Overwriting usually happens when you do not have enough information to construct effective content, or sometimes you may simply like the sight of your prose. In either case, overwriting diminishes the message of your content, and it often comes across as overselling. Consider the following sentence:
Example of overwriting: The fantastic benefits of using these out-of-this-world coffee mugs ensure every brightly-lit, fresh-aired morning you arise from your luxuriously comfortable haven of a bedroom is one that makes sure your glorious day starts out immediately on the path to one that is sure to end a great one.
Fluff words are often words that qualify and are often adjectives. Eliminate these fluff words as much as possible from your content. Fluff words include (but are in no way limited to) very, rather, great, amazing, little, stupendous, basically and many, many other words. Fluff diminishes the quality of your content and provides no useful information. Consider the following sentence:
Example of fluff: Shop this amazing collection of tents that are basically the best on the market and are rather great additions to your stupendous collection of great camping gear.
Redundancy and repeating yourself repeatedly over and over creates content that is boring, making readers unlikely to make it all the way through what you write because it is boring. Say something once, and say it well, rather than repeating yourself with redundant content. Writing the same thing repeatedly is never a good idea because it is boring to your readers. (Yes, this paragraph is intentionally redundant to the extreme).
When writing articles or any piece with multiple paragraphs, you should keep paragraphs short. Longer paragraphs discourage readers from reading the entirety of what you write. The human mind processes and absorbs information more effectively when it is viewed in shorter chunks of information. With this in mind, limit your paragraphs’ length as much as possible to encourage more readers to read all of your content.
Complex words or words reserved for the echelons of the very smart have no place in e-commerce writing. Consider your audience; it is likely to include people from all walks of life, income brackets, educational levels and age groups. You want your readers to understand and relate to your content.
Writing with simple words is more effective than content packed with big, complex words because it conveys meaning simply and directly. For example, replace utilize with use, facilitate with help, commence with start and peruse with browse. Longer, more complex words should only appear in your writing when no other word conveys what you want to say.
The more detail you provide in your writing, the more interesting it is to those who read what you write. Consider the following two sentences.
Sentence #1: This collection of handbags offers a variety of color choices.
Sentence #2: This collection of handbags includes brands like Prada, Lucky Brand, Fossil and more that offer a variety of fun, expressive colors, such as Tuscan red, silver shell and black cherry.
Clearly the second sentence is more interesting, and it provides more details to help those who read your content to visualize the handbags available.
After writing content, proofread it carefully with zest. Eliminate any of the bad content mentioned above, and shorten, rewrite or delete words or phrases that do not add something to the message you wish to convey. Make sure you do not have extra words peppering your content and taking up space that is best used for relevant, engaging and effective content.
Following these eight tips is sure to improve the quality of your content, warrant positive comments from editors and, if you do a good job proofreading, a bonus from CrowdSource for work of exceptional quality.
As a freelance writer for CrowdSource, your earnings are limited only by what you put into your work. The best thing you can do to maximize your earnings is to embrace effective time management. As a writer, your biggest asset is time. The more time you set aside to write, the more your earnings grow as a result. Writing ability aside, the ability to effectively manage your time is a skill with the potential to make your earnings go from middle of the road to beyond your expectations. Follow these tips for effective time management to maximize your earnings through CrowdSource on mturk.
While it is unlikely you can create an “office” space outside your home, establishing an area within your home that is designated as your workspace is crucial to effectively manage your time. The best option is a room that functions as an office, preferably one with a door. However, if this is not possible, sectioning off the area where you work with curtains or a Chinese screen works wonders to keep your time management skills in tip-top shape.
With a designated work space created, you can focus on your clothing. If you are like many writers, you probably think the ability to work in your pajamas is the greatest thing since peanut butter and jelly; however, dressing as though you were actually heading into the office puts you in the right frame of mind and helps to keep you focused on your work. This focus translates into better use of your time.
Dressed for “work,” you should arrive at the your “office” at relatively the same time every day. Without a commute to a physical job, you can relax a bit longer before diving in for the day. The best part is that CrowdSource provides work at various times of the day, so establish a set of hours that work best for you. Consistently working within these hours is sure to have you pumping out content quickly and in a timely manner. Establishing hours of work also goes a long way toward ensuring your sanity.
You want to maximize the time you set aside to write to maximize the amount of money you earn. The structure of work from CrowdSource via mturk makes it easy to track your time. If you can complete six 100-word e-commerce paragraphs in one hour, grab them at once. Make sure to look at the time remaining before you submit the last HIT. Keep track of your improvement over a long period of time. Also, a great way to track your time and measure the amount of work you can complete in a certain amount of time is to work steadily for a set amount of time, such as one hour, and then take a break for 10 minutes. Over time, you should see an improvement on the volume of work you can complete in the same amount of time.
While multitasking probably serves you well in a variety of other ways, when you freelance, it can prove more harmful than beneficial. Every second you spend on another task like checking email, catching a few minutes of the news or chatting it up with a friend on the phone translates into less production and fewer earnings. If you are effectively managing your time, you are sure to have plenty of time to do those things that are a distraction to your work once you have finished for the day.
These tips are just a few of the things you can do to maximize your time management to ensure you enjoy high earnings as a result of your hard work. It is also important to remove distractions, to take adequate breaks, including a good lunch break that includes socializing, and to take good care of yourself. All of these things help develop your skill set that revolves around effective time management. Following these tips is sure to result in earnings higher than you thought possible.
Maintaining parallel structures in words, phrases, sentences, paragraph subheadings, how-to steps and bullet points greatly improves the readability of what you write. In addition, it places the same level of importance on each word or phrase. When ideas or items are similar, using parallelism reinforces the similarities you convey through your words.
If you struggle with choosing the correct spelling for words that are spelled differently depending on how they are used, this blog post is for you. Words like into/in to, onto/on to and others require different spellings in different situations. The spellings used depend on what you are trying to say as well as the part of speech the word takes. With that in mind, consider the following word pairs and their meanings when you are deciding on the appropriate spelling.
Using the correct word choices when you write is crucial to your success as a communicator. Nothing is more frustrating than spending time on a writing assignment, only to have it misunderstood by the reader because of simple mistakes in word choice.