I don’t normally go on a tear via my personal website, but I have some feelings that I need to get out in the open, mainly about why your blog sucks.
I’ll freely admit I’m not the most technically savvy of the blogger bunch, but as a professional writer I know a thing or two about writing, and I know a good great blog when I see one. I often get emails from new bloggers, and even a handful of bloggers who have been around for longer than me. They want to know what I’ve done to gain a following and what they can do to take their own blogs to the next level; I’m just going to put what I have to say out there, even if it invokes the ire of others around me.
The Main Reason Why Your Blog Sucks
You are not a Writer. You’re just not.
I’m not saying you have to be the next Ernest Hemingway. I would even venture to say writing online takes less work and talent than writing for print or publication. Yet there are thousands of people out there who want to start a blog to become famous or make money and it will never happen for them, because they don’t care enough to proofread their work. Write if you want to write, but don’t ask me how to make it better and then get offended when I suggest you hire an editor. My sponsored posts aren’t always the most dazzling copy, but I at least take the time to edit them for content and clarity. I proofread my own posts twice before they go live, and if something manages to slip by me, my Dad or Brother will text me what the issue is and I fix it IMMEDIATELY, because I’m absolutely embarrassed when I publish something with a typo on it. Like, stay-at-home-from-my-sweet-thirteen-birthday-party-because-I-have-mouth-herpes, embarrassed.
Why is it such a big deal? Well, because I think posts with multiple typographical errors make the authors look uneducated and unprofessional, and I’d hate for someone to think that of me.
I’m a big fan of everyone becoming a blogger- each person has a unique story to tell and something to say. I also believe writing and blogging do amazing things for the soul.
But there is a reason why certain bloggers are always picked to be the favorites, why people are reading their work more than they are yours. It’s because they can clearly communicate emotions, ideas, and tell thoughtful stories that incite readers to engage and share with their networks. You can create a blog, post regularly, market online, manipulate SEO, get traffic from the internet and fool yourself into thinking you have a successful blog- but a trained monkey can do all of that that. If you don’t care about the writing you won’t be able to tout your blog as a body of work, or get invited to take part in fun opportunities. Good writing begs to be noticed.
This is me and my best friend Tacky Jackie being completely disinterested in everything you have to say.
The reason for my rage-fest today is two-fold.
A little over a month ago, I was contacted via HARO for a piece about spectacular career reinventions. I thought, “I have a pretty neat story” (IMO), I’ll submit. I was picked and the authoress emailed me with a long list of specific questions, questions I (foolishly) thought were for an interview.
Despite telling me she’d send over the final proof before publication, the post went live and to my chagrin, I found my answers stripped into a narrative post, but it made NO SENSE. Add to that, she didn’t proofread, my last name was wrong and the post was rife with spelling errors. It makes me look like an illiterate idiot, but that wasn’t what irritated me the most.
The author of this blog took some liberties and changed sentences around and then slapped my name up in the byline as if I had written the post for her, which we had never discussed. I rarely guest post, and only turn in something I’m proud to attach my name to, especially when it is my given name rather than my “blog” or “stage name” (Lauren Bee). She took it down without issue, but it still rubbed me the wrong way.
Not textbook forgery exactly, but it’s close. She’s saying I wrote something for her when I didn’t. I don’t think the intent was malicious, but I feel duped nonetheless. Lesson learned, I will ask more questions from now on. Ironically, Eddie of Finance Fox (yes, that Eddie of the recent twitter plagiarism scandal) gave me great advice regarding finding publicity for the blog: If they’re interested, they’ll come find you. Yes, I see the irony in his advice now, but I still feel it’s good wisdom worth sharing.
The Second Reason I am Peeved
I had someone ask me to take a look at their site and tell them how they could improve. I did this for free, blogger to blogger, as a gesture of good will. I want to pay stuff like that forward. Both Jeremy from Modest Money and Andrea from So Over This have done for me in the past. I told her the content was lacking in length, style, and had a few grammatical errors here and there, and that she should try to be as pristine as possible and connect more with readers in order to drive engagement, not necessarily regurgitate financial content you can find on any other site. I can promise, I did this in the nicest way possible, but perhaps my tone was misunderstood.
She responded I was rude for insulting her writing. YOU ASKED FOR MY OPINION. I’m definitely not the master blogger of the universe, in fact, go look at my blogroll and you will see a long list of bloggers who are much better than I am, but don’t tell me I’m rude when you asked for my opinion. I hope this particular burgeoning blogstress dies a slow, painful death trapped in a content marketing hell of her own making.
I kid, I kid.
But, going back to my point about why some people will never have the great blogs, the kind you bookmark and return to again and again- if you don’t care enough about what goes out there, about how your writing looks and reflects upon you, then you’ll never be a blogger. Whether you want to make money online or even share your personal story, if you don’t care enough then you don’t deserve a following, fans, or fame. It doesn’t matter how good your stuff is, if no one can get through the page without getting caught up on your errors, it’s worthless.
Blogging is hard work, f*ers, it might be easier than other professions out there, but that doesn’t mean you get to be a lazy asshole.
#endrant
Hi, my name is Lauren but I'm known to those nearest and dearest as L. Bee. After twenty-five years on the planet I have worked in a lot of industries, moved to many different cities, and made almost every money mistake you can make.Join me on my journey as I navigate my twenties and try not to pick my "money tree" bare.
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For a couple minutes I always think… “I wonder if this is me?” but then I remember I do proofread my posts and have my girlfriend proofread them as well. I think that puts my effort at a decent level. Even if we both miss something I’ll fix it as soon as I realize it.
I’m sure my writing could be improved as I am not a professional writer. However, I don’t follow perfect grammar because I write like I talk. English teachers would cringe at how I start some of my sentences but if it flows and sounds natural when you read it that’s kinda what I aim for. Hopefully that doesn’t make people hate my blog!
Lance @ Money Life and More recently posted..Best Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses – March 2013
Lance, I LOVE your blog. And I’m not talking about anyone I connect with on twitter or actively share their posts. I think we can all think of a few blogs that have horrible errors that make it difficult to read.
I also wrote this last night, and even proofread it, but missed a few things. I’m not perfect either.
I always make time to proof read my posts, however, everyone in a while something will still fall through the cracks. My wife normally picks up whatever I miss though
I also recently was contacted by a newish blogger (1-2 months) and was asked for my opinion on their site. I told them that they may want to consider using a little bit of formatting in their posts so that readers aren’t hit with a giant block of text. The person pretty much said thanks for your input, but this is how I write.
My thoughts – Fine by me, just don’t come asking for my help if you don’t want to listen to what I have to say! I do have other things to do with my life you know…
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..Forex Currency Trading Basics For Beginners – Part 2 (MetaTrader4)
Irritating isn’t it? Why do they even bother asking? And the thing is: writing in the technical sense is very easy to fix. I’m much better now than I was a year ago. Being a better writer doesn’t mean you have to change your voice.
You should have told the person who messaged you they’re not e.e. cummings and to format their shit.
Another interesting thing to consider – not everyone has had the ‘art school’ experience. You have learned how to handle constructive feed back during your theater days. Artists learn how to ask for help, then consider and run with the suggestions. So these people who have never been writers, have never had to go through the process of writing multiple drafts of ANYTHING… maybe that is a good way to frame it. Don’t write things in your WYSIWYG page and hit “post”. Type it, print it out, read it out loud.
VERY good point, admittedly one I hadn’t thought about before!
Like Lance, I read posts like these and always stop to ponder if I am one of those being addressed.
I completely agree that not everyone is a writer and I am far from a grammar Nazi, but there are some basics that should be followed. I am so thankful for my wife because she edits everything I write as she’s been a writer for a number of years. I then re-read it just to make sure it all flows good.
My big area for improving is simply making my posts more personal and relatable. More in depth material is good and is needed, but a little goes a long way in my opinion.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..How to Afford Your Summer Vacation Ideas
I’d love to hear more about your life John, but you are such a rockstar already.
Great rant. It’s all very true. “connect more with readers in order to drive engagement”… yours is one of the very few PF blogs I come to on a SUPER regular basis and this is exactly why. I love to hear about your story and your life. I feel there is way too much of the generic stuff out there. I definitely fell into that trap a bit when I first started blogging. While it’s great for first time readers trying to get educated about finances, it doesn’t take long to learn pretty much everything there is to know so you need to charm them into coming back again and again.
Thank you Gillian! How sweet of you to say!
I always proofread, but things tend to get through the cracks occasionally. I know how you feel, I’m always SUPER embarrassed.
Michelle recently posted..Case of Lifestyle Inflation – But I’m Not Upset
Read what Kevin put below=#embarassed
This is my first time reading your blog and I love blogs that have a voice and aren’t just writing the same crap that’s been written 100,000 times already. I think I’ll like this one!
However, while we are talking about proofreading, am I missing something or does this sentence make no sense?
“A little over a month ago, I was contacted by HARO piece I submitted for, a piece about spectacular career reinventions.”
I’m no English major, but it looks like you left out a few words. Isn’t it a bit ironic to have a grammatically nonsensical sentence in a rant about other people not proofreading.
Kevin @ Thousandaire.com recently posted..The End of a Car Lease Sucks
Ironic…yes, but since it is also a post about taking constructive criticism, I have changed the sentence you pointed out.
Thanks for stopping by Kevin! It is super nice to meet you.
That’s okay. My fiancee finds mistakes in my posts all the time, which is really sad considering she doesn’t even read my blog often. It’s like I have a spelling mistake every day!
Sadly, I’m one of those people who don’t proofread before I post. It took enough time just to write the darn thing, I don’t want to read it now!
I’m with Lance and John, I was wondering if this is what L Bee thinks of my site. I try my best to proofread posts, but I often have to do it with a three year old pulling at my chair saying “Ethan’s turn, Ethan’s turn!” (that kid loves PBS kids) and I know that spelling errors squeeze through. I’m always embarrassed when I find them, and change them as quick as possible. If I see a spelling error in someone else’s post I’m always nervous to say something as i don’t want to be known as “the nasty one that has spelling errors, but has the nerve to correct mine.” Please let me go on record, I’d appreciate a heads up when there is a spelling error. I don’t want people thinking I’m un-ed-mu-a-cated! hahaha
Mandy @ MoneyMasterMom recently posted..Too Many Birthday Parties: Make the Madness Stop
I’m not saying people have to be perfect-I am CERTAINLY not. My bf caught an error on this post this AM. I’m talking about people who can’t put a post together in a clear and logical way, and have multiple spelling errors in each post. That is who I am talking about-never you my dearest!
Haha, I can totally relate to this Mandy! Half the time I write in the mornings and my toddler is asking me a gazillion questions as I try to get things done. Occasionally, I have a typo or two. It’s her fault. I blame the three year old.
Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted..Doing Your Homework: How to Save Money Buying a House
What good is having kids if you can’t blame stuff on them right Holly? haha
Mandy @ MoneyMasterMom recently posted..Too Many Birthday Parties: Make the Madness Stop
I am currently (hopefully) a week away from opening a new, self-hosted blog. I migrated all of my old content over, and I’ve been going through it all to clean up the images, categories, and tags – and I’ve been finding typos and other errors on a lot of my old posts. Nothing glaring, thankfully, but I hadn’t realized how often I repeat the same word(s) in a single post! Being an editor of my own (old) work taught me a lot about how I write, and now I know what to look out for going forward.
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Amanda! Congrats on going self-hosted! This is such a big and important step. I also know how time consuming and frustrating it can be so kudos to you.
I’m all the time going back and looking at old posts-definitely much better now than I was then, and I’m so thankful. Fresh eyes are great and often necessary, but you are your own best editor.
Sometimes I think people are not as open to constructive criticism as they need to be. I receive it constantly as an instructor and initially I took it personally, but I realize that it helps getting a different perspective from a fresh pair of eyes. It helped me become a better instructor and when I do finally get off my ass and ask for advice from a more well-known, established blogger, I know it will make me a better blogger.
MakintheBacon$ recently posted..A Closer Look at Office Romances
MK made the point earlier about some folks not handling criticism well. I forget that as a former actor I bathed in it for so long it seems commonplace to me. Still, once you reach that place where criticism no longer holds you back you become unstoppable.
At first, I thought this post was another unwarranted rant about blogs. One in which you never offer help to anyone else, and just become an annoying whiner. I take my thought back, because your writing is amazing and your rant is warranted.
I am a new blogger on the scene, and I would love more feedback. I reread my stuff, have my husband reread, and then sometimes even reread my post backwards. I still miss errors though, and sometimes my posts even flow like a clogged up shower. I would like to blame it all on writing three papers a week for school, but sometimes I just do not care about my blog like I care about school. Seeing this post makes me want to care more. Not because of your rant, but because you are the type of writer I would love to become.
Financial Black Sheep recently posted..What I Learned from my No-Spending Challenge
My goodness, be careful or you are going to make my head blow away like a balloon
Thank you for all your kind words.
I’ve taken a few classes here and there (I don’t have an English degree), but honestly, just writing every day makes you better because you are practicing. We all know what they say about practice! Also, the fact you proofread your posts, have your hubby read them, and then you read it again shows you do care, even if you don’t think it is enough. You are definitely on the right track. I’d say get on a regular posting schedule, and then develop and editorial calendar of what you are going to write and when. I only write two days each week, but I spend the rest of the time looking it over and fixing. A lot of work for something that is only 5-600 words (usually) but I think its worth it.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you out. Contrary to what people probably think after reading this post, I do love helping out new bloggers.
Great post … I mean rant, LB.
I am not a professional writer or a grammar pro, but I try my hardest to write readable posts, free of mistakes. I know the occasional typo (or more often a missing word) makes it live, but as soon as I catch it or someone else does – I blush terribly and fix it immediately. I’m still finding my blogger voice and post layout style, but I know that will come as I gain confidence. I am always amused by those who seek feedback, but seem to only want positive feedback. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE positive feedback, but truly constructive feedback is what helps you grow.
I think you have a great voice. I love the positivity you send out via Twitter!
I thought about this post for awhile (after laughing). I can see your face as you’re writing it! I must admit that I’m not a natural writer and I am constantly working on grammar, voice, and the list goes on. I currently work with teachers who teach English as a Second Language and am surrounded by English language lovers on a daily basis. When I went to FinCon12 a blogger who I look up to said that I should consider vlogging because my personality wasn’t translating as well in my blog. I couldn’t take that personally. She wanted me to do better. I took that advice to heart and approached FinCon12 from that perspective. I am a much better writer now than I was in September. Why? Because of ongoing practice and effort. IF I open myself up to critique I understand that the critique is a learning opportunity and should not be taken personally. People should be able to self-assess and be honest about where they are at. I am a very critical of myself and am self-aware enough to know when I write something that is a home-run vs. something that’s subpar. Also, isn’t it funny how effort matches results? My best posts are the ones that I put the most work into. I think that any critique you made was done in a professional way with no intention of being rude. But, we’re adults and if the writer has any intention of monetizing it becomes a business. And in business conversations we will hear things that we don’t like. If I ever ask for your critique (or anyone else’s) I understand that I might not like what you have to say and take it with a grain of salt. She just wasn’t there yet. She may change her view of the exchange later. But, right now her pride is a little hurt.
Like. Very, very much.
The grammar thing is important, but I really gravitated toward the “you are not a writer, you’re just not.” Like you said, anyone and everyone can and should blog. Everyone’s got an interesting perspective. But having a blog does not a writer make.
I started my career in advertising as a graphic designer before making the switch to a copywriter (my original pursuit and passion). What’s awesome about graphic design is that there is a barrier to entry. Some level of technical skills are required. Not everyone can learn how to use Photoshop. People respected the skill set because they couldn’t do it.
The complete opposite can be said of being a professional writer. Everyone can write. Everyone DOES write. So what do I have to offer? I don’t let my profession determine my own self-worth (that’s silly), but it is frustrating when everyone and their dog thinks they can do your job.
Rant done. Great post.
I was asked for blogging tips recently from a fairly new site, and their main concern was money. They had about 25 posts, and they have an Alexa rank of around 34MILLION. The site looked like complete garbage, and I provided them with about 20 tips to help them improve their site. I ignored their request about the money thing. They took almost all of my advice, which was awesome.
Then about a week later without a thank you or anything, they send me another email, and all they were focused on was MONEY. I’m like dude, if you’re in this for money, you’re not gonna make it very far. I’ve made a few bucks so far, but who cares? I was still nice to them in my reply email, but I told them to focus on developing a readership before demanding the Internet for it’s money.
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I love the photo. Fun night.
Since you mentioned specifically that you hate it when you have errors in your posts, I’m pointing this out (I wouldn’t otherwise): writer, dad, and brother should not be capitalized.
TeacHer recently posted..My Cautious Nature Costs Me Big Bucks Every Month, But I’m Ok With It
Well said L Bee! Of course we all err from time to time but some people have grammatical errors in practically every one their posts.
K.K.@ Living Debt Free Rocks! recently posted..Hey Murphy: Get Your Ass Outta Here!
Hahah AMEN sista. It’s ridic when people get butthurt over opinions, when they asked for the freaking help. Also, proofreading is #1. I’m such a grammar nazi so I get really annoyed when I see mistakes. I know some are just honest mistakes so I could care less but when you have typos and stuff flying all over the place it’s just sickening. Yeppp, sick, like I want to throw up sick.
From Shopping to Saving recently posted..Networking vs. Resumes and Work Experience
I think in order to be a good writer, you have to know what good writing is. …And have studied it to an extent. This means you have to also be well-read. Grammar, conciseness, spelling, and entertaining content are all extremely important.
It always amazed me when people who never practised or sang in front of an audience in their life would get up in front of judges on “American Idol” only to make a goofball of themselves and be ashamed by it. Hell, you wouldn’t get up in front of an audience and play guitar if you didn’t know how to play *guitar*, would you? Is writing all that different?
I’ve had some small pieces published when I was younger. It doesn’t interest me much professionally. I save my writing talents for scathing memos now. (And keep the fun stuff hidden away on a little backwater travel web site.)
*headdesk*
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Dang. Hurts so good. What a refreshing reminder! Taking just a little extra time to put your writing and content together can go a long way towards building a dedicated group of readers and participants.
writing2reality recently posted..Proofreading Will Be The Death of Me!
Blogging is f-ing hard! For sure. And ya, some people just aren’t writers, and some of those people are unfortunately other bloggers.
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I have a bad habit of proofreading and missing huge, glaring errors, posting the article, and then going back an hour later and wanting to kill myself as I read through. Perhaps I should get ready to post, wait, and then read through an hour later. Good post.
I feel like I need to go proof reading right now! No, I totally get it, and I hate when people ask for your opinion only to get mad when you give it. No one likes to hear they aren’t perfect, but if we want to get better, you have to take the good with the bad. I love your rants. They’re the best!
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..Eyes on the Dollar 20/20 Roundup #31- Good Things
Hey, when I asked for your help, I didn’t know you were going to publish our conversation for the WORLD TO SEE!!! WTF? All I wanted was for you to validate that my lack of personality, imagination, basic grammar and terrible formatting were what people want to read, and that you LOVE ME AND MY BLOG!!! /fakerant
Good call here. Michelle from Sense of Cents asked what blogging tips I would give to beginners the other day, and I said “The only thing unique about your blog is YOU”, meaning that the information is probably already out there, and people are going to show up to hear YOUR voice about the matter. That’s it. If you can’t put your voice in it, then people won’t give a crap.
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