Bad grammar is not very encouraging!

[fionadav]

Hi, I’m new here and love this entire concept. I’ve even purchased one gig and have no complaints. I am however confused. I’ve put up a request, and spent hours pouring over gigs that promise to promote my book, website etc, including fabulous copy. Awesome! My problem is that half of these sellers don’t even know how to put a sentence together that’s grammatically coherent. How on earth am I supposed to trust them with a major campaign to thousands of people??? Am I missing something here??

[emmaki]

Some of them even offer “expert” proofreading services! You’re not missing anything–some people just want to make a quick buck in spite of not being terribly good at whatever they have to offer (worse, may think they’re actually really good at it despite all evidence to the contrary). Obviously, don’t hire them…

[misscrystal]

Look for tons of positive feedback over a period of time and of course perfect grammar.

[razzaka]

For some odd reason, since I have become a buyer on Fiverr, I noticed that some sellers have these …

[jey242]

Reading through all if not most of the reviews of the seller you are interested in hiring should give you an idea of the level of service you would be getting from that seller. Some sellers may not have English as their primary language however that does not mean they would not do a great job for you.

[shounak10]

Simple! Don’t hire them. If your life depends on it, hire someone who is good at english and there are plenty of people in both the categories. It is always advisable to message the seller first to get some replies from them. That way you will at least know if they have basic english communication skills. Ask open ended questions. Not questions that can be simply answered with a yes/no.

[fastcopywriter]

Some people become “writers” because there’s a lot of money to be made writing, and unlike other skills, you don’t need software beyond Microsoft Word. However, you should use common sense. While writers aren’t proofreaders, they should be able to write well with a minimum of mistakes. A run on sentence here and there isn’t the end of the world, but there is a point where their work becomes unusable. I’m glad you’re noticing their mistakes, good for you!

[therealsiri]

I guess it’s all about finding the right seller. There are great writers here you’ll just have to read through some of the reviews 😉

[flyingmongoose6]

I’ve noticed that most people on here aren’t very good writers and have a very poor handle on the english language. If I’m looking for a gig, I will look at the person’s profile description and gig description before making the effort to contact them directly.

[fionadav]

I’m a writer myself, that’s why it’s been so blatantly obvious.

[emmaki]

A run on sentence has been he end of the world for some buyers. It was easy to fix, but the fireworks were quite the sight.

[fivestarwriter1]

Okay, but what of us new sellers who don’t have feedback yet?

[fonthaunt]

Read the suggestion I gave you on your post in Conversations. If you have no feedback, samples and your writing in your description will have to help you. There are sellers on Fiverr claiming to be writers, proofreaders, etc. that cannot even write a gig description that makes sense. Clearly they are not good choices with or without good feedback.

[fonthaunt]

You have to think of Fiverr as a kind of a flea market or “antique” shop. You’ll find a lot of cheap junk, some fakes and some gems. You could go to a fancy shop with everything guaranteed but you aren’t going to find bargains there. On Fiverr you’ll find some of those bargains that are the real deal, but you may have to toss aside some dusty paint-by-number Rembrandts to get there.

[chrylent]

Bad grammars are not only one reason of encouraging. There can be many more other reasons. We can’t judge a seller only with his grammar.

[emmaki]

I agree, the bad grammars are just a small part of the puzzle.

[misscrystal]

That was a beautiful analogy.

[misscrystal]

I like to see a seller with good grammar.

[fastcopywriter]

I love the variety of gigs, I was having issues with my wordpress blog and for $5, I was able to find someone that told me how to fix it. Didn’t even have to give him access to my blog, I just used screenshots.

[fastcopywriter]

As am I, except that I’m more of a copywriter than a writer, and by copywriter I mean advertising copy. I hate it when people write blogs and call themselves “copywriters.” Here’s a tip, if you have an area of expertise such as food, making money, finance, etc, do a gig just for that area. A friend of mine is getting lots of orders that way.

[fastcopywriter]

True, and let’s face it, there are horrible writers with excellent grammar. A friend of mine had a Masters in Spanish Literature and a BA in English, her grammar and spelling were perfect in both English and Spanish, but her headlines, radio commercials, print ads, were absolutely hideous. She needed a lot of help at the agency, I think she got hired because my creative director wanted someone with a perfect grasp for the language for long copy work. Ironically, she left the industry and became a teacher. Now she regrets it, but frankly, I don’t blame her. Teaching is a lot easier than advertising, doesn’t require as many hours, you get a pension, more vacation, great healthcare, and if she marries a wealthy man, she’ll be set for life.

[fonthaunt]

Thanks! Feel free to use it. This topic does come up often!

[fonthaunt]

There are also good writers with imperfect grammar, spelling and punctuation. I’ve had author friends who rely on spell check for draft work. I think I’m a decent writer but I dislike editorial work and my drafts (and forum posts) often have various minor errors. For really refined work like e-books, I hire an editor.

I think sellers who market their writing skills should have coherent writing that gets the point across, though. I hold editors and proofreaders to an even higher standard. I agree with the OP that terrible written English is cause to worry and especially with those gig types. A seller who doesn’t claim to be a writer can get away with more but should be able to communicate or get help from a good communicator.

[akib07]

Bad grammar is not a major problem for a seller. A seller may be a good skill and other’s experience.

[emmaki]

You could always call yourself a “maven”. A “digital marketing maven” or a “content strategist” or “popular hat wearer who can spell”.

You could create a monster out of a jumbo mix of the three.