AC Vs. Squidoo: A Comparative Analysis of Two Content-Driven Sites

As a writer, it is important to understand your audience, your medium and how to take advantage of both in order to reap the most financial benefits. This is especially true on the internet where Content is King. So it might benefit you to understand the intricate differences between a common revenue-sharing content site such as Squidoo and the format offered at Associated Content. While neither one is innately "better" than the other, there are some fairly significant differences which may determine which site environment your content would fare the best in.

Personally, I look at my writing in a similar fashion as a child. If I am going to publish a piece, I want to make sure it is going to a place that will look out for it, where it will play well with others, and where it will not be shuffled into the crowd never to be noticed by anyone. And beyond all of that, I want my name to always be attached to that piece and retain all of my rights as it's creator. With these ends in mind, I have experimented with both Associated Content and Squidoo and found some remarkable differences that make each environment a place where certain types of content will thrive.

First of all, what type of content thrives at Associated Content? Well, AC loves "evergreen" articles that continue to be popular. For example, holiday pieces do pretty well in the long run, especially if they are unique enough to be found year after year. Also, pieces geared towards a consistently in demand topic, such as medical conditions, lifestyle pieces, etc. tend to perform well on AC. However, the news-type pieces about the latest research in your favorite field or what's new with Brittany Spears might spike the first week or two, maybe even a month or a little longer, but once it is old news, the pageviews trickle down to nothing and the article you spent so much time and effort on is now lonely out there in the back folder of AC archives. That doesn't sound good, does it?

Luckily, revenue-sharing sites like Squidoo are the perfect place for you to publish your news-type pieces. In fact, on Squidoo, you are allowed to update and change your content whenever you desire so you can update every hour on the hour for two weeks or you can update only once every couple of months. If you never update your content, your site, or "lens", may fall into the category of "Work in Progress" and will no longer be promoted by the Squidoo search engine.

So, which one is more profitable? I would say on the whole, you will get more money faster from AC. As long as you write articles eligible for upfront payment according to their guidelines and you promote your content appropriately, you can easily make about $4 per article and continue to acrue pageview bonuses. With Squidoo, you will be paid a portion of the Google AdSense click-through commissions, as well as a commision on any product from Amazon, Ebay, or CafePress purchased as a result of your content. This requires more than just someone seeing your article like on AC, but someone clicking on advertisement and/or purchasing an item as a result of your page. Do not expect to make a lot of money right away using Squidoo. It takes time, practice, and persistance to learn the tricks and tips of achieving a high ranking lens and getting your audience to want to click on an ad or buy a product from your site. If you follow advice from the Squidoo gurus and put a lot of effort into your Squidoo lenses, you might even make more money on average than you do submitting to AC, but it will take much longer to get to that point. At AC, you can have the first deposit in your paypal acount in only a few days. Squidoo will take longer, but once you get the hang of it, it is only limited by your own efforts.

So which one is ultimately better? Neither. Both online environments can be very beneficial in showcasing your content to the world. Both can be financially profitable. Both can be worthwhile endeavors. I suggest that you join and use both of these sites to showcase your content. Which pieces should be at which site is up to you and should be decided based on the type of piece you have written. I also suggest that you use each site to enhance the other. If you write a great article and you want to promote it, create a lens and showcase it there. Or, if you create a great lens, write an article and linkback to your lens as a valuable resource. For example, when I created my article on St. Patrick and was unhappy about my pageviews, I made a lens to promote it. By utilizing both sites, you can maximize your earning potential and all of your pieces will have a place to shine.If you are ready to start using Squidoo to supplement your content on AC, click here to sign up. Once you sign up, be sure to contact me and let me know what you think of it along with a link to your first published lens so I can rate it, digg it, and help boost your lensrank. Did I mention that the atmosphere at Squidoo is about as helpful and interactive as the Associated Content family? Because it is!