Associated Content "Source:" My Story as a Content Producer

Associated Content has decided to start calling Content Producers "Sources." This is a change that will allow writers to be shown as the Source of the information provided in the articles. I am one of those Sources, and here is a brief story about my two year journey with Associated Content.

Although content producers for Associated Content, or "Sources," have many different reasons for writing, the general reasons for writing content on the site are for gaining a base of articles as a writer, making money, and achieving status in the writing community. Clout might be another goal.

My first two goals with Associated Content, as a "Source," were to make Clout Level 10, and to make a million page views. I reached Clout Level 10 on May 11, 2008, a little over a year after I had started writing. My anniversary date is March 27 each year. However, the one million page views was harder to come by.

I now have almost one million page views, but this is a year later. I am almost at my two year anniversary date, which will be March 27, 2009. It will be pretty neat if I hit the one million page views on my two year anniversary. I need about 14,000 page views, and I have 13 days to go.

My next goal is to make money each money for gas and food. My full time job as a custody mediator in the Court system in Maryland pays a good amount of the bills, but doesn't leave for much extra. I gave up making money as an attorney to do something I believe in, for a little less money. So, Associated Content upfront payments help pay for gas and food for the month. The residual income I make each month from page views also helps with this.

My overall goals with Associated Content for the future, as a Source, are to become an established, respected writer and to make enough residual income each month to pay a more significant portion of my bills, so I can move on to other things.

So how did I accomplish the one million page views? Setting goals. Each week, you say to yourself, I am going to write ten articles. It is easier to do if you have to do it to pay bills. This is an incredible motivator. You write ten articles each week, or whatever your goal is. To find out how many to write, if you want to have 365 articles in one year, write one each day or seven a week. Breaking large goals into smaller ones makes things achievable.

As for page views, you also have to think about what the public is going to want to read. Your opinion articles may not go very far, or something that has an end date. Say you write about a parade that happens once in a lifetime. You may get some good page hits for two weeks, but then that article is basically lifeless. Try articles that will last over time. A seasonal article that can be read each year is even fine, like enjoying annual fireworks in your area. It can be viewed over and over again on July 4th and New Year's. Top Ten lists seem to do well also. If you can find a niche that noone else writes about, this might help with page views.

My goals for the next year are to write 500 more articles. I want to get a good residual income going so I can free up my time for other things. This is an exciting thing about Associated Content, and it feels good to bring in money each month for work you did in the past.

Good luck, all Associated Content Sources! May you reach all of your goals!