How to Promote Your Articles on Associated Content

Tips for Promoting Associated Content Articles

We all know, clout means more page views, and more page views and clout mean more money. My first paid article was submitted and posted in June, 2006, and since June, I have increased to a Clout Level 6, and feel I'm pretty close to moving on to the next level.

I am consistently in the top rated content with many of the articles I have written, and while ratings don't matter to payment or clout, being featured in any way on the front page will equal more page views.

So I've been playing with ways to increase clout level and promote my articles on AC, and I thought I'd take a break from writing articles for pay, and stop a moment and write an article about how to promote your content on AC, get high ratings, get featured, get page views, increase your clout - and ultimately, make more money.

1. Write Quality Articles

Writing quality articles and not just fluff pieces will bring readers back to your writing to read more of what you have to say. When you write good content, with few grammar errors and keep typos and spelling errors to a minimum (we all know we make mistakes sometimes), then people will find your content more interesting and easy to read, and they will come back to read more.

2. Write Regularly

One of the things I really hate is finding a CP who writes things I like to read, but when I go back to their page, day after day, there's nothing fresh or new to read. After going back to look several times and nothing new shows up, I tend to forget to check after awhile, and drift on to other CPs who write regularly. Don't let your CP page get stale by not updating regularly.

3. Pick Good Topics

Picking subjects and topics people are interested in will bring readers to your page. Pick topics that an average reader will want to read. Niche market writing is okay inside the niche market, but when writing for sites like AC, where the public at large come to read, you need topics that pertain to the largest population. Save your niche writing for the niche market that it's best suited for, and post content on AC that will draw a larger crowd.

4. Pick Good Pictures

A lot of people are visual, and they will be drawn first to the picture, and then to the headline, and then and only then will they read the rest of what you have written. I'm horrible at this, because I don't like searching the internet for pics I can use that match my content. I'm a writer, not a photographer or designer, and I really hate hunting for the pictures, but it is clear that a quality picture that catches the eye does indeed increase page views.

5. Pick Good Headlines

As I said in #4, the first thing readers will see is the picture, then they will read the headline, and then and only then will they read the article. Your headline should be keyword friend, so it's easy to find, but it should clearly state what your article topic is. Your sub-headline can be a catchy or witty phrase that then draws more attention, but your main topic should clearly state what your article will be about if they choose to read it.

6. Properly Format Your Article

After you have copied and pasted your article into the editor and submitted it, always go back and view the article by clicking on the small V that shows up next to it. See how the formatting looks, and if there is a problem, go back and click on the little E and edit the formatting.

The best way to keep the formatting from getting messed up is to write your article in whatever word processor you use, but when you are finished, save it as Plain Text into your notepad or WordPad program. This will remove all code from the body of the article, and should remove any extra spaces, funky characters that might appear, and your article will post correctly.

If you want bullets, use them - they're great and easy on the eye for reading, but use the bullet point button on the text editor itself, and not in the word processing program you used to write the article in. This will ensure your bullet show up properly, and also saves the CMs time in trying to fix bullet formatting errors.

<><><>

So okay, now you have submitted your article. While you are waiting for your offer, there are some things you should do to prepare for when your article is finally published.

1. Add Buddies

Click on the My Account tab on your profile page, and scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see an ADD BUDDIES button. Click on that button and you will be taken to a place where you can add a name and email address to add someone as your buddy. Enter the names and email addresses of all your family, friends, colleagues, and email contacts. It might be a good idea to tell them you added them, so they know to expect the email, but AC offers a one click option for them to remove themselves from the list if they don't want to receive the emails.

What this will do is, when a new article you have written is published, send an email to everyone you have on your list, letting them know you've updated your page and published a new article. This way, you don't have to remember to go and tell everyone every time the article posts, and they can come and read it at their leisure.

2. Profile Page

Fill in your profile page completely and upload a picture to make it more personal. The more 'real' you appear to readers, the more they might be able to relate to you, and in turn, come back for more.

3. Tell Everyone

Make sure everyone you know is aware that you have submitted a writing for publication and how excited you are about the prospect of being published. Let them see your excitement and know it's important to you, and then, when you are finally published, they will all want to come and encourage and congratulate you on your accomplishment.

<><><>

Okay, the offer has been made, you probably wished you could have received more money for it, but hey, it's your first article, and you know you put a lot more time into it then was truly necessary, and you also know that as your clout level increases, so will your pay, so you accept the offer. Now, you confirm your payment and PayPal address, and you wait for final approval…

And then it comes, that email you have been waiting for: You Have Been Published On Associated Content!

Yippeee!

Now, not only did you get that notice, but so did everyone you had added to your buddy list, but you know you'll never raise your clout level if you have to depend on your family and friends alone, so how can you promote your content and get more people coming to your page?

1. Blog About It

I have about seven blogs, and I write on them all the time about stuff going on at AC, along with links to my articles from time to time. Whatever blogs you have, Blogger, Myspace, Yahoo! 360, Xanga, Friendster - all of them. If you don't have blogs there, create them, and then blog about your articles. Don't copy and paste your article there, but tell enough so that people are interested in reading it, and then maybe give them so inside info they can't get just from reading the article. Tell your blog readers what inspired the article, where you came up with the idea, what research you did before you wrote it. You can't share these things on AC, but you can on your blog, and it will pique their interest. You don't have to retype it into every blog, just cut and paste from one into all the others every time you update.

Also, under My Account, you can click on the link that says CP Tools and retrieve HTML code to use on your blog profiles or personal web pages.

Use Technorati to ping your blogs every time you update to bring even more readers to your blogs and your AC profile.

2. Use the Feeds

Associated Content provides RSS feeds that are really easy to use. On your profile page, you'll see a button that says RSS. Just click on it, and you'll be given your RSS feed URL link. Add this link to the RSS Feed sections of your blogs or your personal website or business website. Ask your friends if they would add your RSS feed to their blogs and websites too. These feeds will automatically update whenever you post new content, so others will be prompted to come and read it.

3. Bookmark It and Tag It

Associated Content has a ton of social networking, book marking and tagging sites listed under the article you have written. Click on each one of these links and create an account for each of them. If you don't want to take the time to fill in all the forms and such, consider a free auto fill program that will automatically fill in the forms for you, saving you a ton of time.

After you have created the accounts the first time, the rest is usually as simple as clicking the link on your articles pages, filling in the title and summary of your article, some keywords, and clicking submit. Automatically, your articles will be saved, and now, all the users on these sites can see your content and come and read it. This will also place your articles in search engine results for the tags or keywords you selected too.

4. Blast a Bulletin

On Myspace, you have the ability to post bulletins. Blast a description of your article with a teaser as to why they should read it, provide a link, and send it off to everyone on a bulletin. On Yahoo! 360, add a short description and a link to your article in your blast.

5. Blogroll

Add your referral link and your profile link to your Yahoo! 360 blogroll.

6. Group Links

If you belong to any Yahoo! 360 groups that let you add links to the user link section, add your AC link to the link section of all your Yahoo! 360 links.

7. Email Signatures

Add a link to your favorite AC article you have written to your outgoing email signature so that every time you send an email, the recipient can click the link to read your content. Change the article regularly to keep the link fresh and make regular email recipients come back for more.

8. Posting Signature and Group Profile

If you post in forums, user groups, newsgroups, or email groups, add a link to your favorite article on AC to your posting signature. Also, if the forum or group allows for you to create a profile, add your AC profile link to the profiles on other sites.

9. Ping AC

Many sites that ping blogs will accept AC as a blog, and you can actually add your CP profile page to the Ping, and ping AC every time you update.

10. Talk About It

Talk about writing for AC. Tell everyone you are a freelance writer, because, once you get published with AC, you are! Add a link to AC to your business cards or letterhead. Talk about writing for AC and let people know what you do and why you do it. Encourage and invite others to join and read your content or add you as a buddy.

11. Become Known

When you go to Google and type my name Michelle L Devon into the search bar, you will see my Associated Content profile is listed in either the number 3 or 4 position (it flip flops) but you'll also see lots of other links on the first three pages and beyond that are all related to me or something I've done on the internet. If people come to look for me by performing an internet search for something else I'm involved in, they will also see my AC profile link too. The more you do on the internet, the more likely it will be that you will become searchable and your AC profile page can be easily found if people are looking for you.

12. Write For Other Sites

I know this sounds silly, because you want people to see your AC page, right? But if you write for other sites, you can put in your author's signature or resource box a link to your AC site, and people will come and see it. Also, this helps make you even more searchable on the internet, and more people will read your writing, creating a following and readership that will seek out your writing.

<><><>

Now that you have promoted your content everywhere else on the internet, why not promote it some right here on AC and bring other CPs to your page?

First, I wrote for AC for over two months before I was even aware AC had a forum for CPs in which even some of the CMs post. Once you are logged in, you can see the link to the forum from your profile page, in the top left hand corner. When I noticed it, I couldn't believe I had never seen it before!

Go into the forums. They're fun, there's great people, support, ideas, suggestions and even a place to vent if you're upset. When you post in there, people who like what you have to say will probably come and check out your page.

Ask your friends and family to vote on your articles, and if you get lots of good votes, you'll be featured on the high ratings page of the front page of AC. Email your photo and a short bio to AC and ask that they add you on the featured CP section of the front page, and write quality articles with good pictures, and you might get picked for the editor's picks of the front page too. Whatever it takes to get on the front page without cheating, do it. The more you show up there, the more people who will come and read you.

Think about the subject of your article when you submit it. When you have to pick the categories to post your content, ask yourself if your content might fit logically into more than one category. For example, I wrote an article about ADHD, and included in this article was information about what ADHD was, as well as information for dealing with an ADHD child in your family. This article could fit in both the Diseases and Disorders as well as the Parenting categories, because it contained information valuable to both.

To select more than one category, simply hold down the control key and click on the appropriate categories. This way, both people who might want to read about ADHD and parents who might want to read about parenting and ADHD child could read my article, and therefore, my page views will increase.

One last comment before I go…

Read other CPs articles and comment. When you comment on their writing, they're more likely to come and comment on yours too. It's reciprocal and fun, and you learn to network with great people who are sharing your AC experience with you. However, be courteous and constructive.

Comment on the article written and not on the author. Comment on the writing or the opinion posted, but don't bash the poster. Being respectful and courteous goes a long way to getting people interested in what you have to say. I make a point of not going to CPs pages who are rude or write trash articles, because I don't want to contribute to adding to their page views and clout. Remember, ratings mean nothing and page views mean everything. I know many other CPs who will not give their page views to people who are ugly, rude, or disrespectful. Alienate too many people, and that clout level will never increase.

Most of all, have fun and make some extra cash while doing it. AC is a great place to share opinions, writings, and ideas… and a little extra scratch never hurt anyone.

Happy Writing!