How to Reach Clout 7 in 2 ½ Months and Increase Your Page Views at Associated Content

A number of people have been asking me what I did to reach Clout 7 in only 2 ½ months. The answer, in a word, is diligence. However, undirected diligence can amount to running around in circles. If you want to increase your clout, these are some of the tips that I have found to have the biggest impact on my improvement.

How to increase your clout: write, write, write
Put simply, you won't get readers unless you are a writer. If people don't have much to read, the page views simply won't come. Also, you will miss out on the multiplier on your page views that you get from having more articles. Write for Associated Content, and write a lot.

For more on resources about how to increase your clout and page views by simply writing more, I have found these articles to be helpful:

How to Beat Writer's Block by Zac Wassink
Freelance Writing Secret Technique - How to Permanently Beat Writer's Block by Vikas D. Reddy
Secrets to Success on Associated Content by Michelle L. Devon

How to increase your clout: social networking
If you have researched about how to increase your clout or your page views at all on Associated Content, you have likely heard this advice from many of the most prolific writers. Devote some time to social networking, and you will be rewarded with page views that you would never have pulled in otherwise. This is advertising, and casting out these nets will catch many fish.

The social networking outlets that have proven the most profitable for me are:

Facebook
Twitter
Wordpress

Fortunately for us, Associated Content has put in the work to make these three easy to utilize through their auto-post feature.

For more resources about how to increase your clout and page views by social networking, I have found these articles to be helpful:

How to Promote Your Articles on Associated Content by Michelle L. Devon
Succeeding at Associated Content is like Growing a Business by Daniel Thrasher
Getting Started on Facebook by Sylvia Cochran
Tutorial: Using Twitter to Promote Your Content by Lisa A. Mason
Starting a WordPress Blog by Nina Rotz
Create a Newsletter to Promote Your Writing by Christine Cadena

How to increase your clout: write about topics that interest you
If a topic interests you, it will interest others enough for them to read it. If you don't want to read about it, it is likely that many will also not want to read about it either.

Along these same lines, there are a number of resources that you can use to determine whether a topic will be popular enough to gain you page views. There is a delicate balance between writing what many want to read about and writing to your strengths.

For more on resources about how to increase your clout and page views by writing about interesting topics, I have found these articles to be helpful:

Article Marketing: How to Write Articles People Want to Read by Yuwanda Black
Tips for Writing Great Articles on Associated Content by Tamara L. Waters

How to increase your clout: don't write what others have already written
Many times in the beginning I would write an article, excited about its prospects, only to find that my topic had already been covered to death, and by many who gave it a much better treatment than I had given it. Needless to say, the page views on those articles were dismal.

Since then, I have trained myself to scour Associated Content with my keywords, looking to see if another AC writer has covered the topic already. If it has been covered, I typically pass on the topic and look toward another topic.

For more on resources about how to increase your clout and page views by avoiding topics that have been already done, I have found these articles to be helpful:

Tips on Writing for AC and the Web Part 2 by Lyn Lomasi
Writing for Associated: One Month Later by Radell
Get a Better Offer from Associated Content by Amy Brantley

How to increase your clout: connect with other writers
I wrote about this already in my article Important Writing Tips Learned from My First Month at Associated Content, but it bears repeating: connecting with others in the Associated Content community is a must for anyone who really wants to get the Associated Content experience. This tip is not just important in learning how to increase clout. The Associated Content community is full of talented and helpful writers who make it their mission at times to help you become more successful.

For more resources about how to increase your clout and page views by connecting with other writers, I have found these articles to be helpful:

Forum Guidelines - AC Forum
Important Writing Tips Learned From My First Month at Associated Content by Sean Easley
What Can You Do to Improve Your AC Submissions? by Mary Ward
Why Should You Read the Forums on Associated Content? by Tamara L. Waters

How to increase your clout: take up a few hot topics to boost page views
This tip is offered with a caveat: writing on hot topics will not pay off as well in the long run as writing about evergreen topics. This article is not about success in the long run, however, it is about how to increase your clout to get to those better performance payments.

For those looking to increase your clout quickly, writing on hot topics and seasonal spikes can be a huge boon to your efforts. New content producers live to see their page views jumping up overnight, especially when it means that we get another planet on out home page.

Be careful not to abuse the system, however. Sensational headlines that don't deliver the goods can cause more harm than good. Reporting accurate breaking news, writing articles about upcoming holidays, and offering fresh perspectives about popular television and movies are only a few ways to get a quick, and legitimate, boost to your page views and an increase in clout.

For more resources about how to increase your clout and page views by writing about hot and local topics, I have found these articles to be helpful:

Localizing Your Content by Pam Gaulin
How to Come Up with Writing Topics for Associated Content by Carol Bengle Gilbert
Increase Pageviews on Associated Content Using These Tips by Paula Neal Mooney

How to increase your clout: develop your SEO
No one will read your articles if they are unable to find them. Search Engine Optimization is the tool that Associated Content writers use to increase their page views over time, and increase their clout. This is probably the most important skill you will learn in your web writing, and will make all the difference in your mission to increase your clout. Using proper SEO will cause your articles to draw in page views naturally.

For more resources about how to increase your clout and page views by improving your SEO, I have found these articles to be helpful:

Who Else Wants Headlines that Draw Pageviews? by Pam Gaulin
Writing Headlines for AC: How to Find Phrases, Check Keyword Density & Google Your Content by Crystal Ray
The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing for the Web. 7 Quick Reasons Why No One Read Your Last Article by theBarefoot
Web Writing: the Ground Rules That Make a Good Article by theBarefoot
Tips on Writing for AC and the Web Part 1: SEO Tips by Lyn Lomasi
Google AdWords Keyword Tool
Textalyser.net
TagCrowd.com