How to Write 100 Articles a Month

I've been working as a content provider for websites for almost two years now, and I notice that as I add more articles to my library at Associated Content, I experience a steady increase in earnings from the performance bonus. Once I reached 100 published articles on Associated Content, my performance bonus revenues really started to rise, and that motivated me to try to publish as many quality articles on AC per month as I can (without sacrificing overall quality for quantity).

In my earlier articles about how I plan to make more money writing for Associated Content, I talked about how I plan to write 100 articles a month for AC. This is simply a goal or target, not a hard and fast number for my monthly Associated Content articles. I have developed the following strategy to help me get organized and plan for this goal of writing 100 articles per month, and I'm sharing these tips to help other AC members who would also like to write a lot more articles each month for Associated Content.

Step 1: Brainstorm Article Ideas

The first part of my plan to write 100 articles per month for writing sites like Associated Content involves brainstorming article ideas. At the beginning of the month I like to take a small pad of paper, and let the article ideas flow in an uncensored way. The only limit I put on this process is asking myself: am I really prepared to write about this now? If not, if the article would take too much time or research or isn't interesting enough to pursue, it doesn't make it to the list of article ideas.

I find it helpful to brainstorm article ideas first thing in the morning, when I feel clear and fresh at the start of the day. I notice that once I get going, I can often brainstorm 25 to 50 or more article ideas in a row. Other good times to brainstorm are after an exercise session, or when you feel especially relaxed, unhurried and creative. I often carry really small "scratch pads" of paper in my bag so I'm prepared to write down ideas if inspiration strikes while I'm on the road or away from my desk.

Once you get into the habit of brainstorming, you'll find article ideas everywhere. What current events or news stories strike a chord with you and could be possible opinion editorial pieces? Your favorite products could be the inspiration for an endless list of product reviews. Are there any noteworthy events in your community that could be the subject of a travel article? (your hometown is a travel destination for others).

Your job or profession would be an ideal topic for a series of articles; for example, if you are a Reiki practitioner, you could compose brief tightly focused articles on all aspects of Reiki, such as the history of Reiki, how to find Reiki treatment, how to find a Reiki practitioner, the benefits of Reiki and so on.

Brainstorming a list of article ideas is key to writing a lot of articles per month for Associated Content. Once you have your list of article ideas in front of you, you'll never waste time wondering what to write about each day. When brainstorming article ideas, it's helpful to decide whether you'll submit your articles to Associated Content for upfront offers, or publish them as display only.

If you are writing AC articles for upfront pay, then you'll skip the opinion pieces and brainstorm article ideas likely to receive upfront offers (also search the AC content library to make sure that your article idea is unique). If you're just publishing articles on AC as display only for performance pay, you can really write on any topic you desire (I submit my articles to Associated Content as mostly display only and I write on whatever strikes my fancy at a given moment, and I still make money each month!)

Step 2: Organize Your Workflow

If you are going to write 100 articles a month for Associated Content, it helps to be as organized as possible. I keep detailed lists and set up individual folders on my computer to organize my workflow. My brainstormed ideas list that is informally written is one monthly record I keep; however, I also set up a folder on my PC called "AC Drafts in Progress" and one folder each month for finished articles, this month called "AC Articles for April 2009."

To give you an example of how this monthly workflow operates, say I refer to my brainstormed article list and start writing my piece for Associated Content titled "How to Write 100 Articles a Month." I first save this article to my AC Drafts in Progress folder on my computer; when it is finished, proofread and I've used a keyword density tool like the one at justsearching.co.uk, it's then ready for publication on Associated Content, and I move it to the monthly folder for finished articles (in this case AC Articles for April 2009).

The articles I am ready to publish on AC, I list on a pad of paper, usually with a title like "Articles to AC." If I'm publishing the article first on a site like Triond, I make a note of it, and when the article is finally published on Associated Content, I cross it off my Articles to AC list. I find that without a master list that tells me what articles are totally finished and ready to submit to AC, I'd lose a lot of article writing time, trying to figure out what's finished and what articles need to be published on Associated Content.

Step 3: Schedule Your Writing Time

I've introduced the system I use to keep my Associated Content workflow organized, but the most challenging part of my plan to write 100 articles a month is finding the time and discipline to actually sit down and do the work. I find it helpful to break this big goal of writing 100 articles per month into smaller targeted goals. For example, I divide the month in thirds and use this as article writing benchmarks--on the tenth of the month, aim to have about 33 articles written, on the twentieth of the month, strive to complete 66 articles, and so on.

Another way to break down the workflow into achievable goals is to schedule a certain number of written articles per week. If you'd like to write 100 articles per month for Associated Content, then you'll need to complete about 25 articles a week. If you work 5 days per week, this is 5 articles a day, an achievable goal when you consider that each article should be at least 400 words minimum, for a total of approximately 2,000 written words per day! As you write more for Associated Content, and flex that writing muscle, you'll find it will definitely get easier to write a certain number of articles per day.

Step 4: Publish Your Articles

Deciding how many articles to write before you submit them to Associated Content is an important part of a successful plan to write a lot of articles per month. In my own experience, trying to write and submit 5 articles per day to AC is exhausting and time consuming. I find it much more effective to write a bunch of articles, and submit them all at once to Associated Content.

I like to brainstorm my big list of article ideas, then sit down and write a bunch of articles about the topics that most excite me from my brainstormed idea list. I sometimes go on writing binges that last for a few days, until I feel I need a break and have to stop writing. This is an excellent time to refer to my folder of finished AC articles, start publishing them on Associated Content, and crossing them off my master list of finished AC articles.

In my experience, submitting articles to Associated Content all at once in batches of 10 or 20 articles saves time and improves workflow. Once you have a bunch of articles completed, you could publish them at the end of your writing day, or you could write for 5 days, and then publish articles on your 2 days off from writing. However you choose to organize your time, writing a batch of articles all at once then submitting them in batches to Associated Content will definitely help you complete more articles.

Some Final Thoughts About This Writing Plan

By following the plan I've outlined in this article, I hope to write 100 articles a month for Associated Content. One thing that really holds me back is the lack of high speed internet access. I live in a rural area and have dial up, but I'm thinking about upgrading soon, even though it will be an added monthly expense. Publishing articles on Triond involves only one screen; however, on AC I have to go through a few different pages in the publishing template to submit an article. With a dial up connection, this can be quite time consuming, so I recommend that anyone who wants to publish more articles a month look into signing up for high speed internet.

I always proofread my articles after they are published on Associated Content, checking for typos and errors and also making sure the links in the article work. This can also be time consuming, and cuts down on my monthly writing time, but it's an important step I won't sacrifice, because I want to keep producing good quality articles for Associated Content.

I also find that when I'm trying to follow my AC writing plan, life frequently gets in the way. Job hunting, friends, family, social functions and the demands of daily life all tend to pull me away from my plan to write 100 articles a month for Associated Content. However, even if I complete 30 articles per month, writing one article a day, and publish this work on AC for the remaining 9 months of the year (April through December) I'll have added 270 articles to my Associated Content library! Since I already have about 133 articles published as of this writing, I'll end up with a total of 403 articles by the end of the year.

If I could pull off even 50 published Associated Content articles per month, for the full months of April through December 2009, by year end 2009 I could conceivably end up with 450 new articles added to my AC library, for a total of 583 published Associated Content articles. If I achieve the goal of writing 100 articles a month for AC, I'd add 900 articles by the end of the year and wind up with over 1,000 articles in my Associated Content library!

I'm excited by the prospect of having over 200 articles published at Associated Content, as I believe this will help with my goal of earning a nice passive income stream from my online writing. So, this is the plan I'm using to help me increase the number of articles I write for Associated Content each month. I hope this article will be helpful for other writers who wish to add more content to their AC libraries. Let these tips be your guide and good luck to you in all your online writing!