Meet Y!CN Contributor Meg C

Meg C. is a Source for Associated Content. If you look at what she has accomplished in just over two months of writing and publishing on Associated Content there can be little doubt as to why Associated Content awarded her with one of the Best New Source Awards for May of 2009. As of this writing she has published 243 articles and received 42,098 page views. This is quite remarkable given her short tenure with Associated Content.

I am pleased that Meg C. has agreed to answer some questions that I have asked her. I have omitted some of the questions that I would typically ask. I have chosen to do this, because Meg C. has covered quite a bit of this information in her recent articles, How I Became AC's Best New Source May of 2009 and How I Made over $760 in Two Months at Associated Content. After reading this interview, if you have not already done so, I would encourage you to these two articles. I am certain that they will be both interesting and helpful to you.

1. Who have been your biggest influences in fueling your desire to write and in developing your skills as a writer?

Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. Seriously, anyone who can buy $40,000 worth of designer shoes by writing a few easy articles on love is inspiration enough for any teenaged girl to want to become a freelance writer. Of course, I realize she is fictional. However, her character really makes freelance writing look attractive.

2. Have the articles that you published more recently out performing your first few published articles?

Yes. For the most part they have. My two best articles are Summer Dresses to Wear to a Wedding and Could The Government Help You Buy a New Car?

The exception is that my very first articles were about the Swine Flu and those got a lot of page views and very quickly. One of my best performing first articles was the easiest articles I wrote. I got an e-mail from Memphis City Schools on what they were doing about the swine flu. I wrote a news story that quoted the article. It's got a little over 710 views.

3. Which of your published articles on Associated Content are your personal favorites?

This is a hard one. Here are my five personal favorites:

Kate Gosselin: Monstrous Disaster or Misunderstood Matriarch I like this because I wrote it in less than 10 minutes off the top of my head. It also has over 800 views!

US GAAP Vs. IFRS Pension Expense This is a research paper I wrote for my graduate International Accounting class - not something I wrote especially for AC.

How to Pass the ASVAB The content editor said that this article was very well written, so I am proud of this one.

Five Essential Landlord Tools This one was picked up by Topix - also a very useful resource. This one would perform better if I had chosen better keywords and written with better SEO.

5 Affordable Sports Cars Who doesn't want an affordable sports car?

I also love all the news articles I wrote that were featured on AC. The first one featured was Chrysler Bankruptcy Fallout. I also like my news article Depression Looming?

4. How has your writing evolved over the course of just over two months of writing and publishing with Associated Content?

I am more cognizant of keywords and using them as much as I can without sounding like a robot.

5. Where do see yourself on your first and fifth anniversaries with Associated Content?

On my first anniversary, I would like to be at a clout 10. I need 333,333 views to get there, so it might be a stretch.

On my fifth anniversary I would like to get 250,000 views per month, which would mean I would be making $500 a month just on page views alone. I know that's a lofty goal, but it sure would be nice!

Of course, I still see myself writing because there is always something to write about. I also think that once you stop writing you lose your audience. I don't want to rely solely on Google traffic for my success.

6. What has given you the greatest satisfaction so far in your two months writing and publishing with Associated Content?

My satisfaction comes from the fact that people actually read what I write. If I were only getting 100-200 page views a night with the articles I have written (over 240) I think I would get discouraged. I get excited when people recommend my articles or comment. I love comments.

7. Have you had experienced any disappointments in writing and publishing with Associated Content?

I wouldn't say I have experienced disappointments. I have experienced frustrations like yesterday when I took a targeted assignment to write a hot news story using Google Trends and I wrote about Mark Sanford's mistress. Click HERE to read the story. They published the article fast, but when you would click the link it would say "This content is coming soon". By the time they got it on, it was too late. In the mean time, Michael Jackson passed away and my article only got 76 views overnight. **sigh** we win some, and we lose some.

8. What do you like best about writing for Associated Content?

I like that I can do it as much or as little as I want. I also like the response I get when people read my articles. I was actually afraid to write the $760 in two months article because I was afraid that people would think I was bragging.

However, I know that I was scared to keep writing for AC at first because of all the negative commotion in the forum. I wanted new Content Producers to know that if you work really hard, you can still be successful on AC.

9. What do you like least about writing for Associated Content?

If I had to say that I liked something the least, it's working on an article only to have it declined for upfront. However, I realize that AC can't publish everything that is submitted to them. In addition, I find that if you write unique content that has good formatting and uses decent SEO, you won't be declined. Looking back, the articles that were declined didn't fit in those guidelines. Some of the declined upfronts that I published as display only are:

How to Save Money While Looking Great (too common)

Suze Orman Sued for Fraud (not unique)

Hummer Sold to China (someone beat me to it!)

How to Lose 10 Pounds the Right Way (too common)

How to Make Month End Manageable for Accountants (too broad)

Fun Ways for Women to Make Extra Money (too common)

How to Create a Personal Budget (not unique)

How to Keep Your Man Happy (too common)

Out of these, only the Fun Way for Women to Make Extra Money and How to Keep Your Man Happy have garnished over 200 page views.

All in all, I have 18 articles that I did not receive an upfront for. Of these, 5 of them are ones that I never submitted in the first place: 2 Jon/Kate articles, 2 AC success stories, and an article on eLuxury closing its doors. I will also confess that I have written about 10 other articles that were not accepted and that I didn't submit. I figure for the most part AC knows what will be successful.

10. What do you like most about accounting?

I like that there are so many different career paths. I have audit experience, forensic accounting experience, and now I currently work in an accounting department at a company. From here, I can go on to be a plant controller or work towards being a director of financial reporting. With accounting, the sky is the limit.

12. What do you like least about accounting?

I don't like the monotony of doing the same types of things every day. However, I always set goals for myself and challenge myself. If I get bored, I have no one to blame but myself. You can always improve something when you are in the accounting department. That is why employers like me - I try to keep things unique and try to keep things from getting boring.

13. What are some of your interests outside of Associated Content?

I love spending time with my husband, Dave. We are inseparable for the most part when I am not working. We try to do everything together. I think that is great considering we have been married 5 years. We haven't gotten tired of each other yet, and I can't ever see that happening! Currently, we are working on fixing up a house. That takes a lot of time and we are doing it slowly as I use my writing money to fund our projects.

14. What are your favorite memories outside of Associated Content?

I love the trips my husband and I have taken together. We haven't gone anywhere exotic, but that doesn't mean we don't have a great time. My favorite memories are times spent with him.

My childhood memories include playing the oboe for the Flint Youth Symphony Orchestra and Flint Youth Wind Ensemble in Flint, MI. With the FYSO, I had the opportunity to play at the main stage in Carnegie Hall. That was amazing. My parents and Nana and Papa (mom's parents) came and I wear a necklace that my Nana and Papa gave me almost every day.

I might write about some of the musical things I learned growing up, but I haven't decided if there will be a large enough audience yet.

15. Is there anything else that you would like to add to this interview?

Just all you new CPs out there, keep writing! AC constantly needs more and more valuable content to keep their site successful. You are going to have to go through your own process of seeing what works for AC and what doesn't. At first I thought I would write primarily on personal finance and accounting issues. If you flip through my content you will see that these topics make up a small percentage of my total library. Keep an open mind and keep learning and you will get your own success.

Here is a link to Meg C.'s Source Page:

Meg C.