PMA '08: Angie Mohr's Acceptance Speech

I practically stumbled across Associated Content in November 2007. As with most cool finds in my life, I was looking for something else at the time. I had never heard of AC up to that point and didn't know that such a publishing model existed. It came at the right time for me, though. Although I have written books, newspaper and magazine columns, university business cases, and even the beginning of my novel, I wanted to branch out. I wanted to write about anything and everything that I find interesting in life. Once I found AC, I knew I had a venue to do that.

Since then, I have written around 250 articles for AC. It's certainly not as prolific as some, but I have been able to branch out to writing for clients as well. I have learned so much since I started at AC and am still learning every day. I didn't even know the basics of SEO or how writing for the web differs from print. Sometimes, the learning was painful; articles I loved settled to the bottom of the heap because they weren't searchable. I wrote about everything from gardening to business to American Idol to Bigfoot civil rights.

But the most important article I wrote for AC was also the hardest to get on paper. When I was 18, I married a man who was abusive. It was something I never thought would happen to me as I'm sure many of you think it could never happen to you. But other abused women know what I mean when I say it can happen to anyone. I was only married for nine months before I got up one morning, waited for him to go to work and walked out the door.

I have now been married for 17 years to an amazing man whom I love very much. He showed me that not all men have to get their way with fists and broken beer bottles. We have two incredible children who inspire and astound me every day. I have never forgotten my first marriage, however. Over the years, I have volunteered in women's shelters to prepare tax returns and financially counsel women who had the courage to leave abusive situations that even I could not imagine. I wanted to get some of that information down on paper for women contemplating leaving an abusive spouse.

The article seemed to resonate with many. I received several PMs from women thanking me for the advice. I have had some fantastic comments from fellow CPs who thought the article important. When the Article of the Year nominations began, I was stunned at how many of my fellow CPs nominated the article. I was even more stunned to get an email from AC the other day telling me that I, along with two other fantastic CPs, had won.

When it comes to thanking those who helped me at AC, I find it hard to do it without writing another six pages. I have learned so much from so many, whether it was direct help they gave me or leading by example. I will try to give it a shot, though.

Barefoot: I would know nothing at all about HTML had it not been for Randy. He might argue I still know nothing. But I am learning. He has been an immense technical resource to me and the entire community. But Randy is more than just a techie. I enjoy reading his articles on many different subjects, and I can only be envious of his ability to make others laugh.

Tsu: What Randy is to the tech side, Tsu is to SEO. Listening to her advice made my page views steadily climb, and I started to be able to see why some of my articles did better than others. She also doles out great advice about getting rid of stalkers.

Michy: Michy is the "mom" of AC. She was more active in the community when I first started than now, but she is still here, handing out hugs and support. Michy always gave me great advice on navigating AC.

EMohrman: E is like the slightly scary uncle who comes over to visit at holidays and wants you to sit on his lap. While he is almost always joking around in the forums and leering at the newbies, he has great marketing talent and is a fantastic writer.

Jcorn: watching her rise at AC has completely inspired me. Not only is jcorn a great writer, but she is always supportive in the forums, not afraid to ask the questions I need the answers to as well, and is just fun to be around. Expect a series of articles soon about gallbladders!

Kelly Spies: Kelly has taught me that it's OK to write about anything. Anything at all! While I don't see myself writing about repairing sex toys any time soon, I do enjoy knowing that I could if I wanted to.

Carol Gilbert: I think if I had to choose only one writer to follow on AC (and that would be tough!), it would be Carol. From her work, I've learned to slow down, take my time and write meaningful articles. I always enjoy her opinions even when I don't agree with them.

Sandi Ketchum: Sandi is the one who helped me branch out into writing for other sites and private clients. I was always envious she could do this full time until she made me realize that I could, too.

Pam Gaulin: The time and dedication Pam puts in to her AC work has always amazed me and pushed me to write more for AC. She is always helpful in the forums and gracious in her advice.

AC Staff: Well, without AC, I wouldn't be able to do any of this. It has been great to be around such a fun and creative bunch of people.

I am honored that my article was chosen as one of the best of the year. My goal is to continue to write articles that matter. Thank you!