Success on Associated Content: It's Not Just a ($$$) Number

What I'd like to tell you: If you're looking for the wildly successful Associated Content CP (Content Producer) who writes 10 articles in an hour a day while sipping a mai tai on the beach, well, that would be me.

The reality: I may live near the beach, but I don't write from there, and I don't rapid-fire multiple articles for Associated Content in 60 minutes or less. Diet Coke is my drink of choice.

Sigh.

Associated Content does make me feel successful, however. Maybe not "wildly successful," but successful nonetheless. Because you can measure success all sorts of ways. Even here at Associated Content. It's not all about money. Or page views. Or the number of articles you've produced. It's about all of those things. And much more.

Associated Content and Taming the Perfectionist

Associated Content is the perfect antidote for the perfectionist. Having always wanted to write for a living, I've also secretly worried whether I could produce content on demand. So I applied to Associated Content with some trepidation. Being a good employee, when I accepted my first C4C (Call for Content) from Associated Content, which was also my first article, I was dadgum well going to get it written on time.

It took me an hour or so (well, okay, three hours) to write my first article and three days of tweaking and fussing over it before I could hit that submit button.

But I submitted it on time, and surprise, surprise, it probably got read by more people online than would have seen it in my small town's local paper.

I was hooked.

If you are a perfectionist who loves to write, Associated Content will either cure you or kill you, so to speak. I can't churn out 10 or more articles a day like some can (my inner perfectionist is tamed not cured) but I can write several times a week if I choose. Really.

Anyway, if you've got a perfectionist problem, AC can be help you reduce it. That's a big success to me.

Associated Content and My Growth as a Writer

Well, when I admit that it takes me three days to write one article, I have nowhere to go but up, right? And unlike a hard-hearted editor, Associated Content gives you multiple chances to improve your writing skills and find talents you never knew you possessed.

While I'm learning to write good content more quickly, AC is paying me for what I do produce. Sometimes I accept a C4C and for whatever reason, it doesn't inspire me as much as I thought. No matter. I still get it written and I still get paid.

Growing as a writer means accepting the fact that not every assignment is thrilling and you can't hit one "out of the park" every time. Nor do you need to do so. But if you are interested in writing, and receiving some money for it, then writing for Associated Content will motivate you to write on a regular basis. And just like anything else you do, you will improve with practice. So if you try to write at leastone piece per week for AC, your writing will improve. Guaranteed success.

Associated Content and Experimenting with the Web

Back in 2000, I took my first website design course. We learned to make cute little sites with tables and flashy things. Then my regular job, family, and a move several hundred miles away from home got in the way. A year or two ago I got interested in web design again. But things are different. Now, people use words like CSS, PHP, WordPress, Adsense, and SEO.

For me, part of the fun of writing for Associated Content is getting paid while learning what SEO is all about. Associated Content is a great place to learn how to keyword an article to improve its ranking in search engines. If you don't keyword well, the penalty is obvious. If you do keyword well, you are monetarily rewarded in AC just as you would be on your own site. Without the hassles of site upkeep.

Associated Content for a Newbie: My Success After Six Months

I have been writing for AC for approximately six months. I'm still a relative newbie both in time here and the number of articles I've written. I have to say, I was as excited to make my first $100 on Associated Content as I was to get my first paycheck in my first "real" job after college.

Can you make a living on AC? Not without a lot of work. And not without a significant number of articles (think 1000's of articles) to your credit. It's all about collecting those page views and churning out many, many articles per week. On the other hand, can you make extra money on AC to pay some bills? Buy a new laptop? Take a vacation? Add to your savings account? Most definitely.

Can you become a better writer? Meet other writers from all over the world? Accomplish something you weren't sure you could do? Practice skills you will need for bigger and better writing assignments? Most definitely.

Success is about many things. If you've always wanted to be a writer and need a push, Associated Content is a very successful place to be.