Why Write for Associated Content? a Veteran Contributor Shares His Experience

Why do I write for Associated Content? Should anybody write for Associated Content? Can you make a full time living writing for Associated Content? Is Associated Content just a big scam? What are some of the reasons why people write for Associated Content?

Common questions all when it comes to Associated Content.

I have been writing for Associated Content for about two and a half years. There were times when I thought I was just wasting my time (and I still have some moments when I think my time could be better spent elsewhere). But generally, I think Associated Content has become a great way to fill downtime in my day as it provides me a means to do one of the things that I enjoy, which is writing, in a semi-professional setting (even though I am clearly an amateur). I can do so while earning some extra money each month that I can spend on things that would otherwise come out of the household budget.

I am not one of the top writers on Associated Content, but I have not failed, either. By many standards, I have not had incredible success on Associated Content, but I have been able to reach some fairly modest, yet meaningful to me, goals.

So rather than hearing from people who are wildly successful, and rather from hearing from those that gave it up or failed at it, I present here a perspective from me, a fairly 'run of the mill' contributor on Associated Content, one who has done fairly well in some areas but not as well in others. Perhaps my experiences will help the reader decide if Associated Content might be worth a try for him or her.

But before delving into details and describing my experiences with Associated Content and answering some of the most basic questions about it, I provide the following overview of the model and platform.

What is Associated Content?

Online publisher and content distributor Associated Content, which was acquired by Yahoo! In May of 2010, has grown in popularity and influence since its inception in 2005. As an ad driven model, Associated Content depends on attracting readers to the articles hosted on the site. The content on the site is provided by a large number of freelance writers, known on Associated Content as 'contributors'.

According to its website, Associated Content has over 400,000 contributors who publish articles on virtually any subject imaginable, ranging from things such as 'how to' articles to restaurant reviews to celebrity news.

The platform is available to anybody (after a simple and free registration process) who would like to publish on almost anything and earn some money while doing so. Contributors can earn money in two distinct ways: through upfront payments and page view bonuses.

While AC does not announce precise numbers or statistics on what it pays in "upfronts", the website states that they range from $2 to $15 per article. Not every article will receive an offer for an upfront payment. While the exact formula is not known, it is generally believed that offers are based on the 'searchability' of the article, (that is, how many views could it be expected to get), the contributor's track record of being able to attract a high number of page views per article, and the extent to which the article aligns with advertiser demand.

Page view bonuses are based on the number of page views a contributor generates and are paid monthly. A contributor earns $1.50 per thousand page views until the contributor reaches a specified level, or in Associated Content's terms, 'clout', which is based on a factor of total page views and number of articles published.

There currently are ten 'clout levels'; every contributor begins at clout level one. Those that successfully attract enough page views advance through the clout levels. When a contributor reaches clout level seven, he or she receives a small added bonus of $0.05 per thousand page views; bringing the total bonus per thousand page views to $1.55. This extra bonus continues to grow with each subsequent clout level until it reaches a maximum of $0.50, which results in a $2.00 bonus per thousand page views.

Contributors can submit work that is exclusive to Associated Content (effectively selling the rights to the article to the site). Contributors can also submit work that is non-exclusive but eligible for upfront payment (this is generally the most popular method). In both of these cases, Associated Content controls if and how long the work is displayed.

Finally, contributors can submit work as a "Display Only", which means the contributor is using Associated Content as a hosting site basically, and forgoing an upfront payment. The advantage, though, is that Display Only articles remain fully in control of the contributor, who can edit and/or delete them at a later day. Display Only articles are still eligible for page views.

Associated Content also maintains a network of partners who will very often target contributors with assignments that generally feature higher upfront offers to write on a specific topic for publication elsewhere. For the most part, these do not include page view bonuses. While official statistics are not reported, many experienced and successful contributors report receiving a steady stream of $40 offers to write for partners.

While the platform is very much open, and attracts a very wide variety of styles, subjects and quality, there are basic minimum standards that all articles must meet, including things such as proper sourcing, grammar, article length and spelling. While free speech is respected, and in many ways at the core of what Associated Content is all about, certain forms of hate speech and overly graphic sexual material are not permitted on the site. There is a "Terms of Service" section on the site which details the basic agreement between Associated Content and its contributors.

Why I Write For Associated Content

My wife asked me not long ago how I found Associated Content. I could not remember. Bizarre as that may sound, I truly do not remember what brought me to the site. We had just had our third child, that much I know, and I imagine that very likely I was up late one night on diaper and lullaby duty; perhaps during some downtime while surfing the web, I found it. But as so often is the case when a newborn arrives, my memories from that time are little more than a blur.

I had no writing or publishing experience before joining Associated Content. I always enjoyed writing, but did not really have any formal training in it.

However I found it, it is obvious to me why I gave it a try. As a father of young children, my days of golfing whenever I wanted and going to sporting events and concerts on a regular basis are pretty much over. I need to budget my money and time much more carefully than before. There is now a college fund, a preschool tuition, and a stay at home wife in my life. The days of two incomes and only ourselves to think about are over.

While I cannot earn nearly enough on Associated Content to support my family, I do see Associated Content as a means of earning some extra income that can be spent guilt free. Associated Content payments are sent to my PayPal card, and my wife and I use the card to go to dinner, or go to a ballgame, or buy an extra pair of shoes (well, for her anyway), that we would otherwise consider a luxury that would be taking away from another budgeted need.

But there is another aspect to this as well. Often, writing about a topic is fun. It can be a bit of a hobby, actually, and it is a hobby that not only does not cost anything, but is actually paying me a bit as well.

I am sure it is not for everybody, but for me, it is fun to see how an article will do with page views. Did I capture a unique enough of an angle for Google to recognize it above all others? Do enough people care about what I wrote? Did I stir up some controversy with my opinion?

Look, I would not say that this is always fun; sometimes it can be downright tedious. But the great thing about Associated Content is that unlike many other part time income producing pursuits, if I am tired of it, I can walk away and not come back until I feel like it. Associated Content writers are under no obligation to produce a certain level of content or write on certain days of the week. If it fits into one's schedule, and if the mood strikes, one can write and see what happens.

I have had days on Associated Content where I'm flabbergasted by the number of page views I get (page view results are updated daily reflecting the previous day's results). Then I have other days where I'm very disappointed. But the more I write, the more I can estimate to within a ballpark percentage what an article will generally get.

This is truly a hybrid for me. It's part hobby and part job. I try to have some level of discipline in order to make it all worth the while. My goal, which I have not yet met, is to write one to two hours a day on average and generate about 16,000 page views a day.

I personally write mostly for page views and only occasionally write for upfront payment (while these are not mutually exclusive, exactly, there is a different tact for each). I also write on timely, or trending, topics. These generally get a fast burst of page views, as an item in the news is searched on frequently, but then will dwindle down to a handful a day over the long run. As a result, my monthly page view bonus fluctuates more than those that tend to write on subjects that are more consistently searched on, I'm sure. But the trend is upward as the more articles I publish, the more page views will come, almost automatically, from older articles. Even 'trendy' topics that seem to have long since expired as news items can get a surprising number of page views.

As with so many things in life, every time one reaches a milestone on Associated Content, there is another one in front of them that seems larger and more difficult to achieve. Every step of the way, there is somebody ahead of you who is a better writer and/or more prolific. I remember getting to a million total page views at the beginning of 2010 and thinking I had really accomplished something after over a year and a half of writing on here. Then I realized that one (and now two) of the really prolific writers on here often get a million page views in a single month. It was humbling, to say the least.

One of the areas I have not done particularly well with is attracting large partner offers. I do not get the $40 offers from partners that others do. But then again, I am not a full time freelance writer and I have not really focused on making a name for myself or focusing on a unique niche. If this were my full time profession, I would work towards those goals. Given the way I approach this, however, it probably is not going to be in the cards for me.

While I received most of my income for the first year or so through upfronts, as I have increased my focus on page views, and as the total number of articles published has grown, the page view bonus makes up an ever increasing percentage of my total income. Page views alone, however, will never rise to the level (or at least would take a very long time to) that would equal a $30 or $40 partner assignment.

Why Should Anybody Write for Associated Content

There are a plethora of reasons to write for Associated Content. I've already given mine.

But one of the most exciting reasons to write on Associated Content, it would seem, would be for those looking to become a full time professional writer. Associated Content provides a means to be 'discovered' by writing very high quality work and making it searchable on the Internet. Those looking to build a portfolio of work can do so on the site. Unlike an internship, however, an individual can get paid while building their 'book'.

Probably these people will, for the most part, not be able to maximize page views; but that is okay. This is not what they are after. Instead, they are looking for advanced career opportunities. Now, from what I see there can be a bit of a conflict as Associated Content is very much an ad driven model that relies on a combination of page views and ad alignment to work. As a result, the objectives of the career driven writer may be different than the standard way Associated Content operates. But that is not a 'show stopper' at all; it is simply something to be aware of.

Another reason people may write for Associated Content is that they have an opinion and they would like to share it with the world. While it is not a blog, Associated Content does encourage a unique perspective and opinion on stories; particularly news stories. People may not care much about how many page views they generate nor what upfronts they earn, but may enjoy getting their opinions out there beyond their circle of friends for the world to see. While Associated Content is not going to provide the kind of platform for opinions that one would get on major newspaper or syndicated websites, it is an itch that many would like to scratch and this is a very low barrier to entry means to do so.

Others may come to Associated Content to write, but they end up staying for the community. While a very small percentage of the overall contributors may actually participate in the forums and Associated Content Facebook groups and the like, those that do often forge online, and maybe even real world, friendships with others. It becomes a virtual water cooler in many ways for some.

Can Associated Content be a Full Time Job?

This question is asked a lot. The answer is not completely clear. Nobody except for Associated Content, and the individual contributors, knows for sure what each of its contributors earns. But I believe the answer is 'yes' for a small number of elite contributors. Although there is no question, it is a tough way to make an easy living.

Using mostly hypothetical round numbers we can estimate how much the upper range of earnings on Associated Content is.

Some of the very top contributors on Associated Content have nearly twenty million page views; an amount which translates to nearly $40,000 in page view bonuses alone. They are in an exceedingly small percentage, however, of the overall number of contributors. And, of course, those twenty million page views were achieved across several years.

However, if a contributor could achieve, as at least a couple do, a million page views a month, they could earn $24,000 annually in page view bonuses alone. Not even factoring in upfront payments, that alone answers the question. Depending on life circumstances, $24,000 annually could be enough to live on. Furthermore, if these contributors write six articles a day, for $10 in upfronts each, they would earn an additional $21,900. Combining the two, the contributor would have earned $45,900...clearly enough to be considered a full time income.

Now, are any contributors actually doing that? Really, it is impossible to know for sure, but if anybody has earned that much on Associated Content, I am very confident that they are part of an extremely small percentage of the overall writing population.

Few write six articles a day on Associated Content and fewer still are likely to get $10 upfront per article. Further complicating things, often times the amount of the upfront offer is more correlated to ad alignment than it is to projected page views; as a result, accomplishing extremely high levels of page views and extremely high upfronts can be tricky. Most, it would seem, tend in one direction or another.

While I think most anybody with a reasonable grasp of the basics of writing and with any time to spare could get to a moderate level of success on Associated Content, I think it would require tremendously talented, driven and focused individuals to break through to full time earner status on Associated Content alone. There are a few obvious ones, based on page views alone, but they are few and far between.

There are surely a number of writers on Associated Content that make their full time living through online freelance writing, but their work on the site itself is only enough to keep them in the flow for partner assignments on the outside.

Is Associated Content a Scam?

If you have read all I have to say until this point, you already know my answer. Associated Content is, in my experience, definitely not a scam. I scratch my head when I see "scam" next to Associated Content in Google searches. The chatter about it being a scam has undoubtedly died down after the Yahoo acquisition, but some still immediately suspect the worst whenever an opportunity to make money online is presented.

I have always been paid on time by Associated Content. I have never felt misled or deceived by the company.

Is it perfect in all of its execution? Of course not. As with any technology based company, there are occasional glitches and mistakes made. But in my experience, Associated Content has always made good on the letter and spirit of its words and policies. It has acted quickly to rectify situations and gone above and beyond to compensate for mistakes in a clear and fully disclosed manner.

I have heard a fair number what I think are silly complaints about Associated Content. Contributors and outside people alike have predicted its demise many times. I won't get into the reasons why I believe most of these complaints are silly. I will say, however, that Associated Content is a market driven website that has to work to ensure contributors will stay and write...or it will soon cease to exist. So if the company were continually disappointing writers, the writers could, and should, leave. And yet, the number of people writing for Associated Content seems to keep growing.

Is Associated Content for you?

I would never say, "Anybody interested in writing should write for Associated Content". There are pros and cons to each model and until somebody tries it, and until he or she decides what his or her goals are, it is impossible to say whether it is a fit.

Clearly, for the top earners and writers on Associated Content continue to write for a reason. It is not an easy way to riches by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is it an easy way to be discovered. Nothing is either one of those things in the online writing world. But it can provide a means to earn extra income, a full time income, a hobby, a chance to be discovered, and perhaps a little of all of those things.

Source:

Associatedcontent.com