Associated Content Tip of the Day 6 May 2007: Ad Alignment

Often echoed in the AC forum is the question, “What does Associated Content want?” Many complain that their articles are rejected though they’ve followed all the rules, suggestions, and advice. It’s time for advanced AC training.

What AC wants is right in front of you. It’s in every article page on the site. We as writers tune it out because we are reading the article. You better believe AC hasn’t tuned it out and neither does the casual browser. What is missing from your article formula that AC covets? Advertising.

Advertising alignment is arguably the second most important component in getting a decent offer from AC. Here’s how your AC education program is laid out:

• AC 101: Writing well. If you can’t provide well written content just give up now. Spelling and grammar are the cornerstones.
• AC 201: Keywords. Most people got the point about the importance of keywords early in their internet writing career. Good keyword density is the prime component to a decent offer.
• AC 301: Topic variety. One must be able to provide a variety of topics to AC if they expect to keep the cash coming. A good carpenter can build a chest or a house. Their skills are transferable to other projects. So must a good writer’s be.
• AC 302: Promotion. Naturally, a little promotion can’t hurt. Frankly, the author who says, “I’m just the writer. Promotion should be someone else’s job,” just doesn’t stand a chance in this venue. I have no sympathy for such a person when they complain about not being offered decent money. Why would AC take a chance on your writing when you won’t?
• AC 401: Advertising alignment. This is the class most CP never take. Are you ready for your senior thesis?

Advertising pays the bills
When the question “What will AC pay for?” is asked, the answer should always be, “Well written, interesting articles that align with Google Ads.” AC won’t come right out and say it because advertising is not the be-all-end-all of their goals, but it’s key.

It’s all right there in front of you. There are ads on every page. That is what AC wants. They want your article to bring the ads. Google ads are placed there by computers not humans. You have to have the topic and keywords right or the ads aren’t going to fit.

Toothpaste conquers all
Why does AC love product reviews that use the product name? Because they align with the advertising for the product. You can make $5+ for a toothpaste review, before making one dime for the most brilliant insight into the meaning of life.

Some are dismayed because a quick and simple article on a basic topic like stress reduction is offered more than an article they spent over 8 hours researching and writing. This is an important point. Just because you put hours of research into and article, even a topic that is not well covered on AC, does not mean that it is of the same value to AC. The old saying, “Everything is worth what the buyer will pay” holds true at AC.

For example, an article on stress aligns very well with internet advertising. Stress reduction techniques such as meditation, medication, herbs, and aroma-therapy are all over the place.

An article on the history of Moldavian tyrants is not going to see many matching ads. Moldavian tyrant action figures aren’t doing so well on eBay at the moment. Here’s where preparing a topic list can save time and effort.

Who’s your daddy?
Instead of using your time researching one article topic, use some time preparing multiple topics. Take a few hours and Google. Poke around AC and pay attention to the ads, specifically how they relate to the article topic. Create a topic list of common and not-so common products being sold on the internet. Bookmark the sites you find for future reference. Find out who is trying to make money on the internet. Those are the people who are going to help you make money. Write an article that aligns with their ads and AC will pay you.

Check out sites for television channels. Look for new trends and shows. For example, the History channel is pushing a new show called “Cities Underground” where they travel the globe and show the city below the city. Now, AC isn’t going to pay for a show review, but the History Channel’s ads are going to show up in an article with keywords about the topic. You just have to slant your article while still using the keywords “city,” “underground,” etc. Maybe an article on the London Tube or the Paris Metro. How about the bunkers of Nazi Germany in Berlin? That show was actually on last night, hence the example.

Pander to the advertisers using keywords without being obvious and while still remaining interesting. The complaint about not knowing what AC wants is common, but I think everyone overlooks the fact that AC needs to make money. Advertising pays the bills.

If you’ve got the basics under your belt, it’s time to really research ad alignment. Once you get the hang of it, you can move your tassel.

Associate Content Tip of the Day 5 May 2007: Newbie Guide

Susan300 set up a fantastic guide for someone starting out with Associated Content. It’s a great resource with links to essential topics and videos. It’s also a great time saver for me this tip-go-round. ;)

Check out Sue’s Squidoo lens and get the upper hand or a leg up if you prefer.

Associate Content Tip of the Day 30 April 2007: 10 Things Not to Do

Today’s tip is from guest contributor Amy Brantley . Amy writes:

“You may love writing for AC, but did you know that certain things can get you banned from the site? It’s true…If you enjoy writing for AC, you should do your best to avoid these behaviors so that your experience with Associated Content will be the best that it can be…#1: Resubmit Without Making Changes…#2: Plagiarize”

>> read all the vital tips…

Associated Content Tip of the Day: 27 April 2007 Fluff & Other Useless Stuff

All writing is not the same.  Fiction is not technical writing.  Most of the articles that Associated Content pays for are close to what is considered technical writing.  You want to cut the fluff.  Don’t pad your writing with useless words and phrases.

It detracts from the impact you want your words to carry. Good writing conveys authority. The examples that follow are shear padding. They burden your reader with unnecessary words, waste their time, and leave them feeling unfulfilled. Give your articles power by avoiding these useless phrases.  >>  read the rest

Associated Content Tip of the Day: 26 April 2007 The Forums

If you are an Associated Content member and haven’t found the forums yet, you’re missing some great information. The forums have tons of tips and plenty of people willing to help. They’ve got the obligatory gripes that any forum has, but are more helpful than not.

To find the forums simply click the “Community” tab. Before you start posting, it’s a very, very, very, good idea to scan the existing threads and read some of the posts. Before you start your journey into the AC forums, read this article. These are the basics for forum etiquette. Following these simple suggestions will ensure that you have a productive and enjoyable forum experience.

I’m still bewildered by people who have not learned the ins and outs of forum etiquette. People who join a group and immediately start asking questions, griping, or generally acting like they know what’s going on with their very first post don’t add value to the community.

Don’t wait until you have a gripe or problem to join the forum. Become a member and contribute something first. Yesterday, I had to call my Forum’s Anonymous sponsor so she could talk me down from bitch-slapping a newbie.

Nothing grabs my nads harder than seeing the first forum post from someone who has been an AC member for almost a year that asks a question that is floating around in 9 other threads. It normally goes like this:

Newbie — Hey, anyone one else having [insert gripe of the day] problem?

OldTimer — Welcome to the forum. I see this is your first post. Thank you for joining our community and jumping right in, starting a new thread that 13 other people have active right now, posting your question in the wrong folder, and making yourself look like a complete idiot. You’ve been here a year and waited until you had a problem before even looking for the forum. Don’t we feel special to be graced with your presence? We’ve just been sitting here, doing nothing waiting for you to stop by with your stupid question. But now that you’re here we can get busy addressing your petty concern.

Thankfully that response is rare in the AC forums, but by following the rules you can guarantee it will never happen.

Read first. I can’t stress it enough. Read the FAQ. Read the other posts. Take 10 minutes and scan the thread titles. 9 out of 10 questions that are asked are answered in the FAQ.

Again, don’t wait until you have a problem or question before you join. You will find that you have something positive to offer in the forums. You are doing others a disservice by not participating and sharing your knowledge.

Now the fun part. Here is a video that explains the rules (flash required). Happy posting.

Associated Content Tip of the Day: 25 April 2007 Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks
Associated Content discourages the use of active hyperlinks in an article body. It is recommended that you limit active URL to the “resources” section of the article. According to the AC submission guidelines it is preferred that any URL in the body be simple text (e.g. www.google.com). To create an active link in the resource area use a standard HTML anchor tag like:

<a href=”http://www.accentuateservices.com”>A Writer’s Forum</a>
Only the words “A Writer’s Forum” would display, but clicking them would direct your browser to the site, like this: A Writer’s Forum.

This is the basic anchor and link tag for HTML. There are other attributes that can be applied to the code, but the resources area of the Associated Content template is limited to 120 characters. You’ll want to keep it simple.

It is possible to use anchor tags in the article body. There are two ways to do this.

1. With the editor ON: Type the text; select the text; click the “create hyperlink” icon on the editor’s toolbar; type or paste the target URL.

2. With the editor OFF: use the above example to create the correct HTML code.

It is not guaranteed to produce the desired results. If any part of the tag matches one of AC’s keywords the publisher will hack your URL and put its own hyperlink in its place. What are the keywords? No one knows the entire list. Most U.S. state names are AC keywords. This makes embedding an anchor/href to a state government agency almost impossible in the article body.

You may create a link to The Official Website of the State of Alabama by typing the HTML tag <a href=”http://www.alabama.gov/portal/index.jsp”>The Official Website of the State of Alabama</a> . When you hit the publish button, AC’s “interlinking” software will scan your article and replace “Alabama” with their own link to search results from the AC web site.

The resulting link code would look like: <a href=”http://www.alabama.gov/portal/index.jsp”>The Official Website of the State of</a><a href=”http://www.associatedcontent.com/theme/123/Alabama.html”>Alabama</a> .

Notice that the anchor tag closes after “State of”. The result is two links, pointing to two destinations, but appearing as one continuous highlighted phrase in the article.

Some common words like “running” are AC keywords. Even celebrity names are keywords. You never know what will happen with a link embedded in the body of your article. Use them sparingly.

Associated Content’s newest feature

Things change all the time. Associated Content installed their newest feature yesterday. It makes my article about using the publish template a little out of date, but that’s OK because it’s progress.

On page three of AC’s publishing template there is now an area labeled “Terms that describe the topic of your content. (5 max, separate by commas).” Here’s the official pop-up help:

Search Tags

Enter single words or phrases that describe and define your content, specifically and in general. These tags are used to link this submission to related content and vice versa.Example: An article on the 2008 Presidential Election could have these search tags: politics, presidential election, election 2008, Barak Obama, John McCain

So what is it really? Tagging. Which is cool and very helpful to the search engines.

Associate Content Tip of the Day 30 March 2007: Referrals

Here’s a video that walks you through how to use the AC referral system.  Spread the word and get paid for doing it. Thanks to Timothy Scheiman

Associated Content Tip of the Day 29 March 2007: Editing Your Pre-published Article

After you submit your article for payment you still have time to proof and edit.  Anytime before you accept the offer you may open the article in view and/or edit mode to proof or change.

Click the My Content tab.  To the left of your queued articles will be three small letter/icons “v” “e” and “x”.

Clicking the “v” will allow you to preview your article in the same manner as the final step of the publishing template.

The “e” will take you back into the 5-page publishing template allowing you to edit anything that you want to change.  From there you may make corrections to the body of your article, add/edit takeaways, add photos (sorry deleting a photo is not currently an option), etc.

The “x” will delete the article from the queue completely and it will be forever gone.  Be careful with the “x”.  There’s no undo.

Associated Content Tip of the Day: 26 March 2007

Today’s tip is brought to you by the letter P and the letter G.  I’ve been meaning to write something like this for a while.  Thanks PG.