Make Monday Monday: Associated Content (AC)

I’m delighted to have this opportunity to guest blog on Free Sample Freak. I’d like to share some information on one reliable option for making money while working from home: Writing for Associated Content.

I work for Associated Content full time in their Denver office. My job focuses on social media and working with the AC contributor community to answer questions and lend a hand. In the course of that work, I’ve met many writers working from home who say that working with AC has given them the chance to fulfill their dreams of writing professionally.

One long time contributor, Lyn Lomasi, had this to say about her experiences: “I first joined AC thinking it would be a great place to earn a little extra money while I took care of the kids. Instead, I ended up learning and growing extensively in the writing field and I make much more than just pocket change. AC has opened the door to seemingly endless opportunity for me, both within and outside of the site.” Over three years of contributing to AC, Lyn has built a library of more than 800 unique, informative articles that continually generate revenue as they receive web traffic. Check out her AC profile here.

If you’re interested in building residual income by writing online, Associated Content is always hiring! You can claim assignments, or create content on a topic of your choice. Certain submissions qualify for upfront payment, and everything you publish generates performance revenue. You can even re-publish content you previously published elsewhere, like your blog.

Since this is Make Money Monday, I know you all want some tips on maximizing your earnings, should you choose to give AC a try. Here are my top five:

5. Use your real name or a real-sounding pen name. You want a name formatted like, “Jane Smith,” not, “Workingmom2000.” If you skip this tip, you won’t be eligible for some paid assignments!

4. Honestly highlight your expertise in your profile. If you have a degree or professional experience in a particular field like health care or HVAC installation, saying so in your profile could help you land high-paying assignments or a Featured Contributor gig.

3. Before publishing an article, do a search to see if there are similar articles already on AC. If two articles are about the same topic, the older one will typically generate more pageviews and more money for the author. If there are similar articles already present, try to find a unique angle—for example, if you wanted to write an overview about a particular herbal remedy but one was already published, you could write instead about personal experiences using that remedy for a specific condition.

2. Use keywords effectively, but not excessively. There are a number of great community-written tutorials on AC about how to use search keywords to maximize your earnings, without engaging in the frowned-upon practice of “keyword stuffing.”

1. Take advantage of seasonal trends early. For example, you could start writing about Valentine’s Day gifts for 2010 right now! It’s best to write holiday content at least a few months before the upcoming holiday, in order to make sure your content is being picked up by search engines in the weeks leading up to the holiday.