Associated Content Tool Box

The Associated Content Tool Box is full of useful information, links and articles for anyone interested in publishing content and videos at Associated Content.

Who Else Wants Headlines that Draw Pageviews?

Who Else Wants Headlines that Draw Pageviews?: Headlines can make or break the writer when it comes to pageviews. Does your headline sell your article and create a desire or need for the article to read right now? Or will your headline be lukewarm...
By Pam Gaulin |

SEO and Headlines

Textalyser Tutorial: Using keywords in headlines is one way to work SEO. Use this tutorial to focus in on keywords.

Headline Writing

Optimizing Headlines: One of the hardest concepts to grasp when a writer enters the world of web writing is how to make an article and a headline "searchable," and to employ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques.

Custom Content

December 3, 2008

Town Hall Meeting will be December 3, 2008 at 8pm ET. Register by clicking on the link. You will be emailed a phone number and a code. You need to call the number to hear the webinar. Watching the slideshow online is helpful, but not necessary.

GoToWebinar: Custom Content
AC works with other companies to provide custom content for their websites. This content is written by Content Producers who write well and oftentimes have a background in the topic that the partner has requested. These opportunities pay well, but we also expect more from you in terms of writing quality, research and time. If you are interested in learning more about custom content, attend this Town Hall for an overview and to learn how you can apply to be part of our partner-writing pool of CPs.

Word Choices and Web Writing

Teaching Elaboration and Word Choice

by: Leann Nickelsen

Amazon Price: (as of 07/04/2009)

How to Say It: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Paragraphs for Every Situation, Revised Edition

by: Rosalie Maggio

Amazon Price: (as of 07/04/2009)

Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies) (Interactive Technologies)

by: Janice (Ginny) Redish

Amazon Price: $32.97 (as of 07/04/2009)

Writing for the Web 3.0 (Self-Counsel Writing Series)

by: Crawford Kilian

Amazon Price: $13.22 (as of 07/04/2009)

Hot Text: Web Writing that Works (Voices That Matter)

by: Lisa Price, Jonathan Price

Amazon Price: $26.40 (as of 07/04/2009)

Gems by ivana on Sxc.hu

Hidden Gems for Freelancers

NEW

If you're not reading these blogs, then you must be busy or they have been hiding from you. Okay, you really need to check these out. This feature will be updated every day this week, as a treat just for you!

Freelance Switch: Recent headlines include
Why I Love Empty Job Freelancing"
"Can Freelancers Return to Salaried Work?"
"Why Freelancers Need Multiple Skills: Handling the Feast or Famine Phenomenon"

New Performance Pay Levels

New AC PPVs:

Clout 7 50,001-100,000 - $1.55
Clout 8 100,001-500,000 - $1.60
Clout 9 500,001-1,000,000 - $1.75
Clout 10 1,000,000 - $2.00

Details are here

Promotion Does Matter

It's more important than ever to start promoting your content as well as your CP page.

Top reasons to promote:

1. Earn more money
2. Develop a wider readership
3. Reach a new Clout, and status level
4. Challenge yourself
5. Friendly competition with other web writers, all vying for eyeballs, aka pageviews
6. To learn about web promoting, which may help you develop a successful blog or even a business idea

Featured!

Kelly Spies presents......

Associated Content Producers Spotlight

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

AC Contest Winners

New Content Added

This Lens was updated just for you on November 26, 2008.

Idea Finders

Web Topics Are Everywhere: Yes, Virginia, topic ideas for web content do grow on trees. You simply have to train yourself to recognize the topics that exist in your daily life.
Random Niche Generator: Find a random niche topic, its related keyword density and more.
Where Successful Web Writers Find What's Popular on the Web Right Now: Web writers who focus on celebrity gossip, entertainment news, and news can find out about what's popular on the web right now with these web sites.

How Neologisms Affects Web Writing

Where the Dictionary Fails: Popular Web Searches and Terms: Are you missing out on page views because you're being stubborn about popular web searches that use neologisms? Are you resisting using these neologisms because they do not fit in with strict rules of grammar?

AC Toolbox

It's Time to Write About.....

Dads and Grads
Cheap Summer Vacations
Children and Summer Activities
DIY Outdoor Projects
Seasonal Safety
Home Organization
Labor Day
Back to School

Photos

Writing Relevant Headlines

Make it Relevant: Don't lament the fact that what you want to write about is not what's popular. Take what interests you and make it relevant to now and to what people want to read.

Photos and AC

Photo Copyright Modish/Sxc.hu

NEW Approved Photo Sources

Where to find approved sources for free, royalty-free or public domain images. In addition to your own photos or online press kits, these are currently the only approved sources for photos.

Stock.XCHNG: Stock.XCHNG is a great resources for photos. Some of the photographers require permission before you use their photos. Others simply request that you leave a commenting letting them know you used their image. You do not have to sign up to use the images. You do need to sign up for a free account if you are going to be commenting the photographer or contacting the photographer.
morgueFile: Another approved source for photos is morgueFile.
Wikimedia Commons: Wikimedia contains public domain images and other images you can use. When using Wikimedia Commons, be sure to click on the image to read the usage information about the photograph.

Some images on Wikimedia Commons, especially celebrity images, may be under dispute and should not be used.
istockphoto: The last approved source for images is istockphoto. I have not used this one much because of the istockphoto watermark. There will be more information about this resource after I log back into my account.

Other Sources for Photo

Photos add Life to Content

Here are more free photo resources. These are not on the new approved AC list, but you may need them for your other online projects.

freerangestock.com: Free stock photos.
imageafter: Mostly abstract, texture photos. Great for photo manipulation.
Yotophoto: Free photos indexed from multiple free photo sites and free licenses.

Web Writing

Web Writing Articles You Need to Read

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions for Freelance Writers: Inspiration and practical ideas for a creative and successful year of freelance writing.
How to Increase Associated Content Pageviews with Two Kinds of Content: Article about evergreen and popular content and the advantages to writing both types of content.
10 Tips on How to Generate Article Ideas: Michy's tips on generating article ideas.
Top 10 Writing Help Articles on AC: Brandi picks her favorite writing articles on AC.
The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing for the Web. 7 Quick Reasons Why No One Read Your Last Article: Wisdom from thebarefoot.
The Importance of Authoritative Writing: Tips for Writers: Authoritative writing in non-fiction is at the heart of a writer's potential for success. Points covered: The Personal Origins of Authority in Writing, Fear of Establishing Authoritative Writing, and Authoritative Writing, the Nice Way.
Useless Phrases that Killed Your Writing's Impact: "Crowding your article with worthless phrases is poor writing." - Article by thebarefoot
655 Words that Search Engines and Semantic Indexing Usually Ignore: by Tsu

Want Pageviews?

Write it well
Make it searchable
Use one or two popular keyword phrases
Use 3-5% keyword density
Focus the content
Keep the writing tight
Follow an Inverted Pyramid Style
Make it Relevant!

A to Z Guide to Increasing Pageviews

Half way done the series!! Requests? Q and R to come soon!

A is for Audience: A is for Audience - How to define and recognize your audience, and how to find niche audiences within your main audience.
B is for Blogging: Learn the importance of creating topic-based blogs, or even a personal blog. It's easy!
C is for Content: If you don't give your readers some juicy content they can bite into, and feed them fluff, chances are they won't return for seconds.
D is for Digg: How to use and not abuse the Digg community for social bookmarking.
E is for Educational Articles: Teach them something, and they'll come back for more.
F is for Fixing a Problem: In hindsight, I should have chosen a different "F" since AC thought this was too common of a topic. It is just what I happened to write the day I was working on the A to Z series.

I think more articles should contain actual fixes, not teasers.
G is for Generalizations: Generalizations in Writing and How to Avoid Them - generalizations can kill your writing. This is writing 101.
H is for Headlines: H is for Headlines: Who Else Wants Headlines that Draw Pageviews?

Headlines are your commercial for the article.
I is for Instructables: I is for Instructables: A Quick Way to Add More Images to Support Your Content on AC

Sometimes our articles need a real visual boost as an accompanying tool. Don't be constrained, work outside the box.
J is for Just Write: The real key to writing productivity that seems so obvious, yet so few follow.
K is for Kick Them Where it Hurts: Hitting below the belt is mean, and not recommended. Kicking them where it hurts with words gets pageviews every time.
L is for Longevity: Everyone keeps telling you to use popular words and popular keyword phrases in your headlines and web content. You want to make money online, so you agree that it's a good idea.
M is for Maps: M is for Maps: Using Google My Maps for Article Promotion: Localism and Travel

I was temporarily stuck on J-L (sort of) and was so excited about the promotional potential of Google My Maps, that I had to skip ahead to M....
N is for Writing Nude: Make Money Online: Writing nude does not mean you need to sit at your office chair without your clothes on. You could, of course, it's your prerogative. But this article is about a different kind of nude.
O is for Optimize Headlines: One of the hardest concepts to grasp when a writer enters the world of web writing is how to make an article and a headline "searchable," and to employ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques.
P is for Publish Every Day: Publishing every day is essential for success on the web.
Q is for the Web Writing Quagmire: Quality or Quantity: *NEW* One of letters with that begins the fewest amount of words in the English language, Q, was the easiest letter to write in the PV series. There are so many Q articles to write, but I have to go with Q is for the Web Writing Quagmire: Quality or Quantity. It is not a choice. You need both.
R is for Making it Relevant - Web Writing and Web Success: *NEW* Success on the web means making your content relevant to the reader. Relevancy is such an obvious concept that it is often overlooked by web writers who tend to over think topics selection.
S is for Squidoo Benefits: Creating a Squidoo Lens, or a one page web site has its advantages for web article promotion. Using the Squidoo process can teach you how to focus your writing, how to promote your writing, and yes, it can even bring you page views. The upside is that you can also make a little bit of extra money at the same time.

Keywords

Associated Content Tool Box