AssociatedContent.com is one of the many get paid to write articles that have popped up on the internet nowadays. The reason these sites have become so big and why they're willing to pay you to write about damn near anything is that search engines like Google.com are always looking to find relevant content to serve to users like you and I.
So some enterprising entrepreneurs have figured out a way to provide this content to Google while earning money for doing it. They pay you to write about anything you like and in turn Google will usually rank this content in the top 10 of the search results for given keywords. How AssociatedContent.com makes money and thus pays you is by displaying related ads on the content you write. Ironically most of these ads are served by Google. So it actually comes full circle if you think about it.
So let's give you a clearer example. If you do a search on Google for "Get Paid To Write Articles" you should notice an associated content page result near the top of the results. If you visit the page you'll see an article someone wrote about Getting paid to write articles and on the left of that article you'll notice some ads. When folks click on these ads, AssociatedContent.com gets paid. In turn they share this revenue with folks like you who write articles for AssociatedContent.com. But just keep in mind this happens so many times for so many keywords so you can see how they can afford to pay you. It's really a smart business model and why so many other sites like Helium.com and Mylot.com are doing this.
At the end of the day even if you didn't understand a word I just wrote up there, all you really need to know is that AssociatedContent.com will pay you anywhere near $3-$10 per approved article that you write and submit.
It's one of the easiest ways for you to earn some money online. If you can write an email chances are you can write an article. Do you have any interest or hobbies, then you should probably start there because you can easily belt out 5-10 400 word articles like nothing. The key to success with AssociatedContent.com is to write about what you have a passion for because your writing will be of higher quality and chances are they will pay you on the higher end because you're adding real value.
Sure you could probably get away with writing about things you know little about. But I'm almost positive your writing will reflect this and thus your pay will as well assuming they actually approve your article.
What are some complaints about Associated Content.com?
Some of the biggest complaints have to deal with the pay. And I think that's a result of what I just discussed. People try to "game" the system by writing articles that they have no knowledge of or have plagiarized or used elsewhere. So AC will usually reject these articles and guess what? You don't get paid. This of course enrages people and this is where you get that AssociatedContent.com is a scam! So you have to keep that in mind if you happen to read anything negative about this or other websites that pay you to write articles. If you follow the rules you shouldn't have any problems. Does this mean that there hasn't been times where Associated Content (Please note an ad will load before visiting the page. Just click on the skip ad link on the upper right hand corner to visit the intended page.) has wrongly accused the innocent of breaking the rules? Nope!
But for the most part I think they're an honest company and there are far more positive things being said about them than there are negative.
So I definitely recommend AssociatedContent.com as a legitimate work at home opportunity! You don't need to be a seasoned writer to make money writing articles, you just need to have a passion about something and be able to dedicate some time to write about it!
This is absolutely amazing. I’m definitely going to give this a try. Thanks for the great post!
You’re welcome.
The site is a scam as they manipulate product to avoid paying. They are also dishonest in allowing you to submit an article under one specific plan for pay and then unilaterally change that weeks later again when they see they have to pay out. There are better sites. Associated Content now known as Yahoo Voices is a site well known for poorly written and conceived content. There are better places.
Rather than go all through their website trying to sort this out, I guess you must mean that they only wish writers who reside in the USA and not anyone from Canada. So, I guess that is end of story for the moment. Thanks for that comment, LT; otherwise, I would still be going around in circles on their site, only to find out it was a no-go for me. I quite agree that the IRS response is a bit much, as there are affiliate sites who will pay international affiliates by using special forms that the international affiliate must complete. This does not seem to be so difficult for most of those so I am not sure why it is a problem for a lot of these writing websites.
Look time no hear from. Glad to hear from you. Forgive me, I’m Not really sure what you mean about the whole barnacle on the bottom of the boat analogy. I’m not that bright to figure it out. lol
But glad to hear you’re still out there kicking.
It is a pity that it doesn’t pay international writers, and it is a bit bogus to say it’s to do with the IRS. As we’re all freelancers, we can be paid by anyone; AC doesn’t have to declare our taxable income.
Alas, the lack of pay means I’ve just wasted a couple of hours reading though all the tips and advice it gives about submissions. However, at least I read them and eventually discovered that it doesn’t pay its international workers. It’s missing out on potentially great content–after all, who better to write about a place than someone who lives in that place?
As it’s owned by Yahoo!, I doubt very much it’s a scam. You’ve got a nicely written and informative article here. I’ve found a lot of people only cry scam when they’ve been rejected for something.
Back to CloudCrowd and Demand, I guess!
I agree with you about people running around the web labelling something a scam because they have been rejected or don’t agree with a policy. That’s why I always take scam reports with a grain of salt and always dig deeper to see if I can spot a pattern of similar complaints.
Thanks for chiming in.
I think this is an important wave of the future because writing and adding ads to individual ads can seem like a waste of time compared to revenue promised by these sites. One man gave figures for his results (rare) and he made about $35 over several months from a niche oriented private blog but he makes several hundred dollars a month from sending stories like you describe here.
Best Article Ive found on the Internet. Keep up the good work.
I don’t know if it’s the best one. But I’m glad you appreciated it. lol
I went to login today to my associatedcontent account that I’ve only had for about 2 weeks, and found that they banned it due to a violation in the terms of contract. I find this odd, because I have yet to even submit an article for approval. The first thing I did was copy-paste my article that was completely my own material from word into their template. Next, I went to their photo sites that they recommend/require you use when uploading photos to your article. I uploaded one of the photos that did not require permission to download/use (per statement of the original photo taker), but found that it did not suit my article, and then ended up taking my own photo with my camera. I then uploaded my original photo but had problems cropping it to size to fit the autocropping job that associated content did on my page preview. I sent them a message asking how I could fix the photo so that it would appear properly on the actual page. After anxiously waiting for 1 week for a reply so that I could finally submit my FIRST article for review, I try to login today and find that I have been banned. This makes no sense to me, as I have not published anything yet, nor have I even submitted something for review. The photos I used consisted of my own work and the work of a photographer who did not require permission to use her work(I also gave credit to the photographer in the exact same way they tell you to in their help section), and who I also found on the list of associated content’s approved sites. Lastly, the article that I wrote was entirely my own work, which I had not even submitted for approval for publishing. Sorry for the lengthy post, but does anyone have any experience related to this?
And this is why I have my own blog. You take the time to add value to one of these sites and they pull stuff like this. Maybe there is another side to the story. But again these internet companies won’t even give you a chance to discover what you did wrong or have a conversation with you.
I feel for you. Take it as a lesson learned and focus on creating your own site where you call the shots.
I make about 100 bucks a month without lifting a finger but then again i have 1300 articles on AC.
but if you know how to write for SEO and like to write its great for side cash. ive made like 5,000 in 4 years which isnt great but its fun to see how many clicks ur stuff gets
You did lift a finger to write the articles so let’s keep that in mind. You don’t want to give people the impression that the $100 per month you’re making happens because you wished for it. That being said yes after you’ve initially written an article that is SEO optimized it can continue to make you money on auto pilot for many months or years to come provided it’s not something super competitive.
I know this is the case for articles I’ve written on this blog.
ive has an associated content account for a while, its great id recomended to anybody
I just started writing for AC and i have to say its a great idea to make some extra coin writing.
@Jill St. James:
Jill,
I just started writing for AC about a week ago, I wrote one story for AC and then decided to take an assignment from their desk, I wrote a Halloween short story for AC and submitted it a few days ago. After submitting it, I went to log-in the next day and have been unable to. I sent the company two e-mails and so far, it has been three or four days and no word. I am a professional writer who has written for several newspapers and various clients websites. In fact, I served as a features editor on a newspaper for several years.
I emailed the company and asked when the problem is going to be corrected because I have content I would like to submit when I can log-in. I spend a large number of time on this short story as it is 11 typed pages long and such content literally requires hours to make sure it is error-free.
I hope this issue is resolved soon. However, if what you say is true and you have had problems in this regard with the company, I may not ever be able to get onto their website again. I am waiting to see if this issue can be resolved in a timely manner.
At first when I got blocked, I thought it was because I entered the wrong password and applied for a new password using their link. But, every time I try to enter a new password, I am blocked. Their website won’t even allow me to enter a new password. It refuses to accept it. And after following the same directions more than 80 times, I know I am not doing anything incorrectly and for some reason am being blocked by the company server.
I know what my actions will be if the company fails to help resolve this issue in a timely manner. However, it being less than a week, I don’t want to prematurely take action.
I can say this for any company though, before you write for any website, read the fine print. If a company states in their fine print that you won’t get paid unless they have 100,000 hits on your article. Then, they aren’t necessarily defrauding you. It is in their fine print. It may be a lowbrow tactic by some websites, but they aren’t been dishonest because they did disclose this to you. They cannot help it if readers fail to read the fine print and this is what they are hoping for.
As for AC, I don’t think there has been adequate time yet to see how my particular situation is going to be resolved. If after waiting an adequate period of time and I get no response, there are options open to me as a writer. I do have to say I rarely think it works to negatively slam any company. Even though I have had dealings with other companies who failed to resolve my problems, I have used negative publicity against a company as a last result. Why? Publicity works both ways and just as one negatively slams a company, the company can also say negative things about the writer.
Even negative publicity can take its toll on a fairly experienced writer. In the end, I think a writer needs to consider what cost they are willing to pay if they are in a dispute with a company and things are go badly. Will a little negative publicity by a single company damage one’s reputation if a writer outspokenly criticizes the company? If not, then do what you most as a writer. I am definitely not advocating any writer allow themselves to be walked all over and their work stolen or misused.
I am simply saying I, personally, always give a company an opportunity to right a wrong situation. I hope that what you say, Jill, is just a simple mishap on the company’s side that can be resolved quickly. But if not, I am considering my next options and actions. I would hate to think a website would so blantantly take advantage of a new writer…especially an experienced journalist who has written for newspapers, websites and even interned for the Billy Graham Evangelic Association in Minnesota before the company moved to North Carolina. I think this is wny many writing websites have to be looked as writer beware and take your chances with any website — good or bad.
You are not the only one who has been worked over by AC in my case I had over 800 articles published there when they wrongly accused me of plagiarism and blocked my account. Since AC refuses to answer any Emails I have already contacted my lawyer about this matter, and if it isn’t resolved we will proceed with a lawsuit against both AC and their parent company Yahoo.
Eddy,
What a great site you have, with very helpful information and outstanding interaction. It has been very educational looking over all of the posts pro and con for AC, and I appreciate each opinion. Without mentioning any names I would encourage at least one of your contributors to make sure that their grammar and punctuation are better in their submissions than their posts here. That’s sincerely intended to be constructive, realizing fully that these comments are not written with the same care as an article.
Good luck to each one of you, and much success to you all.
Martinize,
Thanks for the kinds words. I sincerely do believe you’re actually trying to provide some useful feedback to some of the commenters here instead of being a nitpicker as some people are when it comes to spelling and grammar.
So I for one don’t take any offense. Because I’m definitely guilty of the same infractions. lol At the end of the day as long as you’re able to get value from the information presented by me and the folks that comment then that’s great. Sometimes people get so caught up in these minor mistakes that they totally miss the bigger picture. So I’m happy to see that’s not the case with you.
Thanks again for chiming in.
P.S. I apologize for any of the numerous spelling and grammar mistakes I’ve made in this comment. I know there are probably plenty of them. lol
Hey Michael,
Congrats on being a member of the AC family. I still have my articles on there but I didn’t update it since February somewhere before I had my baby. She was born on President’s Day (Feb. 15) and now, she’s 5 months old. But anyway, you should also consider writing for other sites since you can’t rely on all of your articles to make you money at AC which is a hit or miss. Something to thiink about. I currently write at other places for upfront payment and I still do get residual from ehow due to the previous articles that is still making me money. It’s not a lot but better than nothing.
If you are interested, let me know. And there is no out of pocket money to get started writing at these places. You make money of what you are crazy about so cha ching. lol
The point is that even though AC is a nice place to use to show some writing samples, just remember to check out other places too. There are better paying sites for upfront payments and they are all over the Internet. Later.
Laurie
PS. Hey Eddy. Great to see that you still interact with the people that leave you messages about one of the reviews you do. I am thinking about sticking up an article about 15 content mill sites that pay low for upfront payment. I already wrote some about it on videojug but didn’t finish it. After I have it completed, then will post it on AC. I am sure many people wonder how to make money writing on the Internet and Textbroker is one of them on the list.
Just got two more articles “rejected” for upfront payment, but I was able to publish them for performance payments. So that equals $2 for 3 articles so far…pretty weak. The funny thing is that the first article that they initially accepted was on predictions for one NFL division; yet, one of the next 2 articles they rejected was for another NFL divison prediction. Strange logic. Oh well, I’m still going to continue to use associated content and build a portfolio. I’ll still keep you all updated as I hear back on other articles I submit. Take care you guys.
Yo Eddy,
You’ve got a great website man…congrats on all your success. Just wanted to chime in on associated content as I just got my first article approved (I have 11 more pending). I submitted the article on 7/21, and they just sent me an offer today for $2. I hear the process is much quicker once your first 3 articles are approved. All in all it ain’t much money, but I’m excited to have published content that people can comment on. I just hope to build a nice little writing portfolio and make some cash on the side in the process. I’ll keep you updated on how the other articles turn out. Peace out brother.
Thanks Michael!
It’s great to hear you’re taking action and already making money! Keep it up buddy. There is a world of possibility out there so take advantage of all these legitimate options.
None of them are perfect. But as long as you’re making some money, it’s a good start.
I find it quite unfair that Non american citizen don’t actually get paid.
The scam with AC is with writers posting a small number of articles. There is something wrong with my login and it hasn’t been working for three weeks. I emailed the company and after a week I telephoned to be told assistance was only available via email. I emailed again, every day, and finally received a “non-speak” email answer giving me the same directions posted on the password reset email. I answered that I tried that action and waited. Finally, I sent two more emails. The AC response was to ask me for information that was presented in my first email (that was reposted below the new query). So far, a week later, no response. I have several articles that do quite nicely every month. I’ve scanned the Internet to find this is a frequent “problem” for AC. If the company purposely blocks folks who probably will just go away and this company with a volume of content can do quite well. Most people with only a few articles simply write off the experience and don’t bother to post negative comments online. I think a fraud investigation needs to be launched. Any legal folks looking to make a name in an extremely visible investigation and class action suit?
Dear Jill St. James:
Would you be willing to join a class action suite against AC?
Hi Eddy,
I just joined AC and on ‘Googling’ AC came across your post. I must say that you have over the past couple of years covered almost every aspect of this genre of freelancing as offered by AC and others of its kind. I admit I could not go through all the posts down the years but then again this is a topic where the views are limitless. So in a nutshell can you please advice me, as a pro to a rookie, as to what I should keep in mind while writing for AC and its kind. I would be greatly obliged for your tips.
Associated Content IS a SCAM . I say we end this tea party and start our own site. Divadare85@yahoo.com
Eddie. …… time to be a ”straight shooter”
JadeDragon,
This is news to me and it sucks that international users are being excluded if this is actually the case.
But at the end of the day, this is why it’s better to have your sandbox than playing with someone else’s. Because
who ever owns it gets to make the rules. This is why I keep saying for all the effort folks put in these other sites
they could create their own site and achieve the same results. That’s why you won’t catch me writing for sites like this.
I dislike not being in control. At least when you own your site you call the shots.
Connie,
1. You misspelled my name.
2. I am a straight shooter and why people come to this blog. My legitimacy isn’t on trial here. I’m already established in my niche so let’s not even go there.
The fact of the matter is there is still a large portion of writers making money with AC. Is the company perfect? Hell no. But you let me know when you find one. Because I can
guarantee I can find someone that has something to bitch about with the company you think is perfect.
At the end of the day you’re at the mercy of these companies and must play by their rules whether it’s fair or not.
If you feel they’ve slighted you, do something productive about it. If you need an idea, see my advice above to JadeDragon. I just think it’s pointless to rant about some of these rules when many of you can just use the same skills to start your own website. Personally I just feel it’s wasted energy. There have been companies that have done things I didn’t like. I didn’t run around crying about it. I just moved on to another company or try to put myself in a position where I didn’t need the company I had the dispute with. Problem solved. So my thing is to be proactive rather than reactive. You’ll get further in life that way.
It’s okay to vent. But after you’re done doing that, what’s the plan? That’s just my two cents. Take it with a grain of salt.
Hi Eddy… remember me?……. the ”grain of salt” has become a barnicle on the bottom of a boat… took me awhile… almost there. Have a great day……………………..c
Well Associated Content is a scam now. They just used tax law to claim that they can’t pay non-US writers anymore. This is bogus for other sites can pay international writers just fine.
I am interested in returning to writing and working from home, so AC sounds very interesting to me. I have learned quite a bit from this discussion. But it sounds like the money doesn’t make it worth my time. Someone said they wrote 70 articles and made $2.50? People making $30 per month? Only one person said they make $500-$1000 per month. Anyone else out there had that kind of success? If so, about how many hours per week are you putting into it? Or is AC best left to those who are only looking for pocket change?
I wrote for AC a while back, got a four star or whatever rating, and an article I wrote on the late night conservative talk show host, Michael Savage, hit the TOP of Google, and was still up there at the top for months. I got about $150 bonus pay for that article. I averaged about 3-5 articles a day and wrote for them for about a year. about 5 or 6 days a week, so I had a portfolio of about 900 articles when I got a job with a law firm and stopped writing online. But altold, I probably averaged around $700 per month, which helped but will not begin to pay my bills after I quit my $3,000/mo. job!! I am on Web Colleagues, too, and I’ve got an account with Constant Content, where you get people actually bidding on your articles. Just google them to find out more. I will just have to see which ones of these make me the most money. Only have 6 months to find out.
Now I am looking toward retirement and have been
Cassandra, I do not agree with you that they are a scam because they did in fact, do pay their writers. It just depends if they were able to get a lot of page views as well as upfront payments. Although, I know that it is a highway or my way kind of thing when it comes to the upfront so that is why I didn’t write a lot for them. I only have 46 on there for now. And yes. It is better to have your own website than using the sites such as AC but it is a good publicity to show to other potential clients that way to see your writing portfolio if they are perfect. It just depends.
@VJ:
please inform me of any problems with this organization. I am thinking of getting my OWN website .
I have found that Associated Content is a scam because they do not follow copyright laws of the internet in their pursuit for no plagiarism. They also do not give their writers a voice to speak. For them it is their way or the highway. PS — They would rather claim you plagiarized so that they can receive all the money you from people viewing their articles. They are in – a corporate con.
@Markus:
Why is it that people use the fact that people are complaining as proof that the company must be a scam or engaged in unethical or otherwise negative practices? If you google ANY company name along with the words “scam” or the like, you’ll get thousands of results of people giving examples of why they think that company is garbage.
At the end of the day, if a company states everything upfront and acts according to exactly what they’ve stated upfront, you can’t call them a scam. You also can’t blame a company for the fact that people enter into agreements without reading them. You think if you go to court against a company that you’ll win the case if your defense is, “Well, yeah, it was in the agreement, but nobody reads those, we’re all too lazy, so we just agree to get started faster!”
No. You wouldn’t.
Bottom line is this.
1) If you don’t work for AC, your information regarding how they do things on the backend is irrelevant.
2) If you don’t write content on AC, your opinion regarding how they treat content providers is irrelevant.
The only thing that matters are facts. Not hearsay, not “well look at how many said this so it must be true!” If you don’t have FACTS to support what you’re saying from documentation and firsthand experience, there’s no reason for you to even bother commenting.
I’ve been writing on AC three years now. I’m an actual freelance writer and published author, so I didn’t do it because I’m not a real writer and aren’t good enough to be published elsewhere. I did it BECAUSE I like the fact that it’s a content based site and it’s fun to use when you want to write about something that you don’t need or want published in a more serious setting.
Have they ever not made good on the agreement put forth or resolved any issues I’ve had regarding payment and the like? Nope. Have other people have problems? Probably, but again, the same can be said for EVERY company. There is no such thing as a business that has not one complaint on record from someone who feels they were treated unfairly.
The trouble these days is that everyone wants something for nothing and when they discover that not everything (especially making money) is as simple as signing up on a site and having a check 5 minutes later, they want to make a stink about it.
It’s fairly simple. Read the agreement. Adhere to the agreement. If a company breaks the agreement, sue or file a complaint. You cannot sue or file a complaint against a company just because you don’t like the fact that they took steps they were legally well within their right to take against you. All you can do is whine about it in your blog or to your friends. It still doesn’t make its practices illegal. If it’s stated anywhere on AC’s website that they can take certain action against you (eg. the penalty people are mentioning), they can do it. Period.
Don’t like it, don’t accept the agreement – but oh, that’s right, you probably didn’t bother reading it in the first place…
Kim,
I agree with most of your points. I’ve always argued that every company is going to have complaints. It’s impossible to please everyone. That being said, doing the scam search does help you figure out if the complaints are warranted or just people whining. When I do that scam search I’m able to see patterns or lack there of. I’m also able to identify real issues vs personal vendettas. So I do think it’s still worth conducting that scam search if you’re able to read between the lines. I don’t buy that doing such a search leads to only one sided opinions. When a company is good and folks are throwing shots at it, their defenders come out in full force. A perfect example of this is this post. Read the comments below and you can see that they cover both ends of the spectrum. I’ve also seen it for many of my other posts. So trust me you can’t run around calling good companies a scam and their members aren’t going to speak up. You will get both sides of the story.
In any event, I totally agree with you regarding the lack of reading and the lack of responsibility taking of folks. I even wrote an article about this a while ago:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/read So many people would be able to avoid scams, misleading products and problems if they actually took time to read the fine print. But no, some people want you to do the work for them. It’s no wonder why we’re in the financial mess we’re in. We’re not taking responsibility for our actions and acting accordingly. However, I’ll admit the following. Nearly every terms of conditions page I’ve ever read is always designed to protect the company that created them. You can usually sum them up in one sentence. “You’re signing away your life to us by using our site and we can pretty much do what we want.” If you don’t like this policy, don’t join our site. So you’re pretty much at the whim of all these companies. If you don’t like this, you better start your own site. This is exactly the reason why I don’t like the idea of spending too much of my energy on things that I don’t personally control. It just doesn’t make sense to whine about it when you have other options. So I totally hear your points. It was tough love but very true in so many respects. lol
Well, thanks for the input. I think that I should have a blog about making and saving money as well as fitness and nutrition since there are ways to save money doing that. Most people are obese or overweight because they eat out too damn much and not enough homecook meals so that is a good way for me to include as well.
I guess I could do a blog about making and saving money. I am on some other sites that you don’t have on your blog on here. And they are about making money as well.
I think narrowing down your focus is definitely the way to go. Now make it happen captain! lol Put the same energy you’re putting in all these other sites into your own blog and just follow the format you’ve been using to drive traffic to these article sites to your own. You can still make money with sites like AC. But you ultimate goal should be get rid of the middle man and keep the dollars in your pocket instead of splitting it with all these other sites.
lol Not sure if the convo on here did made them change their mind but anyway, I’m back in. I only have 46 articles on there so far for now. I wonder if I should write more for them. Well, here is the reason why I want to have at least more than one. I have more than one passion. And if you did check out Tim’s blog, you would see that he dabbles in different area such as languages, travel, etc. I have a passion for book reviews since I am a book freak ha ha, fitness, nutrition, personal finance in the area of saving and making money, business and I would even do marketing, beauty and once in a while on fashion. Now I can see why you said that I would spread myself too thin if I have more than one blog. But then have all of what I am passionate about onto one blog? I am considering the idea on having only one blog with all of the topics that I am passionate about just like Tim and plus, that would save me some money since it would only be one domain to pay.
I have a lot of passions too, technology, scifi films, etc. But I don’t have a blog on all these things. Out of all my passions, making money at home is my biggest so that’s why I focused all my energies on a site regarding that. So I still think you should narrow your niche down. Profitability is also something to consider. Not all passions can translate to making a living online. Even though my blog is about working at home, I often jibber jabber about my other interests in passing. So you can still include your other passions in your one blog. But the focus of your blog should be on a sole niche. But that’s just my two cents. You have to do what’s best for you.
Hey eddy. I got a reply back from AC. It turned out that my account was flagged due to purchasing a guide on how to scam AC. Someone did wrote a report on how to make good income on there but I didn’t use any of the methods on there at all. Long story short, they reactivated my account but still planning on having at least 5 niche blogs. Not sure if I should only have one or have five different one where it is somewhat like Tim Ferriss. Not sure if you know who he is but he wrote “The 4 hour work week.” Very good book.
Congrats on getting back in with AC. It’s always good to hear when a company communicates with its users rather than just banning them without any discussion. So I applaud them. I wonder if the conversation we were all having here influenced that? lol
In any event, I’m totally against doing multiple blogs. Just focus on a niche you have a passion for and know about and pour your heart into it. This way you’re not spreading yourself thin and you can actually provide some real value to your users. This is how you build a long term business instead of a quick hustle. I don’t know why so many of these gurus are pumping that. It might explain a lot of the thin sites we see out there that provide little value to user.
By the way, I’ve read Tim’s book. Good stuff.
I agree that these type of sites are a great starting point but wouldn’t want to rely on them. At least with AC, my page views go up each day (not as rapidly as before their recent changes – coincidentally). I have a few articles on Bukisa and over the past month or so, my total page views go up and down from day to day – meaning there are days with negative page views???
Hey Tom,
Thanks for chiming in. Page views will vary day to day on any site. My page views tend to be higher at the start of the week and then drop down on the weekend. It makes sense because people usually spend less tim on the computer on weekends. So what you’re experiencing is normal across the board.
That being said, I agree with you. Owning your site and content is the way to go. It’s the same amount of work either way.
lmao If a squirrel farts. lmao
Sorry. I know that I am a chick but being with a guy who makes me laugh so much has made me a immature mom who laugh at the word fart. lol
Well, for some of the facebook postings that you notice? I didn’t do all of them on my own. There were times when something were being posted with affiliate links, it was one of the companies that I signed up for where I could get paid to use twitter.
Well, since AC closed me down, I can forget to write for them ever and have my own blog but at the moment would want to write more at hubpages and bukisa for more exposure there and can post up my link when I have my own official blog up. I remember reading a post one time about AC where some guy said that AC editor claimed that he plagiarize people’s work and he threw a fit. I think I now know how he thinks. NO wonder he was slamming AC. I don’t blame him.
However, I am still on hubpages, ehow and Bukisa.
No need to apologize. My wife is the same way because of me. She’s constantly blaming me for making her appreciate sophomoric humor. lol
Okay now that makes sense regarding some of your FB posts.
In any event, my advice still stands about getting it cracking on your own blog. Who’s to say this stunt won’t happen at these other sites and not to say they will.
But all that energy you’re putting into building some other site’s content and traffic could be used on your own. Just my two cents and I should know. lol
Hey eddy.
I just got notified from AC that my account has been closed where they claim that I did multiple violations which I have no idea why they claim that.
I guess it is why you don’t believe in writing for sites like that one since they could pull something like that. I guess that I need to work on having my own blog so then I couldn’t have to rely on earning passive income like at Ehow which I have left as well as Bukisa and Hubpages.
Damn Laurie,
I’m sorry to hear that. But you’re right that’s why you’ll never catch me writing on sites like that.
1. I don’t like sharing my earnings with a middleman when writing on these external sites require the same skills and energy in terms of producing the content and getting visitors to them.
2. If a squirrel farts, these sites can up and decide to ban you in a heart beat as they just did with you.
I think these sites are great starting point to get your feet wet and build up your confidence. But ultimately if you’re going to get paid for writing you should try to do it via your own blog that you control and no one can shut your blog down but you. (for the most part)
In any event, I’m pretty certain you probably didn’t do anything intentional. The one thing I’ve noticed about some of your marketing actions is that you promote things you’re involved with in areas that it shouldn’t be (i.e. blog comments,) I have seen some of your facebook posts too and I wonder to myself why is she posting that affiliate link in her status update. So there is a method about how you do these things.
At the end of the day, don’t cry over spilled milk. Use this as an opportunity to get focused on creating your own authority blog where you don’t need to depend on sites like this. Use what you’ve learned to make money on these sites and apply it to your own blog.
Associate Content, is to me a site that has encouraged me to write, I do need to practice and improve.
But I like Associate Content because it is the first site that has ever paid me. I’ve not made very much, but I have been paid.
I find writing theraputic so for me writing is benificial.
I have wrote about my sons death there, and also a memorial type poem for my daddy who just died.
Anyway, I do like comments on my writing and page views so if anyone would like to look at my writing you can look at it here…
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/30606/annab.html
Triond will be much better, you can earn 0.50 too.
why do they only pay americans?rest of the world should get a chance. Triond is better for the rest of the world. thats why its better than AC.Equality and peace.
Hi – Love the site 🙂
I work as a fulltime writer – and I’m not based in the US ! – I have an AC account, and they do pay you. Although it’s not the advert clicks that you get pay outs for. They pay for the clout level that you have on site (their term for page views) The articles seem to rank quite well, and so far I’ve earned $2.50 for 70 articles ! lol. OK well not a lot , but let’s see how it goes when they’ve been up there longer.
Clare,
Thanks for sharing your experience with AC. I’m a big proponent that every cent counts when it comes to working at home. But not everyone is going to see it that way. That being said for the folks that can appreciate that, hearing feedback from people like you that are making some money with AC will be helpful. So thanks.
To Washington DC, you say “Editors added mistakes into some of your articles”. Not true. Associated Content NEVER edits articles so the mistakes must be yours and, if they banned your account for page view fraud then that tells me you were trying to game the system as they ALWAYS pay on time.
I’ve worked for AC for over 2 years, get around $6 for every article I write (I have almost 1,200 up with them) and have never had a problem getting paid. Neither do thousands of others on the site.
I’ve made between $500 and $1,000 a month or more on AC almost since I started writing for them. They’re one of the best content sites on the net and those who tell you otherwise either a) cannot write so will never have their articles bought or b) are gaming the system then get angry when they get caught.
And to those who say ‘real writers’ don’t write for AC, I guess that’s why AC articles are showing up on CNN, NPR, the New York Times etc!!!
I’ve had articles accepted for magazines and newspapers in Asia because of what I write for AC. If I hadn’t written for AC, I would never have received those assignments, one of which turned into a regular writing gig. I am also a professional freelance writer with contracts with several multi-national companies in Thailand and, yes, they all hired me after seeing my work on AC.
So, to those who say “real writers” don’t write for AC. I assure you, you are wrong.
Thanks for your column on this. It’s well written and accurate, IMO 🙂
My experience with AC is a mixed bag. I produced more than 50 articles for them over the summer, mostly about gardening, and received almost all of my payments over that time period. However, I accepted a “10 articles for $50” assignment. After submitting all of my articles on the subject, my account was mysteriously banned for what an administrator said was “page view fraud.” In spite of multiple attempts, I have yet to hear back from them as to what exactly that means, but in my opinion, it has more to do with the $30 pending due to me than any “fraud” they accused me of. Editors also added mistakes into some of my articles.
So I cannot in good faith recommend Associated Content. Management is just too sketchy and unresponsive when something is wrong.
AC sucked. they didn’t pay me a dime, and yes… i am American. They couldn’t even keep track of my log-in password. i tried close to forty times to recover it, i gave up. helium’s payout is better anyway.
@eddysalomon:
Hey Eddy,
I can understand why Lenin would find the business ethics of AC “deplorable. I’m eighteen and have been doing mild to intense physical labor for five years or so making little more than minimum wage. Being in school I couldn’t work more extravagant jobs. Naturally I assumed there had to be a better way and turned to the internet for advise, as any teenager would. Icame accross thousands of scams and rip offs. I studied these and made note of those that were not. Among the ones that were not scams, I found AC. As stated they do indeed pay-out. Anyone acctually expecting to get rich from the internet, or even live comfortably, isn’t very bright. truthfully the best way to profit from the internet is to build your own site similar to AC. I won’t get into that now though. the reason people have trouble dealing with AC is that they make about $10 per thousand views of any article and the writer only makes $1.50. However, when used correctly, and with the correct mind-set, I agree with you; It can be profitable.
Michael,
Thanks for chiming in with your thought provoking comment. Although I don’t necessarily agree with everything you say you definitely have some valid points. I make a very comfortable living off the internet. So much so that I no longer work outside my home and I know some other folks that do this as well. But we all worked very hard to get here and had a lot of failures too. So it is possible. It’s not easy but it’s definitely feasible.
I do agree the best way to achieve this is to have your own website. It doesn’t necessarily have to be like AC. Ideally it should be about something you have a passion for and then you can monetize it the same way AC and many other websites do so. That is with advertising, affiliate marketing, etc. So you have a point there. But most people don’t have the training, work ethic and resolve to make that work. In which case, an opportunity like AC may be an option as long as you’re fine with some of the pitfalls. And let’s face it, every company has pitfalls. There is always going to be a complaint from somebody that is disgruntle about a company’s given policy or slip up. It’s part of doing business. You can’t please everyone. So as long as folks keep this in mind as they read these comments they’ll be in a better place to make the right decision.
Thanks for sharing Michael.
Hey Eddy, I dig your style man! You are more cool headed than a shaved squirrel in an icebox. Anyway, I do really enjoy your writing. I backlinked this blog from a HubPages article I wrote, inspired by this and two other articles. Hope you enjoy it, give me a hollar if you don’t, or if you want me to edit your props.
Your friend from the verbiage trail!
Ben Zoltak
http://hubpages.com/hub/Associated-Content-Versus-Constant-Content-Battle-Of-The-Lowballers
Hey Ben,
I appreciate the love man! You had me rolling over here with the shaved squirrel comment. I damn near spit up my drink as I read the comment! lol Good times.
Great article by the way!
JP, even though you are an electrician and love to write about sports, you should go for it on applying after getting some more sports writing which will help you to maybe get a better paying sports writing job at home. Despite that you don’t have the certificate, your writing shows your passion for writing about the piece and it can be lucrative.
I don’t have a certificate to show myself as a nutritionist nor a personal finance person but I write some pieces on those two areas because I am passionate about them.
I have some writing on AC about those two areas and a few other ones that I am passionate about. And because of my writing credential and writing sample, Demand Studios accepted me as one of their writers since October 13, 2009. I only got one accepted and got their payment which I need to do more.
You should go for it and encourage you despite that the money part isn’t very important. Your passion is what counts. It’s not the certificate nor degree that does for some of the time.
I like the website, Im gonna talk football and other sports anyway, why not make a $1 or $2 for doing it? Im really not in it for the money, I only write an article or two per week, I just like the idea of having my writing published on a website. If I make a few bucks along the way, great, but really Im not in it for that. I do hope that I would get noticed somehow for my articles, I dream of writing sports as a career but I dont have the credentials to apply for such jobs, Im an electrician, lol. I like to post my opinion on sports is all and it feels good to see my articles published.
I’m just confused is all. So are the articles written in AC actually true? Do they have to prove legitimate sources to post their article? I just want to make sure the things I’m reading are actually the truth rather than made up stories that’s all
Associated Content isn’t a scam but it does pay little for the articles nowadays. However, it does help for beginners to get some writing practice under their belts before moving on to something else.
Please remember that all businesses do have bad points as well as good. So far I haven’t had any problems with Associated Content. Hopefully it stays that way.
Agreed. Every company is going to have their good and bad points. It’s just a matter of filtering through the information and deciding whether the good and bad points are enough to persuade or dissuade you to doing business with a company.
No, Associated Content is NOT a scam. It is a legitimate company which works hard to stay competitive in the ever emerging world of internet content and writing. Having noted that, people who have NO writing background or assume that SEO and other aspects of internet writing are unimportant may be in for a surprise. It IS possible (and I’ve done it) to get thousands of page views overnight but it can take time and a learning curve to reach higher levels of regular pay at Associated Content.
But few jobs worth doing come without a learning curve! The bonus? Older articles keep earning residual income, which I consider a great deal!
I recently deleted my account from associated content. I had nothing but issues with OTHER websites plagiarizing my articles from their site. They would copy my articles and change a couple words and post them as their own. I had to run around constantly to get my work taken down off of other sites.
The final straw for me was when I submitted my last article and associated content had the nerve to accuse ME of plagiarism when the article was written by me. I had only submitted 7 or 8 articles total and gotten paid a total of $15 and I had enough.
The reality is that associated content doesn’t care what the quality of the writing is. They only care that it’s keyword rich, and something they don’t already have. They simply want a database that generates clickthroughs from search engines to produce revenue through advertising. The more suckers they can reel in to write content for them (for almost no compensation), the more money they can make off of advertising.
If you’re a “real” freelance writer, create a blog for your articles with your name in the URL, and archive your body of work. People steal articles from content sites and with a blog you get to manage everything about how your material is listed. That way, when you’re applying for jobs or writing gigs, you have an online body of work that is presented the way YOU want to present it.
Stop putting money in the pockets of these greedy content sites. Blogs are free. You can even get your own url for as cheap as $10 a YEAR. And if you do it with blogger, google will automatically crawl your articles and headlines for search engines. A win/win for you as a writer.
I am just starting with Associated Content. They seem to be okay so far. I’m not getting paid that much per article, but I’m sure that will improve as I learn to choose better assignments for me. I know they are running a promotion this month for new publishers where you get a bonus for 5 or 10 articles published this month. It is giving me writing practice, which is not a waste of my time by any means. Thanks for this blog, Eddy! And thanks to everyone else for sharing your experiences! 🙂
Hey Eddy.
AC is not a scam and I can vouch for that.
For a lot of the articles that I wrote for them, they would give me my upfront payment which adds up if you think about it.
I made about $33 this month and just got active on writing again on the site since 21st of this month but skipped writing the weekends and yesterday.
I felt bad since my goal was to write at least 5 a day on there. The upfront payment somewhat else despite that I wish it was higher.
I also have articles that I wrote where they stated that it didn’t qualify to get any upfront payment and just the performance payment. Even though I did get mad about that, I know that they didn’t stiff me on my payment. SO far, I got some money from them. I need more which I had told you personally.
AC and Brighthub are the only sites I know that pays upfront plus something for passive income.
My friend wrote for them after quitting her job. The pay isn’t great, but the exposure is. She’s had plenty of thank you notes from those companies she has written for. She loves the editors there too over the ones at other places like eHow. Her work has been distributed to companies like GoDaddy. Much more credible than other places.
For those asking about whether Canadians or any other non-Americans can get paid for submitting to AC, the answer is yes and no. Go to http://www.associatedcontent.com/home_faqs.shtml and click on ‘who is eligible to be paid?’. It will tell you that non-Americans are not eligible for ‘up-front payments’ but are eligible for ‘performance payments’. The following two questions in the FAQ detail what up-front and performance payments are.
Thanks for sharing the information Tom. I appreciate it.
Hi. I’m new to AC, and I have a few questions that the help section of AC didn’t include:
1. When will my Upfront payment be added to my Payments page? I wrote an article today, and I was wondering if the amount will show up on my Payments the next day or whatever.
and
2. I know how the Upfront payment will be calculated, but can anyone give me a general idea of how much I might make per review about books?
Thanks you all so much in advance!
~ Demi
You can tell by reading some comments on this page that there are people that don’t know how to write. You know, basic stuff, like grammar, and I think you have to know how to spell. If people like that can get paid for ‘writing’, how hard can it be to make money?
Not the nicest things to say but I understand the point you’re trying to get across.
The only problem is that many times these pages just link to each other and never give you what you want. For instance, if you were looking for barbie coloring pages to print out, you would find what appears to be a good source of coloring pages. But it is just a page with links to other associated content pages that also appear to give you what you want, but they do not. After looping around the same page a few times, I realized I had been duped. I had determined that they were just trying to attract links and did not provide anything worthwhile in return. This to me is…. [drum roll please]… A SCAM!!!! BANG THE GONG! PULL OUT THE HOOK! THIS ENTERTAINER NEEDS TO GO!
@Eddy Salomon:
WOW!!! it sure does. I really dig you Eddy. Your site is full of knowledge, which I starve for. I have a feeling I’ll be hanging out here for a while trying to soak it in. I must hand it to you, you are a great mediator and MC.
Freddie, we gotta stop meeting like this. lol
I’m glad you find the site helpful and I look forward to having you hand around this little hole in the wall. Thanks for the support Freddie!
Im thinking about starting AC and i just posted four articles and im waiting back to see if they will get published. I really dont know what to expect, I’m not looking for a lot of money, but something wouldn’t hurt. Anybody know what i might be able to expect?
Hey Randy,
I think you should read the comments above. It pretty much gives you a balanced view of what to expect.
Well I’m new to AC and I’ve signed up after researching thier payout plan. Thier payout plan is obviously low but compared to not getting any money its great. Its legitimate from all the research I’ve read and as a college student who is without a summer job it is better than nothing. I actually calculated how much I’m getting paid per word and being that I’m not an established well know writer there really seems no better option unless I build up an online following over time. I’ve done two paid assignments so far and as far as writing and time needed…hmph I’m a college junior If I can’t write a 400 word article in a few minutes well shame on me. I’ve got a plethora of knowledge. They could pay better but they don’t so until I get a job during the day I’ll be thankful that I can earn something.
i like to hear who somebody get paid from AC. i’m non-American and trying to publish my article there. The statement looks like a vague accusation should be support by strong evidences. i don’t thing AC is a scam website. Because of it established for a long time and be referred of Google, we should feel free to acknowledge its reputation.
Can non-americans participate and get paid?
Hi, Susan. That is my concern as well. As someone who has been writing professionally for a number of years, I am highly concerned about the quality of my work v. quantity. IF I had to do a review of frozen pizza, you better believe that it would be in an entertaining context. Avoiding this kind of slip-shod behavior is easy for the discerning freelancer; however, it does concern me that these are the articles that receive the most attention.
@Susan:
Hi, Eddy. Yours were some of the first articles that I read when I joined AC as a new writer. Currently, I have four articles in submission. However, I’m hoping that perhaps you can give some pointers on how to maximize my exposure on AC. I am a freelance writer (in the real world!), ergo, “distribution” has never been a problem. Any tips that you can give me on getting the word out about my articles would be much appreciated, as long as it doesn’t involve shameless self-promotion!
Also, is there any benefit to choosing “Exclusive” over “Upfront Payment?” What are your thoughts?
Hi Lisa,
1. Promoting your articles: Try visiting forums related to what your different articles. If your article was about weight loss then visit a women’s forum. Find the thread about health and body. Participate in the forum like normal. Include links to related health articles in your forum signature which is an option when you sign up to participate in a forum. When appropriate include your website address of your articles and others that can answer a question that someone is posing. Or give part of the answer in your message and include a link to your article for more tips like the one you just posted in the forum.
Include your article website address in your email signature. So that’s two simple tips.
I don’t really participate on AC so I can’t speak about their payment terms. I know they read this post, so maybe they can or another of our kind visitors will?
Hope this helps, either way.
Will this work for Canadians? Or do you have to be American? Are there any Canadian sites like this?
Here is the truth about AC. I began as a content producer (now they are called “sources”) in 2006. Since then I have made a total of $531.05. I rarely write for them anymore and here’s why. In the beginning, AC was great. I’d get anywhere between $4 – $10 per article, depending upon whether they were offering a promotion or whatnot. Once I wrote 5 articles in one night and got $10 each, because they were offering a special of $10 per every article about the best songs from X musical artist. But for me they have gone downhill for me and here’s why. Originally, nothing I ever wrote got rejected. I would write articles from my own mind and also from their “wanted” content. Nothing I wrote got rejected. Then, within the past year or two, they started rejecting everything I submitted saying it wasn’t original enough. Apparently, they’ve reached a vast amount of articles that they are trying to avoid duplicate topics. I can understand this. So, to save myself the trouble I started e-mailing them, asking them if they’d accept articles about X, Y, or Z, etc. but they NEVER respond. The truth is that they have such a wide selection of articles that you have to search for what you want to write about (that is, if you’re doing your own article and not one of theirs that you claimed) and hope it’s not there. But here’s the other downfall. They make it impossible for you to make money. See, the people who submit immediately for no upfront payment and only residuals, get their articles in ASAP. While the rest of us who want payment in ADDITION to residuals have to wait about 5 days. BUT…by the time those 5 days have rolled around, all of the people who submitted immediately on your same topic have flooded the website with their articles, causing AC to write back to you saying “Sorry, this isn’t original enough.” So what this means is you have to submit your article on an original topic, which is DIFFICULT to say the least, (or you can claim one of their “wanted” topics, but those are often very esoteric) AND you have to do so for NO upfront payment. This is how AC really makes it impossible to get paid. Luckily for me, I have over 60 articles on there, since 2006. I have only done 3 in the past year because of what I just told you about. But my residuals are nice. I usually get a Paypal payment once a month of around $13 for simply doing absolutely nothing, so that is nice. Bottom line is the company isn’t a scam in the sense that they are out to steal your identity or anything like that, or rob you blind, but what they have become is just a shadow of what they used to be. But AC has done a lot for me, especially in the beginning. They are the first place I was ever paid for my writing, and I have been offered writing jobs from people who have seen my articles on AC. Plus, I am still getting residual payments for doing nothing, simply from people continuing to click on my articles. So those are my pros and cons. Do with them what you will.
Andrea,
Thanks for that informing comment about Associated Content. I think it’s been one of the fairest comments I’ve read about them on this page. I am sure someone will be a long to rebut your insightful assessment though. 😉
I agree with susan’s comments on AC. Good writing is not recognised by ones peers on AC. I think that the whole think revolves around groups of friends reading each other. However, I’m not sure about the comment stating that some articles are ‘200 to 300 words long’. AC requires a minimum of 400 words.
I have tried to boost my reads by marketing on social networking sites, forums, etc but the figures are still low. However, if I am willing to spend hours reading and comenting on others I can usually scrape up a few hundred views. This earn the massive sum of 15p per hundred, so it’s hardly worthwhile.
I cannot say that AC is a scam, but I do question the writing ability of those with astronomical views! Their articles and I use the term loosely, are for the most part reviews, 200 to 300 word reviews. One high producer had a short review on frozen pizza and another on hot cocoa and so on. In addition to the extremely high number of views, this person also had numerous comments some stating \” unbelievable article as usual\”. This is for a short 2 paragraph review of frozen pizza. I cannot understand why so many of those with such a high number of views, and so little talent, seem to have such a following. It seems as though the truly talented writers are lucky if they can capture their first 1000 views, so they can collect their 1.50. I also notice that good writing on AC is rarely recognized by one\’s peers.
@Melissa:
I think you need to turn in a W9, rather than a 1099. You will receive a 1099 from a company that you earn more than $600. I’ve been a *part time* freelancer and a full time independant contractor for 10 yrs. As far as the fella who hasn’t gotten paid, just do a little follow up. I am not affiliated with AC, but I too am looking into it. Best of Luck!
It is correct that AC pays upfront for US writers. However, they do not offer this to non-US writers. This is true and I can verify it as I am a member from UK. They offer $1.50 per thousand views (current rate) and it doesn’t matter how good, or bad the article is, it still gets paid at the same rate.
Carol, AC is not just paid per view. I had more luck on getting upfront payment myself than pageviews for each $1.50 but I know places that pays more than AC does though for money to make. I also write at ehow. Unfortunately, they do not offer upfront money but you earn passive income from your articles depending on the words being used such as work at home, making money, anything to do with money will make more on ehow. Anyway, hope this helps. You seem like you are not a member at AC. If you were, then you would of known already about the upfront money potential. But they do not pay as much as they used to for upfront money.
I too have written for associated content. They do pay but not per article. They are a pay per view site. You need to have 1000 views to get paid. It does not matter how many articles you write or how good your articles are. So long as you get the views you will get paid.
I joined AC a few days ago and submitted my first article for Exlcusive/Up-Front Payment consideration. I’m not sure how it will go, as it is a review of one of my favorite restaurants, but I’ll try to come back here and let you all know how it turns out. I submitted the article on 2/12/2009, and I believe they have two weeks to review it.
Look forward to hearing back from you Dana.
Keep us posted.
Eddy
I have submitted 3 articles to AC in the past month. All have been accepted & I’ve been paid as promised. Will you get rich writing for AC? Well, it you can write about 257 accepted articles a day. But that’s not likely …
What people fail to realize, is that AC has to make money in order to pay a writer. So if what you write doesn’t produce “hits,” what do you expect?
And also … BAD WRITING is BAD WRITING. Don’t expect payment for it.
I’ve worked freelance for a couple of newspapers on & off over the years. That has entailed attending meetings where some of the biggest blowhards you’ve ever heard drone on about nothing for what seems like forever. And then trying to write about it and make it interesting. If you’ve ever attended a trustee meeting or civic council meeting you know what I’m talking about.
I’m still “playing” with the idea of writing for AC. For one thing, it makes me write. For another, it lets me play directly to an audience I wouldn’t have otherwise. Besides that, the $10 I made could buy me a pack of smokes. But wait a minute, I don’t smoke. But that IS 2 Thai lunches or about 7 cups of McD’s coffee …
I ran across this site while doing a little research on Associated Content. I’ve not used them myself, but am considering recommending them to my site visitors who are looking for ‘free’ ways to make money online. I’ve found this discussion interesting.
I would like to add a few comments of my own – somewhat off topic – but specifically directed toward Susan, if she is still reading.
It can be very difficult to earn steady income online without paying any upfront fees. In the long run, in order to make the most money, you will be better off writing for yourself (like the owner of this site does) so that you get the profit.
I understand that you don’t have the money to invest at this point, but why not use places like AC or Mechanical Turk to make that start up investment? Otherwise, you will always be working for others and getting the short end of the stick yourself.
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk is another one of those very low paying programs, but it is quite easy to make several dollars a day if you get the hang of it and work quickly. Basically, “requesters” post HITs (human intelligent tasks) that they need done and offer a set fee for doing it. It may be .10 cents or it may be 2.00. You know up front what you are being offered.
I’ve used MT as a requester and as a person performing the HITs and the system seems to work well. The main advice I’d give is to READ the request thoroughly so that you know what is expected of you. If you submit the HIT but you didn’t follow directions (fairly simple), they don’t have to pay you.
Anyway, it’s an easy enough way to earn a few hundred dollars that would be all you need to get started with a quality site building program where you can build your OWN business and get paid for all your work over and over again.
Hope that helps. I just felt compelled to share that with you (or anyone else in your position) who really is looking for a sensible plan but struggling to find your way. It’s a jungle out here! 🙂
Blessings,
Angie
Associated Content has it’s good points, and bad points! I certainly wouldn’t call it a scam from my experiences, but it’s definitely not the place to base your entire writing career on either!
First the issue that everybody really cares about… Getting PAID! The pay at AC is total low ball although not as bad as other such business interests on the net! 99 out of a 100 times you’ll be working for a penny or less a word! Anybody who has had some decent experience as a professional freelancer KNOWS that’s working for peanuts! Sure there are the occasional good money articles if you show some skill, regular production, and the ability to follow guidelines and deadlines… But they are few and far between! If you are a skilled and experience writer you can hash out 3 or 4 articles an hour sure, but that is only for written off the top of your head kind of stuff that requires little research. The brunt of AC’s Calls for Content will require you to do an amount of internet research which will take ANY writer much longer to perform! I ask any writer who says they are skilled and regularly write 3-4 articles an hour for AC all damn day, why they even bothering when they could devote that kind of time and energy elsewhere for much better pay? If you are really all that skilled of a freelancer, then you should have those kind of hookups! ‘Nuff said!
Also related to money are performance payments! AC does have it’s “pets” as many other people not so lovingly call them. I think the term is a little unfair to these writers as they simply had the good timing to have been around since the early days of AC’s existence. And yes they do get promoted way over most of the other writers due to AC’s system of putting people over with the most page views. Of course writing an interesting subject that is a key interest to a wide base of readers is an important factor for any writer to consider when writing these types of articles. But when you regularly see the same “pet” writer winning contest after contest and getting plugged like a cult of personality, and there are easily a dozen other articles which are much better… You do realize there is evidently at least a bit of unfair biased as well. Just don’t expect to be getting a million plus page views in your first few months. And yes the monthly performance payments even after you have slowed down or completely desisted writing for AC nice to see!
Here’s the reality! AC can be a great place for a writer to get their feet wet, build some confidence (Since it is pretty easy to get published there!), learn some basics about professional writing, earn a little extra cash, and possibly even gain an online portfolio that can be used if you’re looking for more stable work in the lines of SEO or copy writing. Although the later is kind of hit or miss, as I have to agree with other reviewers that the editors at AC tend to resemble rank and file privates as far as professional editors go. I’ve had some articles edited so poorly by AC staff, the byproduct is far too embarrassing to have my real name attached to it!
I started off on AC checking it out, I only did Call For Content for a spell to see if I’d get paid and to learn the ropes of their system. I’ve never had a problem with getting paid properly and have well over a hundred articles there now. But it’s fun money compared to the more serious freelance gigs available out there! It’s a good place for getting a bit of loot for idea type articles that don’t have much of a market anywhere else.
Feel free to highlight some of your basic points here in this post so the discussion can begin with our readers.
Eddy
I won’t say much, only thing that AC is an unethical business is due to the link in my profile. It’s a firm belief, and you should stay away from AC after reading it.
Thanks
Lenin
To Jussi and Eddy.
I will say something about AC. I have in fact been paid for four of my articles published there of upfront money. It isn’t a very quick way to make money as Eddy stated is not a lot. Even though it’s not a lot, it’s worth getting at least more than a buck for each articles as long as they were not previously published anywhere else.
If you want, check mine out.
This is one of my articles and my other three listed.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1108392/free_or_low_costs_ways_of_learning.html?cat=55
Let me know what you think. I would really appreciate it a lot.
I need to get working on writing some more articles for them before I posted it at ehow which I also write at. This month and in October, I got paid by them.
Let me know if I can be of more help as well.
Thanks Eddy for this site. This is one my fave.
Thanks for chiming in Jussi.
It’s always great to hear different people’s experiences about a given opportunity. And you’ve just shared another side for people to consider.
The fact of the matter is that AC does pay. It may not be a lot and not worth it for certain writers. But for some people that are looking for any way to make some money at home then it may be an option for them especially if they haven’t be successful at landing traditional work at home jobs.
So thanks for letting us know about your personal experience and honest assessment of it.
Eddy
I have been a published writer (for whatever that means) for Associated Content for near a month, I haven’t really tried promoting my content other than telling my friends and family and I have posted links in a couple bulletins so my page views are still under 500 but thanks to AC I found this site.
I came across WAHNS by accident, I spotted an article about working from home and I clicked it; it rated this blog (Eddy’s) in the top 5, I believe, for information on legitimate work from home programs and ways to weed out the scams. So that’s how I ended up here and have been a subscriber ever since.
I am still looking for a work from home job but every lead I find has some kind of fee to get started. I don’t have any funds to spare to be able to get a program started. I even applied as a medical transcriptionist and submitted the dictation sample and passed. It took about a week total from the time I submitted the sample and in between emails, then I was able to read the agreement, that’s where I saw they do offer free training and live connect but I’d have to pay for books and software before training can begin and that was 60.00. I stated in one of my comments on here that I only get 50.00 a week, period, so that is not possible for me. They do however have a payment plan but I can’t even get into that yet because of the funds I have need to go towards my internet and household stuff before I can commit to anything.
I did apply for a few affiliate programs that I found through linkshare.com but it’s only been about 3 days since I put them up. I’m watching to see how it goes and believe it’ll take some time to get off the ground. I did find out some sites wouldn’t allow certain affiliations to be pasted to their site. Like an advertisement for brewing an alcohol beverage at home, the company I won’t mention, wouldn’t stick, so to speak. Myspace and My Yearbook, I guess, won’t allow it because when I tried to copy and paste the banner it just came back with a violation note in it’s place so I took it off. They did however allow a few others including my write and join AC link. I do know that AC will take some time to make money with their 1.50 per 1,000 page views but they do also offer upfront payment for some content which I have not seen proof of yet since I have only recently submitted 1 article for upfront payment. So we’ll see.
I welcome any information in the meantime on work from home ideas that do not charge fees or any other ideas that might help. Thank You Susan
Eddy & Jussi, the problems at AC go beyond the low compensation and in regard to complaints, these are not by just a handful of people. Much of the problem has to do with reasons AC comes up with for not releasing payments or for what one comment above referred to as being “penalized”, in which case they may actually subtract from payments due. Melissa mentioned in her comment that James may not have been paid because he is not a US Citizen. She is referring to a complaint other former AC “rejectees” (per Rosie) have cited about the site. If AC knows they will not pay a non-citizens of the US, why are they entering into agreements with them? The reason is that AC will take content anywhere they can get it and fully intend to benefit from overlooked clauses in their incredibly detailed agreement.
As far as the proof Rosie asks for it is already evident by the many complaints you find online (do a search). Very few people who feel wronged will post all of the details online because of the legal possibilities of the information being tracked to them.
Complaints you find online commonly state that the rejectees or penalized AC content producers tried to request explanations from AC and were ignored or sent disrespectful replies. The life blood of AC are these very people and they do not deserve this type treatment. When you do enough search on this and read the comments on this subject, you can’t help but to see that AC relentlessly pursues content they can gleen from prospects. They do not show respect for all of their content producers regardless of their effort but coddle those who have shown the ability to make profits for them. Certainly most online business have this same attitude but AC takes it further than any of them.
Markus
Your comment about them paying a little is correct to that extent that there are places you get more money for your clicks. But that doesn’t mean they’re unethical, they tell you how much or how little they are going to pay you. I joined a a while back because I could get ten dollars for writing 5 articles, piece of cake. Did it and cashed out. My articles have also gotten views… I haven’t promoted them yet, though I’ve recently started.
Markus,
Thanks for chiming in.
The fact of the matter is there is always two sides of every story. I am glad you’ve been able to express your views about their site. Ultimately people have to be able to read information from both sides and then make a decision based on that.
There have been times where I read negative comments about certain companies and then when I joined the same company I never experienced any of the stuff people were complaining about. So I take complaints and positive feedback with a grain of salt and balance the information out before making a decision.
So that’s my take. With that said I do agree with one thing that you said which is to do your research. But people should always keep in mind that everything you read isn’t fact whether it’s good or bad.
Eddy
Posts and blogs stating that Associated Content is a legitimate or good opportunity to make revenue writing haven’t researched them very well. They absolutely are not legitimate although they appear to be high quality and a top executive website. This is a front and they are in reality completely unfair to their “Content Producers”. Articles must be clicked 1,000 times before $1.50 in commission is made. When compared to other websites offering writers compensation this is the bottom of the bucket. If you have articles on Google Adsense sharing websites, readers clicking articles may click only one ad and you make more commission (even when your split is only 40% to 60%), than you would with hundreds of clicks on your articles at AC. In addition to this they subtract commissions due to you, if you rub them the wrong way. If you doubt this do a search using “dishonest”, “unethical” and “Scam” together with “Associated Content” and you’ll find dozens of writers/bloggers complaining about this happening to them. AC also threatens writers who register a complaint to them by e-mail or will ignore multiple attemps by writers submitting important questions. They often remind writer who are concerned about their articles on AC’s website that they have taken total and eternal ownership of them. They have somehow made their offer sound good to writers and is why they have a steady supply of them to perpetually continue their scamming. It’s unfortunate and a shame something has not already been done about them but each passing day may see retribution for all of these unfortunate writers because thier unethical behavior is inexcusable and harming a lot of innocent, sincere writer/authors.
i have joined AC and get paid for 6 month, well AC i s best choice to work at home
Deni,
AC do not pay non US writers for articles. I queried this and they gave me some story about tax.
However, they do pay royalties for reads. If you market your article and get reads they p0ay you about $1.50 per thousand reads.
You won’t get rich doing this but over a couple of years I have built up a following of readers and I make a few dollars a month. This is paid via Paypal regularly. The money may be little but they do pay.
Deni,
“exclusive” just means that such an article is published in one place only – not shared with any other publication.
Hi Deni,
The best thing for you to do is actually visit the associated content website and look for their contact us or help page to ask your questions there.
They’ll be better able to answer your questions about their program.
Hope this helps.
Eddy
Hello..
I am not US citizen..Can I still join with Associated Content and get payment from them?
Is there procedure that I have to do if I want send article to AC?
What is meaning, only display or exclusive , non exclusive articlewhen we send article to AC..?
Which should I choice..?
Thanks a lot..
Eddy,
You probably saw these, but I still wanted to share a couple of links to articles about Helium’s status quo:
http://elanso.com/ArticleModule/J2MlUUKzKzVwPAUAPpRbVwIi.html
http://www.fuckedstartups.com/2008/10/26/just-in-heliumcom-huge-layoff/
I’m one of those average, in-between writers; if not AC, where else can I go? Have done decent at Helium…rating-wise. My articles average in the top 25%. Granted, Helium is throwing pennies at me, but it is simply a place to practice writing. I also contacted a steward at Helium who gave me writing suggestions that helped my article float up to the top 20% range. As Helium puts it, the “cream floats to the top”. ha.
If you’re trying to sock away a couple of bucks on the side working at home jotting your opinions, AC is probably your best bet. That is, if you’re comparing AC to Helium, Suite101, etc. The good writers don’t seem to complain about these writing sites as much, especially the more educated-talented-experienced writers who use AC as a dumping ground. So, if you’re not getting kudos from AC, then it is clear that you have a lot of practice ahead of you. write on, dude, write on.
Woa there Melissa.
You’re being a little harsh on James. He’s just sharing his experience.
With that said, maybe some of the reasons you mentioned is the reason he may have not got paid. But let’s not beat the guy up and make any assumptions.
I do appreciate some of the scenarios you mentioned. Maybe it will give James some things to look too or others that may have had the same experience he had.
But its good to hear from someone that has been paid by this company because it provides both sides of the stories.
Thanks.
Eddy
James…
That is the biggest crock I have ever heard in my life. The only reason you have $2600 pending is of 2 reasons.
1. You never went into your payments section to approve the payments
or
2. You never submitted a 1099 to file taxes! If you make over $500 you have to fax AC 1099,… have you done so? I am sure AC emailed you to let you know this, because they are always ALWAYS on point!
Are you an american? Non american citizens do NOT get paid.
So before you so quickly throw out such a fraudulent statment check your facts, AC would NEVER leave you sitting!
-An angry loyal CP of AC!
Ive made over 6k on the site, it is NOT A SCAM!
Rosie,
You beat me to the punch. When folks claim companies are scams, I’m always interested in hearing more details. I know too often there is always two sides of the story especially in this industry.
So hopefully James can chime in and answer some of the great questions you posed to helps us all have a better understanding of what may have transpired.
By the way I’m very opposed to folks looking at one resource for the be and end all for research. (i.e. BBB) I think it provides a very limited view of given companies and situations. I prefer reading various resources to make an educated decision about a given company or situation. Because some folks can be biased or just dishonest like the blog you referenced. So I’m totally in agreement with your cautious words.
Thanks for providing some good insight.
Eddy
James,
Let me start by saying I am not a writer for or a member of AC, just a person interested in possibly doing so… so these questions are meant to clarify your comment that AC is a scam. Please do not take them as attacks or antagonism, they are for the benefit of (myself) and others interested in learning about how AC does business.
Are you saying that you have a balance of $2600 recorded on your AC account? Or that you figure your balance for the accepted articles is $2600.
How many page views have the accepted articles received and is there an online record of this?
How long a period of time are you talking about to have submitted 500 articles?
Have you submitted proof of this to AC and if so, in what form, and if so, what was the response?
If there is online proof of the acceptances, the number of views for each, and of the balance due you…Have you printed screen shots of the details as proof of what you claim? (this might be helpful to you as legal evidence if indeed AC is withholding your money without good reason.)
These sorts of details are very important and would be most helpful.
(that said, a caution… I was viewing a blog the other day with claims about a particular political candidate’s plans that included screen shots from the candidate’s website that had been doctored to fit the person’s claims… a look at the actual candidate’s web page showed the verbiage to be quite different. The point here: a person with an agenda and a computer can fabricate just about any claim and post it as reality.)
But back to the question about AC: I would be most interested in hearing the further details of their policies and how they have affected you. I have read the online claims of three or four satisfied AC writers who say they do make money. A bigger sample of people with varying experiences who give details of those experiences is the best way to decide.
Thanks and looking forward to more details!
–Rosie
AC is a scam, I submitted 500 articles and they haven’t paid me a single penny for that till.
They accepted all the articles and my pending balance is 2600$.
There are the real SCAM
To Lenin,
It’s definitely not helpful to post that you find a company’s business practices questionable and then not post reasons why. We who want to find ways to make extra money need to know the reasons so that we can find out on our own whether or not they are valid.
Otherwise, the statement looks like a vague accusation and leaves me with the impression you might be a disgruntled rejectee.
Tell us your reasons!
Rosie
Hi Lenin,
Feel free to speak about it here. I have an open mind and I have no problem hearing out any reasonable reasons you think their business practices are questionable.
Just because I may like a company and endorse it, doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge possible weaknesses. I’ve done so with other companies. What I don’t have a tolerance for is when people “vilanize” a given company because of a few complaints here and there.
So feel free to post some of your objections to the company here. I’m sure our readers would appreciate reading another point of view like they do with the other articles we’ve written here.
Eddy
I won’t speak much about this. Though you quite endorse AC, I have reasons to say that their business practice is rather deplorable.
Thanks,
Lenin
Hi Connie,
Thanks for sharing your insight. Congrats on all your success! That’s very inspiring to hear. Obviously I agree with you about this whole nonsense of a machine managing the approval process of the content.
At the end of the day AC can make people money. It may not be a lot but its better than nothing. And most people searching for work at home aren’t making any money so we’re always happy to share various smaller ways to make some money than none.
Eddy
I have written for AC for nearly a year now, and, before that, for several other sites (Speakaboutit, Helium, jollyjo.com). I also wrote (briefly) for SEO, which was a stultifying experience, at best, and, at worst, drudgery of the worst sort. From having worked at SEO, I am aware of “keywords” and the search engines’ hunger for them, but I am a writer, and I at least feel that Associated Content appreciates that. I do not agree that NONE of the articles is “read by a real person.” I do agree that, sometimes, the reasons for rejection can seem arbitrary, but that is why I established my own blog (www.weeklywilson.com). I like to write. I have 3 books coming out in rapid succession, making the 3th, 4th and 5th, and contracts for 2 more. I’m not getting rich on AC, and I do think that some writers are definitely better than others, but the concept of it being just a “machine” that reads content is inaccurate and my experience with them, while not particularly lucrative, has been very positive.
Hi LShep,
Thanks for chiming in. Glad to hear you’re still making residual income with AC. Isn’t residual income the best? lol
I’ve definitely heard AC doesn’t pay much anymore but for most that is still better than not getting paid at all which is what most work at home seekers face.
Eddy
I have found AC fun over the past couple of years. It’s certainly not a scam. They don’t pay much anymore, but then they do pay residuals for work that I wrote two years ago.
I can’t figure out what “People try to “game” the system by writing articles that they have no knowledge of” means. That you are only legally allowed to write about things you have personally experienced? As a Web writer, that’s kind of what you do every day.
Hi Shari,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
It’s always good to have several perspectives regarding a given company. So we appreciate you chiming in.
Eddy
I have found AC to be very fair and they always are willing to state reasons why they don’t use your content. But it has only happened to me once or twice. When they say they’ll pay, they pay. I have made some good little bits of money on the side. And I AM a “real” freelance writer. AC is a good place to share articles you haven’t been able to place elsewhere, or you are looking for more audience for your favorite topics And people are allowed to comment, so you get a feel for how your stuff is being received.
Also, you meet other writers who are willing to link to you on their blogsites, if you have a book published or another website.
Hey Bob,
Thanks for your comments. But let’s settle down. I didn’t mean to imply that everyone that complained was doing something wrong. I know of many programs where people did nothing wrong and were penalized. So that’s not what I meant to imply.
I don’t work for Associated Content so I can’t verify your claim they are using software to determine which articles should be used. In theory that makes total sense because sites like Associated Content want “keyword optimized” content because that’s what gets ranked and thus will help bring them visitors that click on sponsor links which is how they get paid and how people that write on their site gets paid.
So obviously its in their best interest to reward the people that understand this concept. No secret there.
Now with that said, is this necessarily fair to real writers that are writing great content that don’t keep Search Engine Optimization in mind? Probably not! But there are writers out there that can produce quality content that is keyword rich. I know because I do it all the time for my own blog and sites.
What associated content should probably do a better job of is providing keyword optimization guidelines for experienced writers who aren’t search engine optimization savvy. This would allow for “good” writers to produce quality content as they usually would but with keyword optimization in mind. I think this would be helpful to be traditional writers that know nothing about SEO and keyword optimization.
Some writers may not want to do this because of creative reasons and that’s fine and you’re right they should just spend their efforts else where.
But for regular folks that are trying to make money I think it’s worth a shot and effort. I’m a strong believer in doing a little bit of everything legitimate to earn an income at home.
Work at home jobs are hard enough to land so instead of people not making money searching for work at home jobs, why shouldn’t they make some money by writing articles at places like AC. This provides them a stronger chance of actually making money than spending hours searching for an elusive work at home job does.
And finally I really can’t say either way how writing for associated content would somehow tarnish writers reputations. If you’re producing crap for the world to see, then yeah I guess that would make sense. But if you’re writing good, optimized content, I can’t see why that devalues you in the job market. Maybe you can shed some more light on this claim.
In any event, I really appreciate your comments.
Always great to have intellectual debates. We don’t always have to agree but it’s nice to air out points from different perspectives.
Eddy
I’m sorry but saying those who are complaining…are essentially doing so because they have created a scam or plagiarized, write bad articles…etc WELL thats a joke and a sad attempt from you to push AC> THE truth is that many ppl do not like or complain about pay because it is an average of 3-5 an article rarely or if ever more than 5…AC IS a content site, it has nothing to do about writing skills…you must be “good” at keywords. The so called editors do not read articles, they run them through a software program that catches and count keywords and check to see the likely hood of an article being maxed out on web…This SITE IS NOT For serious writers. If you use AC to promote your writing nobody worth your time is looking…and putting your work on any resume or otherwise would actually hurt your chances of getting a real job freelancing. Be smart and leave AC TO THOSE who can not WRITE and are truly desperate for money!!!!