Don’t Get Discouraged about Writing for Associated Content
2010
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I have been writing for Associated Content for about two months now, and I am starting to understand why some people get discouraged about writing for them.
In the beginning, it seemed like I could do no wrong, 95% of my articles were being accepted for up-front pay and I was thrilled. In recent weeks, things have changed, and a lot of my articles have been rejected. My acceptance rate is now at about 50%. One can hypothesize that it has something to do with the recent Yahoo takeover, but no one will actually admit to that. At an rate, things are changing.
On the up-side, I have discovered that a rejection notice isn’t something to be all that upset over. Actually, it can be rather helpful. I have taken note of the cause for each rejection, and used that information to improve my writing. The rewritten articles have been accepted and paid for. So when you get a rejection letter, don’t fret, just use what it tells you to make your writing better. I’ll give some examples:
“the topic is not specific enough to be discoverable in an average Internet search” – This is a common one. This usually means that your topic is too broad. If you can, try to narrow the focus. For instance, if your article was about using clay, maybe you could write an article about using a particular type of clay instead. If you don’t want to rewrite the whole article, try adding a few paragraphs about specific types of clay, or some specific techniques that clay can be used for. No matter the topic, using one of these two tricks will usually get your article accepted the second time around.
“we believe this content does not match something someone would likely search for online” – Another common reason for rejection. For whatever reason, sometime AC thinks no one will search for what you wrote about. If you want it accepted you need to do two things: 1: change the title to use at least one keyword you know people will search for. 2: Rewrite your content to include more keywords. Don’t “stuff” the article, but try to use words and phrases related to your topic that you know people are searching for, and pepper them throughout your article. I did this and got my article accepted on the second review. If you need to, add a paragraph or two about a connected topic to draw readers in. For example, if the say no one will search for “aggression in pet birds”, try adding a few paragraphs about bird behavior and training, since you know people will search for that.
“does not contain enough unique information on a topic that is already widely available online” – This can be a tough one. It basically means you didn’t say anything that hasn’t been said before. Articles rejected for this reason will need a lot of work. You need to find something to say about the topic that everyone else hasn’t said. Try thinking of your personal experience with the topic, and see if you can say something unique and interesting. To use the clay example again, if you wrote about the uses for clay and named pottery, sculpture and crafts, that’s not very unique. However, if you found a way to use clay to fix your plumbing or patch your shoes, that would be unique. Look for an angle on the topic that no one else has. If you can’t come up with any, you might want to just publish it as View Only and move on.
Hopefully this will help you feel a bit better about your writing and not stress over rejections so much.
