Is Anyone Getting Discouraged With Associated Content?
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
February 19, 2010 9:07pm CST
Okay this is geared mainly for my fellow writing friends who may submit articles to Associated Content. I've been with them for some three years. They used to pay pretty well especially when submitted an article as upfront payment (plus page views)..say maybe $10 or up per article, which is still chicken feed when one can get a few hundred for a print type magazine, but better than nothing, especially if one rattles out a lot of articles per month. Then say a year ago, their rate of pay slipped down to about $5.00 or $4.00.
Well I haven't submitted articles for upfront payment in a long time, but since many of my more recent articles were published elsewhere could only submit as page view only type payment, or if I wanted to submit a new article never published but wanted to go up right away without waiting for a review would also submit as page view.
So I had finished a well researched health related article and decided to submit it as upfront payment. They at first declined it saying it had grammatical and punctuation errors and to rewrite it. Like duh? My article way of writing is a lot more formal than how I write here. So all right re-wrote it and re-submitted it. Well la-de-da. I was offered a mere pukey $2.00 for my article, like huh? Like I said it was a well researched article and took a lot of time to write up.
So is anyone else getting this crap? Are you too being paid less for articles as upfront payment for AC or do you now just submit as performance payment? Do you have problems with other writing sites as well? Are they all getting sucky? I don't have positive experiences for instance with Helium or Gather either. Honestly it makes one discouraged about writing anymore.
5 people like this
11 responses
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
21 Feb 10
Thanks for this update. I just looked into Associated Content as a possible writing source but after what you've told me and the other experiences with 3 other sites I'm beginning to think my writing talent is underestimated and judged unfairly. HA! Not to mention I'm being paid literally nothing for an article I spent hours researching and they come back with their critique of my writing telling me I have to rewrite? At what they pay??
I am tired of spending countless hours on writing about subjects that really don't suit me.
I was hoping to find a free lance site where my writing could be done my way and still get paid for it.
One other site says nothing of pay but to write------and where is the pay? There is no mention of payment anywhere that I could find other than contest writing.
I've noted this with another mylotter just a few minutes ago too and my guess is I'll probably do more research on these sites.
And/or spend more time on mylot.
We are all writing to fill someone else's pockets. I do not like the thoughts of my work being the source of someone else's income.
Let me know how you feel.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
23 Feb 10
I never really bothered with the tasks, but you're right, there aren't any, weird no?
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Feb 10
I used to work for an on demand kind of writing site, instead of writing what you wanted to write they assigned what to write and had strict deadlines. I bowed out due to other commitments at the time and just didn't like the idea of having to write on topics I had no interest in. Some can do it with ease, I can't
I think the real problem too, is that there are just too many writers out there, and the reason for the rather measly earnings. As more writers join up they have to cut down on their rate of pay
1 person likes this
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
22 Feb 10
I agree with too many writers out there. I didn't realize how many till I started wanting to do writing on line.
I am disappointed in what I've found and I am also to the point of looking for other sources to send my writings to--------bad grammar,huh? OH well.
But the stinky pay hasn't stopped me completely. I use text brokers and tho it's measly as you say I have learned a lot about many subjects.
I can honestly do better on mylot.
Do you by any chance know what happened to the tasks here in mylot?
I wasn't doing them when I first joined but have dug into the tasks and there have been none.
Anywho, I doubt I stay with any writing sites. Not one has flipped my trigger !
But with any luck I'll market my writings elsewhere.
Besides it's baseball season and I'm going to be tied up going to games for my three grandsons !
I hope you have a great day.
2 people like this
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
20 Feb 10
I became discouraged with AC months ago. I found that I was spending most of my free time trying to churn out articles but getting paid only $2.00 or so per article. I thought if I just produced more, I could make more. In the end it was frustrating. After reading Angela Hoy's newsletter articles on content mills, I decided to give up on AC and Helium. It's not worth all the effort. I've read your work, and it's so well-written. Surely there's a better paying market for your work. I do wish you the best...
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
20 Feb 10
I might just wind up just placing my articles for performance payment there only and would allow me to publish elsewhere too . No I'm not aware of any other well paying site, most are page view type things as far as I understand. Haven't done anything with Helium in over a year
1 person likes this
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
23 Feb 10
Thanks for mentioning the Angela Hoy article. I looked it up on the Internet, and I have to agree with her conclusions. I used to work as an editor, and (to the degree possible), I try to keep my own articles as free of errors as possible. It really is dismaying to see other people's articles with glaring errors lumped in with your own...often even surpassing your own revenue.
1 person likes this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
22 Feb 10
I tried writing for AC and didn't care for it. First, I didn't like having to wait 3-4 days to see whether or not they wanted it, then if they didn't I felt all discouraged. I also didn't like how stiff I felt writing for them. I would rather write here and have a relaxed way of writing then be all stiff and knotted up. The other thing is there payment system seems way too complicated to me with all the other options. I finally decided to just stick with MyLot and earn as I wanted. It may mean more work to make the same amount but at least I enjoy it more.
[b]~~AT PEACE WITHIN~~
2 people like this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
23 Feb 10
See? This is what I'm talking about...I still don't get their different payment systems LOL I had a fellow MyLotter (3lilangels) help me out when I first started out on there but it's still complicated and I just never found anyone that could sit down and straighten it out in my head. You're right though, these days any little bit helps.
[b]~~AT PEACE WITHIN~~
**STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS**[/b]
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Feb 10
Yeah, that waiting period can suck..LOL. Although many times I submit an article for Performance payment only, that is page views, that way I can put it up and be published right away--with just page view I can earn maybe an extra $10 a month...okay not enough to buy my luxury car (heehee)--but hey anything helps.
1 person likes this
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
21 Feb 10
I have heard that AC's upfront payments have taken a real nose dive. They used to be a really good site for getting upfront fees, now they are hardly worth it. Honestly, residual income sites are good for only one thing, making a few pennies here and there. Frankly, they are a good start if you are new. Once you gain some web writing experience though you should start looking elsewhere, since there are other sites that pay more than you would ever earn through a residual. Definitely, more than $2.00 an article. I like Demand Studios for guaranteed income and for competition article writing check out Seed. Seed works like the Helium marketplace and is free to sign-up at. Both of those pay more than AC upfront.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Feb 10
Yes I think the only way one can get a decent earnings via page views at any writing site is if one has a large following. I think I had checked out Demand Studios once and to be honest wasn't impressed...you put articles up for "sale" don't you and hope someone buys it, right? Wouldn't that be a long wait at times?
1 person likes this
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
22 Feb 10
No, you are thinking of something else. You really should look into DS. You don't put our articles up for "sale" and hope someone buys it. That is another website. They are a flat fee site.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Feb 10
They weren't bad when I first started with them, in fact they were one of the better writing sites
1 person likes this
@kprofgames (3091)
• United States
22 Feb 10
Pye I think that you have always been above and beyond that site. I did submit a lot of material there. Took a good 8 months off, but can't get into my account now. According to AC, it's still active and they have no problems getting in. That was like, what? a year ago and I still can't get into my account there and they refuse to give any kind of a assistance to enable me to get into my own account.
So pooop on them I say, pooop on them! I think you need to find a more qualified place to put your articles Pye. I know that is can be a quick turn around for grocery money, but you're material is just so much better than a site like that.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Feb 10
That's weird that you can't get into your own account there and for a year???
Well I do hope to find another place, but it seems a lot of the writing sites suck...LOL.
1 person likes this
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
20 Feb 10
Hi Pye! I heard a rumor, so I can't confirm this information, but it makes sense...the amount that they are now offering for articles is tied to your average page view per article. If your typical article garners about 200 page views, you are offered $2.00. My last article (not writing for a Call for Content or other special reason) was $2.11. Why the weird amount? It seemed to link up with my daily page views overall. Not sure if this is a coincidence or really a link.
I know that when I started, I was getting $8-10 per article. Now most of my articles are rejected for upfront payment, and if I do get anything it's likely to be in the $2 range. Except that I got chosen to be a featured travel writer, so I am "guaranteed" a shot at writing 3 $8 travel articles. So far they have accepted 2 out of 3 and I am waiting on the last one. However, it is a real challenge to find topics that have not been written about.
I feel your frustration, although I don't think that the Examiner is the answer. They just went through a massive staff change and things are in limbo over there. Not to stop you...just to give you some notice.
I am still searching for greener pastures. For now, I just keep trying to work with what's available. Good luck!
1 person likes this
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
23 Feb 10
You are no doubt right. I think that the economic downturn is also playing a factor. I noticed a real drop off in their purchases at the end of the year, which I took to mean that they were all budgeted out (or maybe more people were writing in December to supplement their Christmas funds?). I think this trend at AC is likely to continue.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Feb 10
No I really think they've cut down on their rate of pay due to so many people writing at a site like Associated Content. I mean to my mind it wouldn't make sense that I made about $8 an article when I was first starting out and had very little pages views or even friends/followers to read my articles. I'm none too keen about factoidz or examiner either that's why I haven't really pursued them
Good luck with your writing too
1 person likes this
@cwilson26 (2735)
• United States
21 Feb 10
Yes I am fed up with them! That is why I quit writing for them altogether. I quit a few months ago when they tried to give me a whole dollar for my Magic Jack review. It was a long article too based on my own experience! So I just write for ehow and Demand Studios now and just collect the monthly bonus from Associated Content. I also applied to a few more writing and editing jobs last night. Until AC decides to start paying more for upfront, I am done with them for good. :)
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Feb 10
I gave up completely with eHow. Remember back a bit they were deleting articles? They deleted all three of mine and they never told me why. They were quality articles too, and I heard a lot of disgust from veteran writers there who had their top earning articles deleted there
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
24 Feb 10
hmm..reminds me of that other site that started with "C"..
paid well at first,then pffffffffft.
2 bucks is an insult for someone that writes as well as you do pye.
paid well at first,then pffffffffft.
2 bucks is an insult for someone that writes as well as you do pye.1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
24 Feb 10
Yeah that other site we both belonged to was great..even better than AC--shame it was the cheaters and plagiarizers that ruined that site
1 person likes this
@irishmist (3814)
• United States
20 Feb 10
I wrote a few articles these last few weeks and I did notice the payments are less, but I decided any money is good money. Reviewstream is P***ing me off though. I wrote a few really good reviews and got rejected. I read reviews from many other people with hardly any details about the product they reviewed and they got published, no doubt 50cent, but still...
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Feb 10
I heard a lot of negative things about Reviewstream...how they gyp people...like as soon as they are nearing payout (which is $50) all of a sudden they claim the reviews aren't worthy and delete not only the reviews but delete the person, nice, huh?
1 person likes this
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
22 Feb 10
I don’t write as many articles as I used to because being from Australia I only get page views anyway which is next to nothing. I’ve had pieces published in print magazines and have been paid fairly well but they are few and far between. Editors can take up to six months to print a piece and you don’t usually get paid until it is published. You can imagine how long it takes for the editor to approve it and by the time it gets to print! I mainly write here believe it or not and I have been considering earning a little more with my other passion which is animals. I may give writing a break and look for a job taking care of all creatures great and small!
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Feb 10
I know...print magazines do pay a heck of a lot better, but as you say, you have that long waiting period. I had that same problem years and years ago when I used to submit a photo portfolio via snail mail to a magazine..we're talking long before digital photography was around and one had to submit slides, then the same thing, one didn't get paid for published work until the magazine actually came out
LOL--as you know from that other site, I'm spending a LOT more time with animal rights and issues
2 people like this
