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Associated Content is a decent place for a freelance writer to earn some money while writing online. I joined in the fall of 2007, and have found out several things that have helped me determine what does and does not sell on Associated Content. Keep in mind, this article is to help you get an up front payment - all content gets a PPV (page per view) bonus, which means for every 1,000 page views you get a bonus $1.50, so every article can earn you money.

First of all, even since the short time I've joined, they have become stricter on what they will accept for up front payment. Here are a few tips on what they will, and will not, accept.

They WILL accept:
1) Requested news content that has the agreed upon amount ahead of the story.
2) Often first person accounts or personal experiences of a news event.
3) "List articles" that have good keyword possibilities. (For example, "The Hammer Vampire Movies," "Best and Worst College Football Coaching Hires of 2007," "Top 10 Movie Psychopaths," and "Ten Most Unbreakable Baseball Records" are all articles I've sold for up front payment to Associated Content)
4) Solid detailed articles on "Do it Yourself" projects

They WONT accept:
1) Rehashed news from other sites or press releases.
2) Articles that have a limited shelf life (like "Iowa State upsets Iowa")
3) Articles that are on topics that don't get a lot of search engine searches
4) Website reviews
5) Op-ed submissions

Some things I notice is that just because you don't get up front payment, doesn't mean you can't get income from the PPV bonus. I've made $18, $45, and $25 from the last three months just on the performance bonus alone. General sports articles like mock drafts, coaching changes, or bowl previews tend to do extremely well.

Celebrity articles tend to get a lot of hits, too. I've also noticed that while horror movie articles thrive around October, they still continue to get steady traffic throughout the whole year because of the strong following of horror film fans.

Beyond this, just use testing to figure out which of your articles will pay, and which won't. Do this, and you'll be getting paid for your Associated Content articles in no time flat!

Learn more about this author, Shane Dayton.
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