I really enjoy going through question and answer sites. They really give a good snap shot of what people are thinking and how they feel about a subject. I look up keywords like “writing articles for money” or “earn money as writer” and it’s quite interesting what comes up.

First of all, most people have the unrealistic expectations that making money online should be something that is free and doesn’t require a lot of time or effort. Those are the type of people who encourage and fall for those “get rich quick” schemes. But there is another more interesting group of people who ask questions. They are the people who genuinely want to change their lives through the extra income that they can make online. They know that they have some spare time, and are willing to use it for something more beneficial.

Those are the kind of people I love working with. I don’t have to convince them that people can legitimately make money online legally. I know that they aren’t lazy people just looking to make a quick buck. I know that they will take the advice I give them and run with it.

What’s tragic is that most of these people have no clue how to make money online writing. They are actually willing to put in the work and effort, but they don’t know where to begin. They asking questions like: “I want to pursue a career writing articles for money, but I don’t know where to begin. Does anyone know a site where I can sell articles that cost no money to start?” And off course all the people answering are low life scammers who have nothing of value to give to anyone.

So I like to pretend that they are asking me the question. If there is anything I love more than writing, it’s the satisfaction I get helping people completely change their lives. I remember when I first began writing. I remember the overwhelming excitement. I remember the confusing. I remember being frustrated because I had all of this potential but had no clue how to utilize it.

So how do you start writing articles for money? We’ll I’m really glad you asked.

Unfortunately that is not a question I can answer in a few sentences. The truth is that there are dozens and dozens of ways to make money online writing articles. But for this post I am going to focus on one medium that is a good place for people to start who don’t really know where to begin as well as experience writers who want to diversify their portfolio. That place is Associated Content.

According to their website, “Associated Content is an open publishing platform that enables anyone to earn money by sharing their knowledge with an online audience of millions.” Associated Content has strongly bought into the philosophy of civilian journalism, and they have built their whole business platform around that premise.

Associated Content was founded in January 2005 by Luke Beatty.  The company is based in Denver, Colorado, but due to their online presence they have a much more global reach. The company likes to think of itself as “The People’s Media Company.” Mr. Beatty recently said in an interview, “There is lots of media and e-commerce content, but people are also looking for people and information that connect at a user or citizen level.”

At a citizen level? That’s really cute. But here’s how it really works. You write. They promote and distribute. You get paid. They get paid. Everyone is happy. If you are a big into the “every citizen doing his part” movement, then more power to you. But if you are like me and want to turn your gift for writing into something that is profitable, then you need to see Associated Content for what it truly is: your key to writing articles for money.

And that’s pretty much Associated Content in a nutshell. On the surface it represents the new direction that news, media, and publishing is heading in the internet age. It is a direction where anybody can have a platform and be heard. But to you as a writer who is trying earn money in this field, it should mean much more. Associate Content should represent your gateway into the freelance world or yet another source of writing income streaming to your bank account.

Associated Content gives you the opportunity to earn money for your articles through upfront payments and/or performance revenue for the life time of your articles. For many people it is their first experience writing, getting published, and getting paid. And to be honest it is nice to have some feeling of success early on within your writing career. Otherwise people get discourage, and people quit. For those who do have some writing experience, don’t count off Associated Content too quickly. If one knows what to do, Associated Content can be used to add a very sizeable stream of income each month.

There are some requirements to qualifying for an upfront payment. Unfortunately you have to be at least eighteen to write for Associated Content. So for all the younger writers out there maybe you should start a petition asking them to lower the writing age. The good news is age is about the only requirement to write for Associated Content. You don’t need any advance writing education or anything like that.

According to Associated Content, an upfront payment worthy article will be “High-quality, unique and search-oriented content. In plain English that means “Crap free, not copy and pasted, readable content that people will be interested in but more importantly search engines will be interested in.” Upfront payments max out at about $15 dollars.

Don’t feel like you are up to the challenge of writing an article that will win an upfront payment? Well all is not lost. While few get may get the upfront payment, everyone will get performance payment. Performance payment is exactly what it sounds like; you get paid for the performance of the article for its life time. Associated Content measures the performance of articles based solely on how many unique views it gets. So as long as your article is getting traffic, you will continue to make money.

The beautiful thing about Associated Content is that there are no editors. You can choose what topic you want to write on within reason (I’m sure they won’t like articles about how to build a bomb). On top of that, Associated Content has built a powerful brand that you can really on if you don’t really have an impressive resume yet or portfolio. Associated Content is a great place to start a career and I wish I knew about it back when I began.

But now you probably have many questions. How much money can be made with Associated Content? How can I make sure all my articles are accepted? How can I get started? As this is only an introduction to Associated Content series, I won’t be able to answer all those questions now, but we are building a powerful series that will take you step-by-step through the process of writing articles for money with Associated Content.

I can tell you that the first thing you need to do is go over to Associated Content and check it out for yourself. Doing your own background research is crucial to protecting yourself in this crazy online environment. Head over to Associated Content and decide for yourself if this is something that you feel is legit. Maybe even read a few reviews from people who have actually written for Associated Content.

If you feel like it’s something you can invest in, then sign up for an account and read the rest of our articles in the Associated Content Series. As I said, I give you all the information, advice, and tips you need so that you are set up for success and not failure. I will try to answer all of your questions.  
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Next in Series:
Associate Content – How to Pick an Article Topic That Will Make You Money
Associated Content – Tips to Writing Articles that People Will Read
How Much Money Can You Make Writing Articles for Associated Content
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