Making the Most of the AC Community

The AC Community is a great place to share your ideas, pick up tips on writing for AC and promote your work.  If you’re not already active on the forums, you can head over to the ‘General Discussions’ and ‘The Workshop’ for some great insights and input from veteran CPs. 

Checking in with the AC Community at least once per week will keep you in touch with the latest news on AC, feedback from content managers and give you a chance to learn from other CPs. 

Here are some other ways to make the most of the AC Community:

1. Introduce yourself!  If you’ve recently joined AC, don’t be shy about introducing yourself in the ‘Newbie’ section.   Get involved with the AC community with a positive start, and post some information about yourself.  Many CPs will post back for your official ‘AC Welcome!’
2. Engage in constructive criticism.  Avoid getting caught in negativity on the forums, especially if you’re just starting out.  If you have some constructive criticism to share, feel free to post but be prepared for sometimes ‘too honest’ feedback on your work as well.  
3. Tune in for Sam’s Happy Hour.
   

AC Nuggets – Article Ideas List for the ‘Best of AC’ Awards

AC’s recent announcement of the Best of AC Awards has hundreds of CPs researching away on the month’s key topics:  Back to School, Entertainment and the Olympics 2008. 

If you’re anxious to win but can’t drum up any article ideas, here’ s a list of topics and headlines to help you get started with the Back to School and Entertainment categories:

Back to School Topics

1. Tips on Buying Back to School Supplies in (your city)
2. How to Prepare Your Child for their First Back to School Season
3. Ways to Get Up Early for Back to School Season
4. Top Ten Ways to Save Money on Back to School Shopping
5. How to Avoid the Crowds for Back to School Shopping in (your city)
6. Top Fashion Trends for Tweens – Back to School 2008
7. Top Fashion Trends for Teenage Boys – Back to School 2008
8. How to Prepare Preschoolers for Back to School Season
9. Healthy Lunch Choices for Back to School Season
10. How to Save Money on Back to School Clothing

Entertainment Topics

1. Top Five Family Comedy Shows for Fall 2008
2. Top 10 New Shows on NBC for Fall 2008
3. Top 10 New Shows on CBS for Fall 2008
4. Top 10 New Shows on ABC for Fall 2008
5. Best Disney Movie Releases for Fall 2008
6. Best Cartoon Movie Releases for Fall and Winter 2008
7. Top Six Reality TV Shows to Look Out for in Fall 2008
8. Where to Find an IMAX Theater in (your town)
9. Where to Catch Broadway Shows in (your town)
10. Top Fashion Trends from High School Musical

Make sure your article is searchable and uses at least 2-3 keywords or keyphrases related to your topic; it’s an easy way to snag a spot on the front page of features!

More information about the Awards can be found here:  The Best of AC Awards

 

 

AC Nuggets: Building Readership – How Sticky Are You?

Building readership has tremendous value for your AC career, and you don’t have to settle for social bookmarking sites or spamming friends and family to do it.

Building readership simply means:

1. Making your content available to the largest audience possible

2. Circulating your content well beyond its original publishing month

If you’re well versed in writing evergreen content, this will be even easier. If not, you can start writing articles that really will stand the test of time – ideas and topics that can be referenced, bookmarked, shared, blogged about, and linked to week after week, month after month.

This is the first step in becoming a ‘sticky writer’ on AC.

AC Nuggets: Finding Images for Articles

Adding images to your AC content simply increases the value of your piece. Pictures make the article just a little more fun to read, eye-catching on your profile page, and they’re also good for SEO when you use the right words in your description.

As long as you comply with AC’s copyright guidelines and get permission to use the picture from the author, you can post some great images with your article.

Without further ado, here’s how to track down some pictures for your next article – I present to you, TEN websites to find high quality, copyright-free, and free-to-use image galleries.

Keep in mind, however that only SIX are considered acceptable use by AC (see below).  Still, you can use these galleries for blogs or other online projects of choosing:

AC Nuggets: Seven Deadly Mistakes of Writing for AC

Struggling with developing just the right article?

When you’re searching for topics, crafting your story, and filling your masterpiece with just enough keywords, make sure your hard work will pay off. Many new CPs are turned off writing for AC when they start stocking up more declines than attractive offers, and it definitely can lower the motivation to keep writing.

Still, there are ways to avoid the ‘we cannot accept this…’ message by avoiding the top seven deadly mistakes. Here’s how:

AC Nuggets: Easy Ways to Find Topics and Ideas for Articles

Looking for fresh ideas for your AC content? Don’t limit yourself to the AC library, or the Google and Yahoo! homepages.

There are many tools and resources available to capture what people are actually searching for, and this can help you brainstorm unique and creative content for your writing. No matter what field or subject you tend to ‘specialize’ in, simply exploring different categories and topics can spark your creativity that lead you towards a fresh idea.

One of the best ways to keep up with the latest trends and searches is by using free tracking tools on the web.

AC Nuggets: How to Use Zimbio to Promote Your AC Content

If you’re like most eager AC Content Producers, you’re always on the lookout for effective ways to promote your AC content.

Many Content Producers simply don’t have the time to submit each and every url to different social networks, and would rather not spam friends and family with their latest published articles.

For anyone who would rather play the social networking wallflower, there is another way to increase page views; Zimbio is a new social media aggregator that can help you promote your blog, articles, and most importantly, your AC content.

Start increasing your pageviews ASAP with this simple guide: How to Use Zimbio to Promote Your AC Content