Readers and fellow writers often ask me why I enjoy helping so many people? Am I worried about creating competition for myself? Why do I just freely give advice and inform others of what I do to succeed in writing? Am I creating competition by helping others succeed?

If I were creating competition, I am not afraid to play the game and I'd play it fair. However, I don't believe I am. Why? There is a vast sea of opportunities, gigs, jobs, and contracts in the writing world. It's not humanly possible for me to have every writing task to myself, nor would I desire to.

Aside from that, I am wise enough to know that every assignment is not for me. I don't know everything there is to know. Also, each writer has their own style. Why take on a project I know I can't do when there could be someone else better suited to it and who may need it more than I do? Instead, I could refer a good writer and move on to something better suited to me.

I have always believed in helping others, no matter the situation. Whether in my career or in every day life, if I see someone who needs help, I'm going to provide it if I have the means. If you knew a secret that could change the whole world for the better, would you keep it to yourself? Of course not - at least, I hope not.

No, writing advice is probably not going to change the world. However, if I can offer some guidance that can help change someone's perspective or career for the better, you can bet I'm going to tell them. One small piece of advice or word of encouragement could be all that is standing in the way of someone living their dream. How do I know this? People have given me that kind of hope and assistance. Were it not for fellow writers pushing me and offering me advice, who knows where I'd be today?

So, am I creating competition by helping others succeed? Does it really matter?

If you are a writer who needs help, feel free to ask in the comments section or use the contact form on my Ask Lyn page. If you're a writer on AC, feel free to message me there as well. I'm a Community Guide there and love answering questions.

~~ Written by Lyn Lomasi ~~

SEO, Promotion, RSS, and More

A question I get asked quite often is “How can I increase my page views (PV's) on Associated Content?” Whether you're new to online writing or you've been around a while, there's always something to learn about increasing views. Having been an internet writer for years, I have done my fair share of experiments and heard plenty of advice, good and bad. Here are some of the most effective ways I have used to increase my page views on Associated Content.


Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Yes, I talk about SEO quite often, but there's very good reason. This has been my number one source page view revenue. To put it simple, if people can't find your article, how are they going to read it? How do you usually find information online? In most cases, it's through searches, right? Your goal is to get your article ranked high in those searches so that it comes up for people searching on that topic. How do you do this? SEO.

Learn more about SEO and keywording from AC staff and veteran writers:

SEO and Keywording for Associated Content Writers

Focus, Focus, Focus
Tighten up your topic's focus. For instance, if your topic is plumbing, don't talk about plumbing the entire house in one article. Break it up into several articles. In each, talk about techniques to pipe or add fixtures to a specific area. Another part of focus is removing the fluff. Take out all unnecessary descriptions and modifiers.

For more on this and other aspects of earning page views, read:

Maximizing Earning Potential in Online Article Writing

Promotion
If you've done the above well, you will be getting a substantial amount of views already. However, you can still get even more by promoting. An article that does well search-wise, will do even better when promoted. There are many, many ways to promote articles. Some include social networks, blogs, and forums.

More details on article promotion:

Easy Promotional Techniques for Online Article Writers

Use RSS Feeds to the Fullest
AC provides us all with a main RSS feed for our articles. They also have a neat tool that allows us to create topical, keyword, and static RSS feeds. Submit both your main RSS feed and a variety of keyword and topical feeds to RSS directories to maximize exposure. Also use these feeds on your blogs, social profiles, and websites. Wherever you are allowed to use RSS, use it. More exposure means more page views on your AC articles.

For more on AC RSS feeds and utilizing them, read these two articles:

How to Create Topical RSS Feeds on Associated Content

Using Topical RSS Feeds to Promote Your AC Content

Start and Maintain Your Own Website
I can't stress enough how important this is for an online article writer. Having your own website gives you a professional place to point clients to. It also gives you a great place to share links to your content. Potential clients, family, friends, and web searchers can all discover your content from reading your website. This adds to your exposure which adds to your PV's on AC.

For more on this topic as well as advice on getting started, read the following:

Why Online Article Writers Need a Website

8 Musts on a Freelance Writer's Website

How Online Article Writers Can Get and Keep Clients

Start and Maintain a Niche Website or Blog
Having a niche website or blog that focuses on a specific topic is a great way to draw traffic. If you add links to your relevant articles in your posts and around your site, this helps increase your page views on Associated Content. My mother and I own several niche websites and blogs and I also have a Squidoo lens. On these we share relevant advice so that content remains fresh for readers. However, we also share links to other content around the web, especially AC. Associated Content is the easiest place to quickly find links to relevant and well-written content, plus we can help out our fellow AC writers and friends. Of course, we also link to some of our own existing content. Not only does this provide backlinks for those articles, but it helps increase the page views from traffic via those sites and blogs.

This site you're on now is one of our niche websites. Here's a couple more:

ParentSuccessfully.com
NaturallyGreenNews.com

Quality Backlinks
I just mentioned backlinks briefly above. A backlink is when your content is linked to elsewhere. Google and other search engines place greater value on content with backlinks than that without. If the backlinks are on a quality or high-ranking site, that's even better. Sometimes you can get blog or site owners to link back to you. Other times, people will do this without you even knowing and you'll be pleasantly surprised. I like to link to fellow writers often because I know how valuable backlinks can be.

Here's a great video on what makes a great backlink:

One thing mentioned in the video, I disagree with - the overemphasis on Google PageRank. The PR tool can help give you an idea about a site's quality to Google, but there's much more to it than PR.

For more about factors Google looks at read the following:
Google Ditches PageRank in WebMaster Tools

Putting it All into Action
So there you have it – lots of effective ways to increase your page views. Even one of these techniques will give you some results. However, combining all of them with the advice given at accompanying links will likely be the most beneficial. Now you simply need to start taking action. Many of these things can be done right away.

If you have any questions, would like to add advice or input, or would like to share a link to some great info on this topic, please post in the comment section.

I'm also a Community Guide and Featured Contributor at AC, so feel free to PM me there or use my Ask Lyn page here for advice.

~~ Written by Lyn Lomasi ~~

Associated Content recently added a nice fancy gallery to add and manage images. If you can't quite figure out how to use it or you just need some advice on getting yours organized, read on. The collection of links below contain just about everything to do with the AC photo gallery. But if you still have questions after reading them, feel free to ask me here in the comments section or by PM at AC.

How to Use the AC Photo Upload Tool During Article Submission
AC's Photo Upload Tool was created to enhance the image submission, uploading, and sharing experience at Associated Content. Here's a simple, step-by-step guide on how to use it during article submission.

How to Add Images to the AC Photo Library Without Publishing Content
The AC Photo Upload Tool makes storing and using images on AC possible and simple. Here's how to upload images to AC if you aren't in the process of submitting an article or slideshow.

How to Organize Photos in the AC Image Gallery
Is it getting difficult looking through the images in your AC Image Gallery to find the perfect one? Then, it's time you organize them to make that process run more smoothly. Here's an easy guide on organizing images in the AC Image Gallery.

How to Create a Slideshow on Associated Content
AC makes it easy to share slideshows with subscribers, followers, and possibly others who may be interested as well. Recently, AC added a new photo upload tool that makes it easier than ever.