Constant Content

I am pretty new to this site and I have a question. I got an article accepted after trying and failing the first two submissions.That was great but....I have been watching my piece and I'm puzzled. I chose to write about a topic of my own choosing (not a request) so that I would not have the pressures of a deadline for my first try. I had read that non requested items take longer for approval but I didn't care. I tried to choose a topic that was 'timely' {tips for surviving winter weather} hoping it would have a better chance of being bought. I tried to do everything right but to no avail. My article is still in Que. and has had only 11 views and I know at least one of those views is mine, my point is what did I do wrong? Yesterday I lowered the price thinking my asking price of $75.00 might be too much. I do not know how to use SEO I am barely cognizant of its meaning, but I am also wondering if I just need to have better seo words? does anyone have any ideas or opinions on this matter? I would appreciate any feedback.http://www.constant-content.com/forum/p ... e=post&f=2#

Don't worry. Articles don't sell automatically. Eleven views isn't really all that much, so just keep waiting and writing, and eventually you'll get a sale. Good luck!

Hi, I took a look at your article and please understand that this is just my two cents. First, I think you are understandably anxious; it can take months, though, for a new author to make a first sale. Also, asking your initial $75 for a 500 word article in a non-technical subject might be a bit pricey in light of the fact that you are new to the site. Aside from this, many customers purchased winter-related material in fall; many will soon be looking for spring-related articles. Finally, your summary seems to have a list going--I'm sure it's perfectly relevant to your article, but it doesn't really showcase your writing ability making me think that even $50 might be asking a touch much. These are guesses, of course, as I'm still trying to come up with the magic formula to sell everything I write:)

In essence, you have to ultimately feel comfortable with your pricing strategy, but as you are new and attempting to build a reputation here, it might benefit you to write more articles in various price ranges. Once you begin making sales, it is likely that your higher priced material will sell as more and more customers will take a chance with you. But it takes time. I started here several years ago. I posted 7 articles to the site and it took 4 months for one of them to sell. It's frustrating to see your hard work just sit there, but it feels great when it sells a year or two later. The trick is to keep writing. Writers who make a long-term commitment to creating a substantial portfolio of work seem to have the best success here. At least that has been my experience. You might also try writing for a public request in the near future.

--J. A.

Thanks J. A. for your detailed reply. I found it very helpful.

Hi, rohishetty:

I have been here for six months and have sold about half of my articles to date. As I mentioned in another thread, the very first article I submitted sold yesterday after half a year of sitting in my portfolio. So don't get discouraged. Keep writing and build up a good stock of articles. The right buyer will come along at some point and decide that your winter article is just right for his purposes.

Look through all the forums here. There is a lot of discussion about this topic and some wonderful advice on how to deal with the waiting The writer's FAQ and guidelines are also helpful in figuring out how much to charge, etc.

I agree with JA Young about the long summary appearing too list-like. While many writers show only excerpts in the long summary, this example isn't clear that we're seeing an excerpt. How does the article open? Showing a few definitions and a list of items isn't going to do much to convince a potential customer that the article is special. I would definitely include the article's first few paragraphs. Maybe condense the list and include a note explaining that a detailed list is included. For example:

Opening paragraph blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah. The blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah

The blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah. The blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah

The blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blahblah blah blah

Must Have Emergency Box Items:
An emergency box must include the necessities such as:
**** Article contains full list of emergency items and concludes with a discussion of ____*****

This will give the customer a better idea of your writing style and voice.

Celeste Stewart wrote:I agree with JA Young about the long summary appearing too list-like. While many writers show only excerpts in the long summary, this example isn't clear that we're seeing an excerpt. How does the article open? Showing a few definitions and a list of items isn't going to do much to convince a potential customer that the article is special. I would definitely include the article's first few paragraphs. Maybe condense the list and include a note explaining that a detailed list is included. For example:

Opening paragraph blah blah blahbla
Must Have Emergency Box Items:
An emergency box must include the necessities such as:
**** Article contains full list of emergency items and concludes with a discussion of ____*****

I am so happy that I posted this question here. I was s actually hoping that Celeste would reply and boy did she! HA! HA! I agree about the summary. I really don't know how to write a summary and I just used the auto summary function in Word. I can see now that that makes a big difference and so I think that is one place I will mark for improvement. Thanks to all of you who have taken time to answer me. Becka Buchanan aka yashuasgirl

I took all the good advice and I changed the Content portion on my article...I hope it's okay and I haven't broken any rules. thanks everyone lets see if this helps.

Here's another Celeste tip I follow religiously, I just post the entire article. People steal the excerpts just as often! And if I was a buyer, I don't know I would pay for an article if I can't read all of it.

Don't sweat the sales, this site isn't run like other places. You have to think of it like an art gallery for articles. Sometimes something on the wall has the perfect buyer walk in 5 minutes later. Sometimes the perfect buyer doesn't come along for 6 months (or see my post in common place about a piece that was originally posted March of 2008!). Just write and write and write, and in a few months you will get a feel for what your production/sales will be.

And universal tip, you can't sell what it's written. (Something I need to follow, today I decided to treat each message in my inbox like it was a private request, I rejected a few, but really stretched some creativity with a few titles. Submitted 2, one approved, two others are on simmer since I currently have 3 articles in qeue.)

Yall are the best! thanks for all of the feedback!!