What is your CC "Eureka" moment?

[AmyT]

Hey aprilk10,

I have had two articles in waiting status, I think, if that means when your article gets submitted to a request and the customer has three days to check it out. I wouldn't get discouraged if the article doesn't sell in those three days. Both of my articles sold 2-3 days after the article was released to the public. Got that advice from other CCers with more experience, btw.

Best wishes!

Amy

[aprilk10]

Amy, thanks for your reply! Actually, the articles had already gone through the 3 day process where they are exclusively available to the requesting client. If you look at the "my content" page during this time, the "status" will say "view", though no one but the requesting client and you can actually view it at that time. The articles are not viewable on your profile page during this time. The articles were released back this morning and were viewable on my profile page . While I was still on here, they suddenly disappeared from my profile page. From past experience of this exact thing happening, I thought maybe they had just sold, so I checked the "my content" page and it said "waiting." From what I have read here in the forums, that indicates either that the article is in a client's cart but they haven't paid for it yet, the client has paid by e-check (which takes 3 days to approve), or it is a new client who has never purchased anything here before. New clients have to undergo some type of check system to verify their identity. Unfortunately, if it has simply been placed in a client's cart, the client may never purchase it. I have read here in the forums of that happening, and the author has to contact support to have it released if the client forgets to empty their cart. Regardless, I certainly hope they sell...if not now, then later! Like you, I have noticed that most of the time when I submit to a public request, they don't actually purchase it until it has been released back to my profile.

[Amy W]

Wouldn't it be great if the authors could see if an article is just in a cart or if it has been purchased? Instead of waiting, the status could read "Paid by echeck" or "Still in cart". There would be a lot less authors waiting on pins and needles - hint, hint, Support

As for the high priced articles - High-priced spec articles have just as great a chance of selling as high-priced requests. I've priced spec articles over the $100 mark, and they've sold. They just might sit on the shelf for a while longer until the right customer comes along. So Traveller, don't cut yourself short by only offering $35 per article. If it is a longer, well-researched article on a popular topic, you could make much more. That said, the rule usually only applies for spec articles. If you are answering a public request, the customer has suggested a price for a reason. You could test the limits of the customer's budget by upping your price a bit - especially if the budget was unreasonable in the first place - but if a customer wants a $10 article, and you charge $100, odds are he won't be buying your article. But someone else might.

I've always wondered how this system would work if the customer payed what he thought the article was worth. There's a restaurant in Montreal where the diners set the price based on quality and service - and the restaurant actually makes a profit. Although if the customers set the price here, I have a feeling we'd all get paid $10 an article

[Antonia]

I would just add that those higher-priced articles serve you especially well if they're supported by a large portfolio in the $20-$50 range. That way, you'll make consistent sales and when the higher-priced ones sell it's a nice boost.

[aprilk10]

Amy W: Sounds like a great idea to me! I second your suggestion! I wouldn't mind the suspense so much if they were some of my smaller articles! Granted, it is elating when you open your email and see "Constant-Content Article Sold!," but now it will be a double let down if they are only sitting in someone's cart and never purchased. Any ideas on how long I should let them remain in waiting status before checking on them? It's only been 1 day, so I'm not going to worry about it for awhile (though I am on pins and needles!).

[Amy W]

Email Support after a week - they can look into it for you. Now you just have six more days to go! Here's hoping they sell before then

[aprilk10]

I have another idea--perhaps CC could set something up so that if an article has been sitting in a customer's cart for more than a week, the cart is automatically emptied and the piece returned to the author's profile.

[nichewriter]

I have another idea--perhaps CC could set something up so that if an article has been sitting in a customer's cart for more than a week, the cart is automatically emptied and the piece returned to the author's profile.

Back in January, I made a similar suggestion:
http://www.constant-content.com/forum/v ... =15#p48039

Last week, I mentioned the suggestion again to support when I asked 3 of my articles to be released from waiting status after being there for more than a week. I didn't get a response/acknowledgment on that one, just a one-word reply: "Done"

[aprilk10]

Well...she just bought one of them, returned one to my profile, and the other is still in waiting! I am happy that one sold, but it does take away from the little jump in your heart when you get that "Constant-Content Article Sold!" message! Now I guess I will wait to see if she buys the other one or maybe comes back later to get the one she released...

[aprilk10]

EUREKA! She went back and got the one in my profile yesterday and just bought the other! $350 for 3 articles (minus CC's cut)...not bad! I can definitly see the potential here. If only that kind of thing could happen more often!

[WordCraft]

How long do you have to wait before someone snaps up an article? I have 5 accepted thus far, 1 in waiting, others I am working on. No buyers yet

[aprilk10]

WordCraft: By in waiting, does it say "waiting" when you look at your "my contents" page, or is it waiting for review by a requesting client? (see discussion above). If it is "waiting" it is either in someone's cart or waiting payment verification. Hopefully you will be having your first sale very soon! These were for a public request, so had an immediate possible buyer. After looking through the recent articles, I am not sure there were even any other submissions to that particular request. On spec articles generally just have to wait for the right customer to come along, though I did have 1 that sold after the first view...about 10 minutes after it was approved...that was fun! It varies on how long your articles may sit in your profile. Some may sell immediately, some may take a few months, and others may never sell. Be sure that you are putting all possible keywords and keyword phrases in the keyword box so that your article will pop up when someone searches that topic. Good luck and I hope you experience your first sell soon!

[WordCraft]

No, I meant me waiting

I have 5 articles up, most of them for public requests. The oldest one is from 31st May. No sales yet!

[Amy W]

WordCraft, think of it in terms of odds. There are thousands of articles for sale here - just say there are 5000. And you have five articles for sale. So the odds of someone coming along and buying your articles is 1:1000 - at least I think my math is right! I'm not saying that you won't sell those five articles. They could all sell tomorrow, or they might be sitting around for a year before the right customer comes along. So I guess what I'm saying is, don't worry about not selling any articles in less than a month. I think it took me a month to make my first sale here, and then another few months before I made my second. The key is to improve your odds by writing more articles. Constant started a thread about this in this forum - How To Sell More Articles - you should check it out. I'd do the math for you, but my last math class was 10 years ago

[WordCraft]

I always keep at least one article under review. I will never have more articles than are accepted and so am at the mercy of how long it takes Ed to accept them. If that average is 1 week per article, then I can never increase my articles by more than 50 or so per year. To get to the 2000+ articles written by those who are doing well on the site I would thus need 40 years