Win an iPad: Associated Content's April Showers Bring May Flowers Sweeps

Want to win an iPad? Who doesn't! I sure wouldn't mind winning an iPad and Associated Content has launched a new sweeps/referral program that allows Contributors such as myself a chance to win.

What is Associated Content?

It is an open publishing platform - anyone can publish. You don't have to be a "journalist" to publish content there. Write about what you know. Be sure to stop in the forums to get a feel for what Associated Content is all about, including pointers to help you produce the best, most searchable content. You can earn upfronts for content if they offer it and everything you publish on AC earns you page view bonus based on how many people read your content.

Are you an expert on something? Apply to their Featured Contributor program for higher paid assignments.

Why join Associated Content (other than to try to win an iPad, that is)?

Publishing content is a great way to help make ends meet. My own experience is that after 3 years of publishing on AC that I generally make about $50 a month based solely on page views - for older content. If I publish more, I earn more. So when life throws monkey wrenches into my plans to write, I am still earning income.

With money becoming tight for many, moms and dads can write about things they know and generate extra cash for life's extras (or, for some, life's necessities.)

Ok, you've convinced me! How do I sign up (and more importantly, how can I win that iPad?)

You earn 1 entry into the sweeps for every one that you refer that signs up for Associated Content. If you would like to use me as a referral to join, please use this referral link. For the entry to count, according to the rules posted on the Associated Content blog:

[The referral must] "(a) sign up through your personalized referral link on April 13 through May 31 and successfully confirm their Pay Pal account, and (b) publish at least one piece of content* by May 31st."

Each new contributor that joins between April 13 and the end of the contest will get one entry into the sweeps. You don't need to be referred in order to have that one entry.

Next, you write content and send your own referral link to your friends, family, post on blog, Facebook, MySpace - you get the idea. The more people who sign up for Associated Content under you means more entries into the sweeps to win the iPad.

It pays (literally) to help anyone you refer to succeed at AC. For everyone you refer by your referral link who publishes on the site and reaches Clout 5 by August 31 you will receive a $10 referral bonus.

Need help?

Ask and ye shall receive! If you need help publishing at AC, let me know. I've been publishing there for 3 years and have many tips and tricks. I'm currently Clout 10 - as high as you can go clout-wise - and am inching my way to 1 Million views.

For the rules for this contest, click here.

My referral link

Saving money: Can you or should you go cellular only and drop your land line telephone service?

For an online contest hosted by Associated Content, I wrote the following article in hopes of winning a $5,000 prize. The judging isn't over yet and for the most part, I don't think I have a chance at winning. The theme of the Contest was "What's Next?" and we were to pick a highly searchable topic to expand on why we feel that the topic will be a hot search topic on the Internet.

I got my article idea from a relative who told me that they were ditching their land line telephone in favor of going cellular only. She did the math and was able to dump her land line and DSL and pay $20 less by going with a wireless modem that works via her USB port in her laptop computer. She's not alone either. Many young Americans are passing up a land line in favor of cellular and wireless technology.

For those interested in reading my submission, please comment here and let us know if you are cellular only or hanging on to your land line? Do you know anyone who doesn't have a land line and uses only their cell phone? What would it take for you to dump your land line? I am interested in your answers! For me, having two kids, I feel safer having a land line in case of emergency; however, I don't use it very often (unless you count the DSL) and if I could have cable internet, I'd probably jump on it in a heart beat!

My submission: Cell Phones to Make Landline Telephones Obsolete

Reynolds Handi-Vac Starter Kit for .99 after coupon at Food Lion, perhaps free - YMMV

A few months ago, Reynolds Handi-Vac came on to the market. The starter kit includes 3 quart sized bags and the vacuum sealer machine, which is hand held. I have been watching this product for the past few months to see if there would be a price drop, as most places I have seen them they were about $8.99-$9.99. I already own a Food Saver and find it immensely helpful in stretching our grocery budget, but sometimes the Food Saver is overkill for a small object that I might want to freeze.

I recently spotted the Reynolds Handi-Vac starter kit on sale at Food Lion for $7.99. There is currently a $2 coupon, which expires on 5/11/08, which can be used to lower the cost. A nice triple play is that you can then send in for the $5 rebate, which is a tear pad form located on Handi-Vac displays. This triple play will net you a really cheap vacuum system for only .99 after rebate. However, one Food Lion near me did have peel off coupons for $3 off the product, which would make it free after rebate and coupons. Better yet is that the $5 rebate form states that there is a limit of 10 submissions per household. (Think inexpensive gift!)

I did visit the Reynolds site. A coupon is available for print and is just .55 off the cost of the unit. Still, better than nothing if you wanted to get in on this deal. This product received a positive review from Clever Shopper at Associated Content. Clever Shopper discusses her experience using the Reynolds Handi-Vac in an article entitled Reynold's Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealer Review. In the article, Clever Shopper refers to the Reynolds Handi-Vac as "one of the smartest inventions I have seen in a long time."

To see how this nifty gadget works by viewing a demo, please visit the Reynolds site. You can also print out that .55 coupon while you are there checking it out. I do feel that this product is worth a try if you don't have a Food Saver. With the cost of groceries skyrocketing, it is a necessity for families to eliminate food waste. This handy kitchen gadget will help many families afford a vacuum sealer.

Associated Content: Great way for SAHMs to earn money (and working mom's to supplement income)

Some of my readers may have noticed the appearance of an Associated Content button to the right of my blog. I just can't keep this secret to myself! A friend referred me to Associated Content in April of last year. I must confess, I was somewhat hesitant. Surely it sounded too good to be true... I could actually write content from home, submit it for payment review and get paid via PayPal? It is absolutely true. I earned approximately $475 last year writing on a variety of subjects. Some of the articles below do link to relevant content produced by yours truly and I am proud to tell you that I was one of 1000 top content producers last year and received a designation on my content page.

What do I write about? That is one question I am asked frequently. While some do tend to write in certain niches, I try to write about a lot of different things. For instance, last May, I wrote an article comparing Secret Clinical vs. Degree Women's deodorants that currently has over 6,300 views, and has been steadily gaining since last Fall. Another article, a political one, is limping along with about 50 views and is about Virginia Senator Jim Webb's Immigration platform, which is Pro-Amnesty. I find if I write about a broad range of topics, I usually come up with a well received piece which gets page views.

Now, what is all this talk about page views? Well, Associated Content, unlike other paid to write sites, offers a bit of an incentive to us writers by way of a page view bonus. Basically, we earn $1.50 per 1,000 views, above and beyond any offers for our content. In recent months, Associated Content switched to allow writers to get paid page view bonus once per month for the previous month's views, before that we had to accrue at least $15 before they would pay out. I have made probably $35 this year in page view bonus. It does pay, literally, to promote your work via social networking sites and Associated Content does give you tools to help you promote your work.

Give it a try, click that button up there and sign up. You might find that you like it so much that you will stay with Associated Content for a long time. I do not write steadily. I write here and there, in spurts and as inspiration strikes. Writing can help you fill in the gaps or provide money to spend at online merchants who accept PayPal.

One caveat here is that this isn't exactly free money. While Associated Content does provide you with a 1099 if your income from their site is in excess of the $600 threshold for IRS reporting purposes, it is still income nonetheless. I earned less than the $600 threshold and still reported it as income on my tax return.

Inaugural Post

Introduction

If someone would have asked me a week ago if I would toss my hat into the blogging ring, I would have laughed in their face! I am the first to admit I generally like to keep a low profile on the web, but the idea of a blog and exposing my personal life for all to see? Absurd! Yet here I am.

Why would I start a blog then? The main reason is that I would like to get more exposure for my online content writing. I signed up for Associated Content about nine months ago, after a friend begged me to join the site. She thought it would be a perfect way for me to earn a little extra cash, and she was right. I earned just under $500 last year writing content for that site. All in my spare time. Many top Content Producers there get exposure for their work by blogging, so why not me too?

About me

I am a 30-something married parent of two. I have always worked, so the transition from working full-time to staying at home was a bit of a challenge for me. I don't regret it though. I love knowing that I can be there in a heartbeat if my child is sick, scared or just needs a little extra attention. The transition from two incomes to just one wasn't as big of a deal financially since my husband graduated college and took a job at the same time that I had just given birth to our second child. In reality, he was making more than the two of us combined after graduating college and taking a job in his new career path. However, one unforseen obstacle was that moving to the area with the job would mean a very high cost of living, especially with regard to housing. The rural area in which we live is about 1-1/2 hours from DC, yet the housing prices are keeping pace with the DC market for the most part. We needed to choose between the house we wanted and the house we could afford. The house we wanted would require me to return to the work force and place our children in daycare, the house we could afford would not. Our children came first, and we are crammed into a house a bit too small for our needs.

Our mortgage payments took up half of my husband's take home, so we needed to do a little something extra to make us feel like we weren't living paycheck to paycheck. It was at that time that I was introduced to the idea of taking surveys to help fill in the gaps. I quickly found that taking surveys could add a little extra income to our household without being time consuming.

How do you get started taking surveys? It is actually easier than you think! I am not going to lie to you, filling out registrations and the demographic surveys will take a little time at first, so spend an hour or two each day signing up for various panels. Need a step-by-step how to guide covering the ins and outs, as well as my own personal recommendations? Please read my article How to Make Ends Meet and Still Be A Stay At Home Mom.

Making ends meet can be a job in itself. I plan to dedicate this blog to showcasing ways to save money that not only stay at home mom's can use, but even those moms who are working the 9-5 grind and just barely getting by.

~Pinching Abe