Associated Content pays writers through upfront payments and performance payments.  Upfronts pay for the article after acceptance, whereas performance payments are continuous payments made for articles that gain page views.

Associated Content and Upfront Payments
Upfront payments are the most favored aspect of Associated Content.  Writers submit articles that meet Associated Content’s guidelines–only unique, opinion-free content is accepted–to receive a one time acceptance payment.

This is called the upfront payment.  The typical range for upfronts range from a mere $1.00 to $12.00, but usually fall within $3.00 to $6.50.  Associated Content pays the upfront to your Paypal account within one to three days.

Associated Content does not pay for everything, however.  If your article does not meet its guidelines, they can reject it.

They also do not offer upfronts to non-U.S. citizens.  Performance payments are given to citizens of any country with Paypal, however.

Associated Content and Performance Payments

Performance payments are widely ignored by new contributors because the payment seems so low.

Performance payments are given by Associated Content when an article reaches 1,000 page views.

Writers can accumulate residual payments every time their articles gain 1,000 extra views.  The current payment is $1.50 for every 1,000 views.

For new articles, this may not seem like an advantage.  Many articles do not break 500 page views during its first week, making you a whopping $0.75.

If you learn how to promote articles and use keyphrase tactics to increase traffic to your articles, however, your page views will soar.  Your payments?  Soon to follow.

Don’t think it’s worth it?  Then consider this.  Many Associated Content contributors, even the ones not ranked in the Top 100, pocket over $100 per month.  Some even break $1,000, although rarely.  If you know how to increase traffic to your articles, your performance payments will easily beat any upfront payments.

There is a catch though: unlike upfront payments, which are paid immediately, you need to wait until the second Wednesday of each month to get the money through Paypal.  It is worth the wait, however.

This are the basics of Associated Content’s upfront and performance payments.  To learn more about AC, return to the AC Tutorials section for more advice.

This article is a part of the AC Tutorials series on WJR.  To view all of the articles included in this series, visit the AC Tutorials section.