Each Associated Content contributor is listed under a type of ranking system called clout.  Clout plays an important role in performance payments–the higher your clout, the more money Associated Content pays for your accumulated page views.

Benefits

Associated Content contributors with a clout of 7 or higher get paid a higher performance payment base rate.  Contributors between clout 1 and 6 get paid $1.50, but once you hit 7 it bumps up to $1.55.  The highest clout rank, 10, pays $2.00, a fifty cent increase.

For example, Bob accumulates approximately 50,000 page views per month.  At a clout of 5, he earns the base rate of $1.50, which yields him a performance payment of $75.00.

One year later Bob reaches clout 10 while earning the same page views.  He now earns $2.00 per 1,000 page views, earning him a total performance payment of $100.00.

Just by having a higher clout, Bob earns $25.00 more per month.

How it is Determined

Associated Content determines a person’s clout by their total page views and the number of published submissions.

Associated Content takes the number of published submissions and adds that number as a percentage to the person’s total page view amount.  Collectively, the number determined by this formula is called the clout index.

For example, Bob has 300,000 total page views and 30 published articles.  Associated Content then includes 30% of Bob’s total page views to his total page view amount to determine his clout number.

Formula: 300,000 x 30% of total page views= 90,000

Add 90,000 to 300,000 to find the clout index= 390,000

If Bob looks under the clout level chart, clout 8 is a clout index of 100,001 to 500,000.  Bob is a clout 8.

How to Raise Clout

If you want to raise your clout to gain more money, there are two ways you can raise it:

• Publish more articles. The more articles you publish, the higher the percentage is in the clout index formula.  It maxes out at 200% though, meaning it will only count your first 200 articles.
• Gain more page views for your articles. Learn SEO, LSI, how to write informative web articles, and learn where to promote your articles.

Consistent publishing and writing excellent, SEO friendly articles is the best way to raise your clout quickly.

More information:

Associated Content FAQ: What is Clout?

Associated Content’s Clout Index Chart

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.