Controversial Topics: Dealing with Criticism and Handling Trolls

Controversial topics are a great way to gain page views on Associated Content, but you have to have a thick skin! How do you deal with criticism and trolls?

The most controversial article I wrote was A Conservative Case for Hillary Clinton. It was a *qualified* endorsement for Sen. Clinton, arguing that of the three remaining candidates, she may be the *least objectionable.* While I did receive a lot of positive feedback, there were a few trolls:

"Hillary sent thousands of people to die in Iraq. Now she's against the war. Was she PMSing?"

Obviously the person didn't even *read* the article--I addressed that issue very clearly in the editorial.

"Oh don't deprive the Queen of her throne. She might cry."

I am always up for intelligent debate or constructive criticism, but ad hominem attacks are just not worth it.

*******

AC Writer Kim Linton is no stranger to the spotlight! Her edgy and controversial articles regularly attract hundreds of comments--many positive, many negative. Her piece about Hot Sex and the Evangelical Church dared to suggest that you can be a Christian and still enjoy sex. Her piece Is Barack Obama a Racist or Guilty by Association? discussed his church and relationship with his pastor. While she sought to remain objective, it wasn't enough to stop the influx of trolls.

Sometimes people would simply read the title, and take a snippet of the article and draw conclusions before getting all the facts. Often people have already made up their minds before even reading the article. As a pastor's wife, she's received insults about her, her family, and her church--even the occasional death wish.

How to deal with Criticism?: Kim decided long ago not to be drawn into unwinnable arguments. While she is willing address genuine comments and concerns in a mature fashion, she doesn't respond to threatening or insulting comments.

"I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to argue with someone who wants to argue for the sake of arguing."

Is it Worth It?: "As a pastor's wife for many years, I've learned that sometimes people will not like me or my message, and that's okay. You just have to keep writing what you are passionate about and do it as objectively as you can. The rest will work itself out in the end."

Writing for Associated Content: My Worst Performing Article and What I Learned from It

When I first started writing for Associated Content, I wasn't thinking about gaining readership, how my articles were going to show up on search engines, or promoting my articles. I was only thinking about the upfront payment, not about the performance bonuses. Now I'm learning to write articles with my audience in mind, and writing stuff that people will actually want to read. While upfront payments are great, it's nice to get the residual income from the performance bonuses.

Now I'll take a look at my lowest performing article and discuss why this article failed to gain readership.

How to Find the Right Music Teacher

This was the third article I had written for AC. Many people take piano or violin lessons and are turned off because of a bad experience with a teacher. The article discusses the factors you should take into consideration when choosing a teacher. The article itself was well-written and informative enough, but why didn't it attract viewers?

Topic: The topic and title were too general. Music is too common a topic--classical music, rock music, country music, music therapy, music seems to encapsulate everything under the sun. An article about music lessons is bound to get lost in the shuffle.

If I had to do it over again I would have written about Finding the Right *Violin* teacher. Many people are interested in violin lessons either for themselves or for their kids. Violin is broad enough to appeal to many people, while specific enough to be discovered in a search engine.

Linking to Previous Articles: I had tremendous success with my *first* AC article Violin Practice Tips: How to Practice Effectively. If I had to do it over again, I would have found a way to piggyback off the success of this first article. I would have written about Finding the Right Violin Teacher and continued in a series of articles about learning to play violin. *In * the new article, i would have also linked back to the first article.

Keyword Density: If I had to do it over again, I would have made the article more SEO friendly. In How to Find the Right Music Teacher, the article jumps from piano lessons, to violin lessons, to a cappella groups. Instead, I would concentrate on "violin" and "violin lessons," making sure these keywords appeared in 3-5% of my article.

Hope this helps you as much as it helped me.

Happy Writing!

Tina :)

Writing for Multiple Audiences: Topic Ideas that Appeal to Cross-Interests

Writing for Associated Content gives you freedom to write on a variety of topics from news, politics, arts, sports, dating, parenting, or technology. Although I've only written 18 articles so far, I'm *starting* to get an idea of the types of topics that appeal not only to larger audiences but also *multiple* audiences.

Appealing to Cross-Interests: I've started experimenting with topics that appeal to cross interests. For example, last week I wrote a two-part series on tennis and dating.

Seven Things that Tennis has Taught Me About Dating: Part I

Seven Things that Tennis has Taught Me About Dating: Part II

By tying in two seemingly unrelated topics, I was able to target *two* audiences instead of one: lifestyle article readers as well as tennis fans. Besides, I had a lot of fun writing these articles! I was also careful to use both tennis and dating as key words.

Other topic ideas to appeal to cross interests:

Christian Allegorical Undertones in Lindsay Lohan Movies

How Barack Obama can Learn from Roger Federer

Interfaith Marriages between Jews and Hindus: Can it Work?

A Football Player's Guide to Ballroom Dancing

Why Every Violinist Should Learn to Play Golf

Happy Writing!!

Tina :)

Writing for Associated Content: Welcome Message

Dear Readers,

I have decided to start a blog to discuss my experiences freelance writing for Associated Content. Associated Content is an online magazine that allows you to earn money for articles on a variety of subjects. You earn money either through upfront payments, or performance bonuses. Basically, you earn money when people read your articles!

Associated Content is a great place for aspiring writers, students looking to earn extra side income, stay at home moms, or anyone who just likes to write. It's also a fun and supportive community. I'll be updating this site frequently. If you have comments or would like to be linked to my blogroll, please let me know!

Tina